Braves Football Crushes East Meadow

The Syosset Braves (5-4) defeated the East Meadow Jets (5-4) for the second week in a row at on Saturday, blowing the Jets out by a score of 44-10.  Syosset scored early and often against the Jets with quarterback Daniel Ventricelli tossing for 236 yards and five passing touchdowns on the day, tieing the Nassau County playoff record. Also tieing a record was Braves receiver James Cohan, scoring four touchdowns on the day.

Turning Point: With East Meadow already down three scores in the first quarter, Jets quarterback Dylan Curry threw his second interception in a row to Brett Resnick to give Syosset the ball. The Syosset offense was able to cash that third turnover in for another touchdown to give them a 24-0 lead.

The Hero: Ventricelli and Cohan. Ventricelli passed for 236 yards and threw for five touchdowns, which tied a Nassau County playoff record. His favorite target was  Cohan, who caught seven passes and had four touchdowns on the day, and the four touchdown receptions also tied a playoff record.

"It was just a pat and go all day with the defense playing one on one," Ventricelli said of the passing game. "We knew our defense would hold their end, we just had to put up points for them."

Key Stat: In the first quarter the Jets had three turnovers, including a fumble and two interceptions in East Meadow's first three possessions of the game.  On all three of the turnovers Syosset was able to convert them into touchdowns.

Bottom Line: The Jets' defense could not solve the Syosset passing game all day. Syosset was able to connect on multiple long passing plays including a 37-yard pass to James Cohan at the end of the first half.

"Our defense just did not have it, we gave up too many big plays to them," East Meadow's Robbie Noblett said.

The Jets' offense did not offer a lot of support either. East Meadow turned the ball over on their first three possessions of the game, digging a hole for the Jets that they could not get out of.

What's Next: The season for the Jets ends on a sour note after a strong start to the season, losing three of their last four games. The Braves will move on to the semi-finals of the playoffs to face top-seeded Freeport.  The game will be held at Hofstra University on Thursday, at 4 p.m.

Nassau Conference I Playoffs

Team...............1........2......3......4--F

Syosset............24......14.....0.....6--44

East Meadow....0.......10.....0.....0--0

S-Cohan 26 pass from Ventricelli (pass failed)

S-Cohan 48 pass from Ventricelli (pass failed)

S-Park 24 pass from Ventricelli (run failed)

S-Morris 3 run (pass failed)

EM-Hinchy 2 run (kick good)

S-Morris 56 run (kick good)

EM-Guerrero 32 FG

S-Cohan 37 pass from Ventricelli (kick good)

S-Cohan 19 pass from Ventricelli (pass failed)