Gregg Sarra: Garden City vs. Massapequa at Hofstra was a win-win no matter how you look at it
Massapequa’s Ryan Chabus raises his finger in victory as his team rushes the field as time expires in a Nassau Conference I/II football crossover game against Garden City on Monday at Hofstra. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
The scoreboard read Massapequa 21, Garden City 14.
There were no losers on this night, though.
Both teams played with emotion and pride in a clean, hard-hitting affair. Don’t tell the players on either team this was just another regular-season game. You’d be kidding yourself and insulting them.
Every player on that field left everything he had out there. They knew what was on the line as the two longest winning streaks in New York State collided.
Nassau County football was the big winner. The Nassau County Football Coaches Association is to thank for it for thinking outside the box. For having the courage to change a schedule that needed some juice. For replacing a week of mismatches with a week of highly competitive games.
The historic Garden City-Massapequa matchup came after the NCFCA voted to play a crossover game between Conferences I and II and Conferences III and IV. The schedule matches teams by preseason seed as voted by the coaches, including Massapequa (No. 1 seed in Conference I) against Garden City (No. 1 in Conference II).
No game in Long Island history had ever matched two teams with those kind of winning streaks.
The schedule shake-up, albeit manufactured, generated interest in a sport that is dying as programs continue to fold. Amityville, Holy Trinity and Port Jefferson are the latest examples. This week of crossover games put much-needed life into the sport.
In Suffolk County football, a few programs barely hang on and participation declines. They need to follow Nassau’s lead.
Monday night was no mirage. It was real.
The accomplishments of both schools are impressive. Garden City has won 10 straight Nassau conference titles and five Long Island crowns. Massapequa became the first Nassau school to win three straight Long Island Class I titles.
Garden City brought the longest winning streak in the country — 68 games — to Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium. The Trojans hadn’t lost a game since 2019. Massapequa put a 25-game winning streak, the second-longest in the state, on the line.
And this one absolutely lived up to the hype.
From the Nassau County police helicopter flyover to the final play, this had the makings of a Long Island championship game. It had a feel, a buzz and an atmosphere like no other regular-season game.
The youth programs from both programs showed up in full force, wearing game jerseys and watching the guys they idolize who volunteer at those peewee football camps.
The student sections were packed and rocked with enthusiasm. The Massapequa band inspired the crowd. The cheerleaders performed on both sidelines.
Matt McLees, the director of athletics for the Massapequa School District, looked around and threw his arms up in the air.
“This is football and community all wrapped in one moment,” he said. “This made all the preparation and work worth every second for our student-athletes. This place is packed.”
Massapequa broke a tie at 14 when quarterback Luke Garguilo found Dylan Milio with a 29-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left for the win.
“It’s a Monday evening, and look at this crowd,” Massapequa coach Kevin Shippos said.
“It’s great for people to see these championship programs. The game could have gone either way, and we were fortunate it went ours. High school sports are about putting your kids at the highest level of competition. We both learn from this, and it’s a shame one streak must end, but it’s not about that. It’s about setting these kids up to be successful in life.”
The crossover concept was a success. Five games were decided by one point and another by two in the 12 games played Friday. It was a good move by the NCFCA.
The one wart was Oceanside’s decision to forfeit the Monday game against Carey, citing safety concerns and the inability to reschedule because of a lack of available officials.
Despite the forfeit, Oceanside will be awarded 12 power points. That decision taints the process when there is no penalty for not playing. And that’s wrong.
A forfeit loss should be zero power points, forcing schools to get on the same page and figure out how to play all the games.
That situation, however, was overshadowed by a weekend of fantastic finishes.
The stage was set for one of the most anticipated high school football games in Long Island history eight months ago.
And it was well worth the wait.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
