POWERS POWERS CHIEFS 
Junior QB leads Massapequa into Conference I semifinal

(11/7/04 Massapequa Park, NY) by Jason Molinet - Newsday Staff Writer 

It has been two painful near- misses for Massapequa quarterback Mike Powers. That was the sum of his varsity football career - until yesterday.

After four years on the threshold of the playoffs, including painful Week 8 losses the previous two seasons, No. 4 Massapequa made a statement in its Nassau Conference I quarterfinal against No. 5 East Meadow. About the only thing missing from Massapequa's 51-40 win at home before 750 was the exclamation point.

"It's crazy," Massapequa coach Pat Nolan said. "I knew we were going to score points, but 91?"

Although East Meadow (4-4) managed to score six touchdowns in defeat, Massapequa (6-2) overwhelmed the senses with its version of fast-track football. The Chiefs piled up 524 yards of total offense, including 273 on the ground.

"They are a very explosive team," East Meadow coach Vinny Mascia said. "They are outstanding. We had a lot of breakdowns and that combination added up to 51 points."

Powers provided the spark. Powers, a 5-11, 190-pound junior, completed 6 of 9 passes for 224 yards, including touchdowns of 86 and 60 yards. His motivation was simply getting to this point. 

"Every year, it came down to the final game and we choked," Powers said. "This year, we got it done."

The Chiefs, who won the Conference I title in 1998, will face Freeport (7-1) in a semifinal at 4 p.m. Thursday at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. The rematch comes just two weeks after Freeport's 27-14 win over the Chiefs.

Nolan worked magic in getting his players to focus in on East Meadow. "All week long, we talked about mental toughness," Nolan said. "At this point in the season, it's more mental than physical. We're banged up and bruised, just like everyone else."

Chris Hurst stopped an East Meadow drive when he recovered a fumble at the Massapequa 15-yard line midway through the first quarter.

Three plays and 85 yards later, Hurst's 6-yard dive into the end zone - followed by Kevin Zorovich's point after - gave the Chiefs a 7-0 edge. Hurst finished with 120 yards and two scores on 15 carries. 

Massapequa, which punted away the opening drive, scored on its next eight possessions. East Meadow fullback Matt DeLuca ran for 73 yards on 17 carries, but the Jets abandoned the running game after falling behind 31-13 at the half.

Jets quarterback Danny Diaz threw into a stiff wind in the third and still completed 11 of 13 passes for 126 yards. His 25-yard strike to Jimmy Koebel with 7:06 left in the third closed the gap to 31-20.

Then came a dose of Michael Perez. The Chiefs' junior back dashed off a 51-yard scoring run on the next series for Massapequa. The speedy Perez had 133 yards and two scores on eight carries. The offensive line produced all the big numbers.

"The right side was blowing them off the ball," Powers said.

He meant 6-3, 275-pound two-way tackle Jeff Schaefer. The three-year starter had seven tackles and his share of pancake blocks.

All of it added up to the program's biggest win in five seasons. "Once we get moving, we can't be stopped," Perez said. "Now we're going to Hofstra."