Local Athletes Shine in Nassau Senior Bowl

Wednesday night's Nassau County Senior Bowl at the Mitchel Field Athletic Complex pitted senior all-stars against each other in a friendly match that marked the end of their high school football careers.

The Blue Team, made up of Conferences II and III players, had a 25-22 victory over the White Team, consisting of players from Conferences I and IV.

Mepham Pirates quarterback Nick White completed 12-of-19 passes and won offensive MVP honors for his team. White threw for 201 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 86 yards and another score.

Manhasset linebacker Frank Morelli claimed the defensive award. Oceanside's Tyler Hueur (offensive) and MacArthur's Tom Joyce (defensive) won the awards for the White Team.

"I was very honored," White said after the game. "I know I have pride in myself that I can do anything."

White was busy right away, as he was involved in six of the 10 plays during the game's opening drive while carrying the Blue Team to an early 7-0 lead. He ran the ball five times for 52 yards, gaining four first downs in the process, before finding Elmont's Kevin Johnson in the left corner of the end zone for an 11-yard TD strike.

But the White Team tied it just over a minute later on Hueur's 26-yard TD pass to Oceanside's Brian Ellis. Baldwin's Chris Mertens then recovered a Blue fumble on the ensuing drive and East Rockaway quarterback Andrew Bashford took advantage on the very next play by connecting with Locust Valley tight end Tyler Burhans on a five-yard scoring play that made it 14-7.

White then started to use his arm to help the Blue Team cut into the deficit. He completed two passes to Clarke's Justin Ragusa and another to Massapequa's Steven Romano that lead to a 33-yard field goal by Calhoun kicker Nick Marcello.

The Blue Team took the lead for good 11 seconds into the second quarter on a one-yard sneak by Hewlett's Alex Kahn. White was back into the game on the next possession and culminated a 6-play, 44-yard drive, with a one-yard plunge of his own as the Blues jumped out to a 25-14 advantage.

"It was a lot of fun," White said. "I was just very honored to be here. I had a great time playing with the boys."

The White Team had the only points of the second half. North Shore's Evan Vandoros raced 17 yards up the middle and barely broke the plane of the goal line for a touchdown, which was followed by a 2-point conversion run by Romano that cut the deficit to 25-22.

The White Team drove the ball to the Blue 30-yard line early in the fourth quarter, but lost a combined 27 yards on the next three plays before being forced to punt. On the middle play, Calhoun defensive end Nick Pititto helped pursue Hueur relentlessly before the Oceanside quarterback ran out of bounds for a whopping 20-yard loss. Pititto nearly sacked Hueur late in the third quarter, but did force an intentional grounding penalty on the play.

White helped drain the clock with 11 rushing yards and three completions to Sliwak, including a beautiful touch pass that the Wantagh receiver caught over his shoulder for a 35-yard gain.

White finished the regular season with 12 TD passes and helped the Pirates advance to the second round of the Conference II playoffs. Mepham finished with a 7-3 record overall.

"The season overall was great," he said. "We had the best season in 15 years and that was a big step for the program. It was a lot of fun and I'm very proud."

Marcello also converted both of his extra points and even booted a 57-yerd punt late in the first half. Coach Dom Carre sent him out to attempt a 60-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half, but the kick landed way short.

Sliwak finished the night with six catches for 134 yards, while Johnson grabbed five passes for 75. Bellmore JFK's Joe Karo had a 35-yard kickoff return that ignited the Blue Team's field goal drive in the first quarter.

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