It was only fitting that the ball would land in Luke Martini's hands on the final meaningful play of the game. Martini, who dropped in coverage from his linebacker position, intercepted Carey's last pass of the season to end the Seahawks' comeback attempt.
Martini returned the interception 15 yards before he alertly slid down at the Carey 20-yard line with 1:29 left to effectively end any chance of a Seahawks comeback.
Wantagh's Joe Nicholson ran 10 yards for the first down and then quarterback Carter Loughman knelt on consecutive plays as No. 4 Wantagh sealed a hard-hitting 21-14 victory over top-seeded Carey in a Nassau Conference III semifinal playoff Sunday afternoon at Hofstra University.
It was a battle of defending Long Island champions and lived up to the billing. Wantagh (7-3), the defending Class IV champion, took out Carey (7-3), the reigning Class II champion, with an air-tight defensive performance in the second half.
Wantagh will meet the winner of the South Side - Bethpage semifinal at Hofstra University Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
In a game that featured the brutish running game of a powerful Carey offense, it was the Wantagh defense that stood tall and forced two second-half turnovers that came out on top. Wantagh's Devin Paccione forced a Carey fumble that was recovered by Vincenzo Fullone at the 23 late in the third quarter.
Wantagh capitalized on the turnover and drove 77 yards in eight plays, capped by a Martini 5-yard TD run with 9:18 left in the game. Brendon Wood added the kick for the 21-14 lead. The key play came on a gadget play where Wantagh utilized a double pass. Loughman fired a pass to Martini at the sideline, who unloaded a deep throw to Nicholson for 61 yards.
"They took it to us in the first half," Wantagh coach Keith Sachs said. "And I thought we made a huge statement on the first drive of the second half to tie it up. We took their best shots, and we were still standing. Our second-half effort was big."
Trailing 14-7, Wantagh opened the third quarter with an eight-play, 68-yard TD drive. Paccione caught a 19-yard pass from Loughman and Martini had a 23-yard run to set up a Nicholson 8-yard TD run to tie the score at 14 with 6:39 left.
"Carey plays great football," Martini said. "They were bringing it physically all game. We matched that intensity and made the key plays at the end. I'm proud of our guys."
Sachs said he needed to go deep into the playbook after his offense was stoned most of the first half. "I emptied the playbook, had no choice," Sachs said. "We needed a jolt. We needed to show up physically and that happened."
Wantagh withstood a Carey offense that pounded the ball repeatedly down the field. Halfback Justin DePietro rushed 21 times for 136 yards and James McGrath ran for 86 yards on 17 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns.
"They're as tough an opponent as we'll see," Nicholson said. "To beat Carey, you have to earn it."