Saturday's game against the Carey Seahawks (1-1) was one the Mepham Pirates (2-0) football team had circled on its schedule for quite some time.
After last year's conference semifinal loss to the Seahawks, the Pirates exacted their revenge Saturday afternoon with a 14-7 Conference II win over top-ranked Carey.
"The kids kind of circled this one early in the offseason and that kept them motivated all offseason to get back in the gym and do what they had to do to prepare for the season," Mepham head coach Anthony Cracco said. "I thought the kids just really responded well. We're going in the right direction with the program."
Miguel Shaw capped off an opening 12-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put the Pirates up 7-0. Shaw finished with 70 yards on 10 attempts.
Carey tied the game up in the second quarter on a 5-yard run from quarterback Mike Locicero, who was kept fairly quiet by a Mepham defense that hasn't allowed much this season.
The game remained tied until Mepham's Shane Agostino intercepted a pass from Locicero late in the fourth quarter, which set up a 39-yard touchdown pass from Pirates quarterback A.J. Heller to wide receiver Dylan Gordon for the win.
Heller led the way for Mepham on offense, going 7-for-12 for 134 yards and a touchdown, while Gordon added another 39-yard reception earlier in the game for a total of 78 yards receiving.
"It's a huge win on a lot of levels," Cracco said. "... It's a little bit sweeter [after] they beat us two times down the stretch last year and knocked us out of the playoffs."
Mike Lozada also finished with 12 tackles for the Pirates, whose defense has allowed just seven points in two games this season.
Mepham looks to continue its hot start at home against Jericho this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The game is the Pirates' first home game this season and it's homecoming.
"From a community standpoint, we've had such a great turnout these first two weeks," Cracco said. "The fans have gotten totally behind us and the kids are super appreciative of it. The program has grown a great deal in the last couple of years and hopefully we can keep it going."
