The Farmingdale Dalers, ranked first in the division (11-0), came out to defend their title as Nassau County champions against the no. 3 seed, the Massapequa Chiefs (8-3), who attempted to take it away. The Chiefs, after losing to the Dalers 33-8 in week 4, would of liked nothing better then to defeat the Dalers in front of 4,000 people at Hofstra and grab the title. The rivalry was all the talk this week and the Nassau County Police had extra Officers all around the stadium at Hofstra.
On the opening kickoff the Dalers would run the ball 75-yards for a touchdown, but hold everything, the Dalers first penalty would bring the ball back to the Dalers own 15-yard line. From getting off to a fast start, this would slow the Dalers down. The teams would start punting back and forth, but each time the Dalers would be losing ground. The Chiefs would start a drive from their own 43 and drive down to the Dalers 2- yard line as the Quarter ends.
At the start of the second quarter, the Chiefs would have 4th down and 2 yards to go from the Dalers 2-yard line. The Chiefs would try a run, but the Dalers defense would come up big stopping the Chiefs and talk over on downs. The
Dalers would put together a few great runs by Curtis Jenkins and a 25-yard pass play from Vinny Quinn to Keith Brown. The Dalers would finally score at 7:46 with a 4-yard run by Jenkins. Dalers Zack Kolodny would miss the extra point, something he never does. There was some wind and a little cold 45 degrees at game time. The Dalers would lead 6-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Dalers would have a 57-yard pass for a touchdown (Quinn to Tom Kennedy) giving the Dalers a 12-0 lead. The Dalers would try a 2-point conversion to make up for the missed extra point, but the Chiefs stopped the
Dalers again. The Chiefs would drive 80-yards and score at 5:20 with a 14-yard pass from Matthew Caracappa to Craig Berge making it 12-6. The Chiefs kicker would miss the extra point. The Dalers would now drive 63-yards in 9 plays and score with a 9-yard run by Jenkins. The Dalers would now convert a 2 point conversion (Pass Quinn to Kennedy) to make it 20-6.
Things looked good for the Dalers going into the fourth quarter. They seemed in control. Earlier in the game penalties were hurting the Dalers and helping the Chiefs. The Chief were still fighting hard and not going away. At 5:40 left in the game the Chiefs Nick Capuana would score on a 6 yard run making it 20-13. At 3:20 Curtis Jenkins would explode with a 63 yard run for a touchdown, but Kolodny would miss another extra point making the score 26-13. Things were looking good. The Chiefs would drive 52-yards and take only a minute and four seconds off the clock. Jack Korber would have a 1-yard run for a touchdown making the score 26-20. The Chiefs would attempt an on-side kick, and get the ball on their own 49-yard line with 1:29 left in the game. The Chiefs would drive the ball down field and with 0:52 left, Caracappa would find Korber for a 7-yard touchdown pass. Now it was 26-26. The Chiefs were on their way to defeat the Dalers. All they needed was the extra point, but Craig Berge would miss and the game was tied with 52 seconds left. The Dalers still had hope.
The Dalers would receive the kick off and start from their own 37-yard line. They would start driving and move the ball. It was a fight against the Chiefs and the clock. The Dalers would find themselves at the Chief 15-yard line with 11 seconds left. The Dalers would give it to Jenkins to center the ball on the field and call time out with 5 seconds left. The Dalers would call timeout to stop the clock. Zack Kolodny would come on to the field for a 32-yard field goal attempt.
He did miss two extra points this game, the Dalers center did have some problems with long snaps. The fans were going crazy on both sides As Zack would get set, the Chiefs would call timeout. Now we are ready, the snap was a bit high, but handled by holder Mike Scheuerer, he put the ball down, and the kick was up going, going and good. The Dalers were going crazy, as Zack’s kick would give the Dalers a 29-26 win and the Nassau County Conference 1 Championship.
The Dalers will now play Sachem North who defeated Floyd 28-7 at Stony Brook on Saturday at 4:30 pm for the Long Island Conference 1 Title. Last year the Dalers lost to Floyd 31-14.
