Carey football's Justin DePietro scores five TDs in comeback win over Long Beach
Carey's Justin DePietro celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Long Beach during a Nassau Conference II football game at Carey High School in Franklin Square on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Credit: Derrick Dingle
Carey’s Justin DePietro had seen enough. With his team trailing by 13 points at halftime, he decided it was time to take over.
DePietro scored three rushing touchdowns, blocked a punt and recovered a fumble for a touchdown . . . and that was just the third quarter.
He finished with 134 yards on 23 carries, four rushing touchdowns and the defensive score in host Carey’s 34-26 victory over Long Beach in its Nassau Conference II season opener Thursday night.
“What me and my guys did today was we stood tall,” DePietro said. “We just kept going, snap after snap after snap. That’s really how we got it done today.”
Long Beach took a 20-7 halftime lead as Brody Juan threw two touchdown passes to Joe Henn. Henn, a Holy Trinity transfer, had 136 receiving yards.
DePietro scored on a 5-yard run with 7:57 left in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 20-14 and spark the comeback.
The ball slipped out of Juan’s hands on the next possession and was kicked into the end zone. DePietro sprinted 30 yards and recovered it for a touchdown to tie the score at 20 with 6:13 left in the third quarter.
Carey players celebrate after scoring a touchdown against Long Beach during a Nassau Conference II football game at Carey High School on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Credit: Derrick Dingle
“We locked in,” DePietro said. “I had some really great captains in the years past, and I just tried to learn from them. I have some great captains next to me now, and we lead together.”
DePietro blocked a punt and, two plays later, rushed for a 7-yard touchdown with defenders on his back to give Carey a 27-20 lead with 4:56 left in the third quarter.
“You don’t want to ask him to do too much, but at some point in time, you’ve got to ride your guy,” Carey coach Mike Stanley said. “That’s all we did. We rode our guy, and he was just incredible.”
DePietro scored on a 27-yard run with 2:42 left in the third quarter to extend Carey’s lead to 34-20.
Long Beach’s Brody Riedel scored on a 2-yard run with 4:28 remaining and the Marines recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Carey forced a turnover on downs with 2:16 left to seal the victory.
