Nick Schwabe, Alex Lengu help East Meadow football run past Hicksville
East Meadow’s Nick Schwabe runs in for a touchdown just minutes into a Nassau Conference I football game against visiting Hicksville on Saturday, Sep. 5, 2026. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
Less than two minutes into the game, East Meadow quarterback Mike Petitto launched a 25-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Nick Schwabe on the Jets’ first play from scrimmage. The opening score set the tone for the afternoon, as East Meadow cruised to a 37-6 victory over Hicksville on Saturday in East Meadow.
East Meadow’s offensive efficiency put the game out of reach quickly. The Jets scored touchdowns on four of their first six plays.
“I just think that going back to the old-school East Meadow football with the triple option, the ground-and-pound has been our thing all summer long,” East Meadow coach Matt Castaneda said. “It takes a lot for a defense to prepare for that, and I think that we’re moving in the right direction offensively and we’re gonna be a force for some defenses to have to take care of.”
Schwabe and senior fullback Alex Lengu led the attack on offense, with each of them scoring two touchdowns. With 6:10 left in the first quarter, Schwabe broke through for a 40-yard touchdown run to put East Meadow up 24-0. Lengu contributed with two touchdown runs from 10 and 17 yards out, both coming in the Jets’ commanding first quarter.
“Alex Lengu played offensive line last year, so not a lot of people know him as a skill player,” Castaneda said. “So him running the fullback in this triple option is deadly.”
Despite the explosive performances on offense, it was the relentless Jets' defense that allowed the hosts to take advantage of the visiting Comets. Immediately after Hicksville got its best field position of the day on a Matt Gonzalez interception early in the second quarter, the Jets responded with an interception of their own. On the very next play, senior Kyle Francis picked off a pass, returning it 59 yards to the end zone to expand the Jets lead to 37-0. It was Francis’ second forced turnover of the game, following a fumble recovery in the first quarter.
“Our defensive line’s physical, our linebackers, our DBs, they fly around,” Castaneda said. “And you know, these kids just take everything that we coach, and they take it to the full potential.”
Despite the first-half deficit, the Hicksville defense had a strong second-half performance, holding the Jets scoreless in the game’s final 24 minutes. Late in the third quarter, the Comets forced a turnover on downs and took over on their own 28-yard line.
Following a third-down conversion, senior Julian Woskowiak reeled in a 27-yard reception that brought Hicksville to the East Meadow 25-yard line. Junior William Cataldo then muscled his way to a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 37-6 with 11:54 remaining in the game.
East Meadow (1-0) will look to make it consecutive wins to start the season when it welcomes Oceanside at 4 p.m. Thursday in East Meadow. Hicksville (0-1) will have a week off before next taking the field against Hempstead at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at Hicksville.
