Wantagh running backs Luke Martini, Joe Nicholson propel football team into Nassau Conference III semifinals
Luke Martini of Wantagh cuts back to avoid Liam Morgan of Clarke during a Nassau Conference III quarterfinal football game in Wantagh on Saturday. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The goal was 300 and 3.
Before every game, Wantagh’s backfield tandem of Joe Nicholson and Luke Martini post a desired goal. This week the two decided they needed to gain 300 yards and score at least three touchdowns between them to beat Clarke in the first round of the Nassau Conference III playoffs.
Goal met!
Martini rushed for 283 yards on 18 carries and one TD and Nicholson added another 110 yards and two scores as No. 4 Wantagh ran past No. 5 Clarke, 38-14, in a quarterfinal playoff game Saturday in Wantagh.
“We have goals before every game,” Nicholson said. “And Clarke can score a lot of points, so we felt we needed a big game.”
Wantagh (6-3) will advance to meet top-seeded Carey (7-2) in the semifinal round of the playoffs Nov. 16 at Hofstra University.
“We showed up today in every facet of the game,” Wantagh coach Keith Sachs said. “Clarke beat us the first time around. Our guys came to play.”
Wantagh capitalized on the first turnover of the game to take the early lead. On the Rams' opening possession, quarterback Matt Kurz rolled right and tried to throw away a third down pass. His throw toward the sideline was intercepted by a diving Joe Adamo at the Rams 34.
Martini and Nicholson covered the first 33 yards of the drive before quarterback Carter Loughman took it in from the 1-yard line for the score. Brendon Wood added the extra-point kick for the 7-0 lead with 7:19 remaining in the first quarter.
Wantagh extended the lead when Martini’s 43-yard run to the Clarke 8-yard line set up Wood’s 19-yard field goal for a 10-0 first-quarter lead.
Clarke cut the lead in the second quarter when the punt unit stripped the returner of the ball and Jake Thakkar recovered at the Wantagh 7.
Two plays later, Kurz went up the middle for a 7-yard TD run. Alex Frank added the two-point conversion run to make it 10-8 with 6:45 left in the half.
“We answered that score right away and that was big,” Sachs said.
Wantagh drove 68 yards in nine plays before Loughman found Devin Paccione with a 16-yard TD pass for a 17-8 halftime lead.
“We had two big drives in a row,” Nicholson said. “The one before the half and then the one that opened the second half. That was a statement drive.”
It certainly was. Wantagh came out with a heavy dose of Martini and marched 78 yards in nine plays that consumed 5:32 of the third-quarter clock. Nicholson scored on a 1-yard run to make it 24-8. He carried five times for 70 yards.
“The opening drive in that third quarter was the key to the win,” Sachs said. “Our line kind of took over there.”
The offensive line of tackles Thomas Christoforidis and Shane Adee, guards Patrick Forthofer and Vincenzo Fullone, center Ryan Martone and tight end Mike Amodio were moving Clarke off the ball.
“The Clarke defense is very aggressive and they pursue hard,” Martini said. “I was following blocks and cutting back across the field away from the heavy pursuit. And a credit to our guys, while I’m running all over the place, they’re staying with the blocks.”
Clarke cut the 16-point deficit to 10 early in the fourth quarter. The Rams moved the ball 73 yards in 14 plays before Kurz scored from a yard out to make it 24-14. The two-point conversion pass was batted down by Paccione in the end zone.
The Rams' drive lasted 7:49. A fourth down and 10 pass from Kurz to Rick Grady from the Wantagh 18 to the five keyed the TD march.
But Martini and Nicholson were just too much. On the following possession, Martini ripped off a 28-yard run before Nicholson rumbled 52 yards, breaking at least four tackles on his way, for the score and a 31-14 lead with 9:48 left.
“That was the backbreaker,” Nicholson said. “I just wasn’t going down.”
After the Rams went four-and-out, Wantagh put the finishing touch on the win when Martini barreled 27 yards for the final margin.
“Some might think 300 and three is a lot to ask,” Martini said. “We don’t.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
