Behind three touchdowns by Tziah Albert, the second-seeded Carle Place/Wheatley Wild-frogs defeated fourth-seed North Shore Vikings 37-22 in the Conference IV semifinals Saturday evening at Hofstra University.
Albert rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67-yard dash in the fourth quarter. He also had 32 receiving yards.
Carle Place quarterback Chris Kelly ran for 95-yards and two touchdowns.
He threw for 61 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown pass to Albert.
Carle Place/Wheatley head coach Tim Moran said the most important component to their second half push was pressuring North Shore’s quarterback Ryan Aughavin and were able to take control on offense.
“The offense dominated the line of scrimmage so we were able to run the ball,” Moran said. “We needed to keep possession in our favor.”
After forcing North Shore to go three and out on their opening drive, Carle Place followed up with an 81-yard drive, capped off by Dominic Pascarella’s 42-yard run.
Luke Caliendo’s extra point attempt was blocked and Carle Place/Wheatley led 6-0 with 7:29 left in the first quarter.
North Shore responded with a three-yard touchdown run from Aughavin to complete a 65-yard drive.
John Magliocco’s extra point attempt put North Shore up 7-6 with 2:43 remaining in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Carle Place regained the lead on a 20-yard rushing touchdown by Albert, finishing a 62-yard drive.
Carle Place/Wheatley attempted the two-point conversion on a run by Dayce Niosi but was stopped. Carle Place led 12-7 with 10:43 left in the half.
North Shore answered back with a 14-yard touchdown run by Magliocco, completing a 64-yard drive.
Magliocco ran again on the two-point conversion attempt and gave North a 15-12 lead with 8:22 remaining in the half.
Carle Place/Wheatley took back the lead with a minute and five seconds in the half with a three-yard run by Kelly. Caliendo missed the kick but Carle Place led 19-15.
With 18 seconds left in the second quarter, North Shore grabbed the lead again as Aughavin connected with James Ledden on an 18-yard touchdown reception, capping off a 59-yard drive. Magliocco’s kick gave North Shore a 22-19 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, Kelly threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Albert to give Carle Place a 25-22 lead.
In the final quarter, Kelly ran for a one-yard touchdown run and Albert rushed for a 67-yard touchdown run to round out the scoring as Carle Place/Wheatley advances to the finals with a 37-22 victory.
