Long Beach's Brody Riedel rushes for 4 TDs to carry Marines to Nassau Conference II final
Brody Riedel of Long Beach rushes for a third-quarter touchdown in a Nassau Conference II semifinal playoff game against Mepham on Sunday at Hofstra. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Long Beach will play in its first Nassau football final in 39 years.
The Marines rode the able legs of halfback Brody Riedel to get past No. 2 Mepham, 27-13, in a Nassau Conference II semifinal playoff game Sunday at Hofstra University.
Long Beach (8-2) will meet Garden City (10-0), the four-time defending Long Island champions, for the Nassau Conference II title on Saturday at noon at Hofstra.
The Marines reached the semifinal round nine times in school history, losing seven games, including a 15-0 loss to eventual Long Island Class II champion Carey in 2024.
“This is our first win ever at Hofstra and it feels great,” Long Beach coach Scott Martin said. “This was a special group of players. And they earned this win.”
Riedel, who was held to nine yards in a scoreless first half, finished with 195 yards and four touchdowns after a big second half. His fourth score, a 30-yard dash over left tackle, sealed the win with 2:28 left.
“We added some formations to give Brody some room to run,” Martin said. “And Charlie [Conway] threw the ball effectively in the first half and that helped loosen up the defense.”
Riedel’s 31-yard TD run to open the third quarter and the extra-point kick by Nick Amantea gave the Marines a 7-0 lead with 7:32 left. Conway completed three straight passes for 9, 17 and 14 yards to wide receiver Brody Juan to set up the first score.
“We had great preparation this week,” said Conway, who threw for 133 yards in brutal, windy conditions. “They beat us earlier in the year. We knew we had to come out and play a great game.”
Mepham answered the opening score with a pick-6 to get within one. Conway, throwing from his own end zone, expected his wide receiver to run a slant pattern and unloaded a pass over the middle. The receiver stopped and Mike Grizzard made the interception and 5-yard return for the score to make it 7-6. The snap on the extra-point kick was fumbled with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.
Long Beach answered with an 11-play, 69-yard TD drive capped by Riedel's 1-yard run. Conway ignited the drive with a 19-yard pass to Zack Silva. Amantea added the extra point to make it 14-6 with 7:51 left in the game.
“We passed most of the first half and the Mepham defense was not focused on the run,” Riedel said. “And our line was opening holes.”
Mepham (8-2), which had six shutouts this season, had no answer for Long Beach’s running attack in the second half.
Riedel broke a 70-yard TD run for the 20-6 lead with 6:31 left. But Mepham didn’t go away. Quarterback Adam Erlichman found Lucas Eagleston for a 44-yard TD pass to help get the Pirates within 20-13 with 4:24 left.
The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Long Beach at midfield. The Marines drove 50 yards in five plays that was finished off when Riedel burst over left tackle for a 30-yard TD run for the final margin.
“We broke that defensive wall down block by block,” Martin said. “And Brody has unbelievable strength, stays low to the ground and he’s hard to bring down.”
Mepham found out the hard way.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
