Call him Johnny on the spot.
The Shoreham-Wading River sophomore was in the right place at the right time up and down the field during the No. 2 Wildcats’ upset win, 28-21, over previously undefeated Mt. Sinai at Stony Brook University November 16. Each of Johnny Schwarz’s Division IV championship-winning plays had purpose — a 71-yard touchdown catch and run in the second quarter, two interceptions in the second half and a fumble recovery in the fourth.
“We were just focused on doing our jobs — running the ball fast and blocking hard,” Schwarz said. “The first half I was kind of slow on the defensive end, but our linemen put pressure on the quarterback to force him to make some high throws, and the fumble recovery just fell into my hands.”
Mt. Sinai (10-1) edged Shoreham-Wading River 14-7 during the second game of the season back on September 14. Quarterback Xavier Arline, who had a hand in all four Wildcats touchdowns, said he knew the odds were in his team’s favor.
“It’s always hard to beat a team twice,” the senior said. “They took our perfect season away, they had something we wanted. You can write all the ‘X’s and ‘O’s but at the end of the day it’s all about grit.”
Arline, who rushed on all three plays from scrimmage, put Shoreham-Wading River (10-1) on the board first with a 54-yard touchdown run.
“You give him the ball, he’ll score a touchdown,” Schwarz said of his field general. “It’s been awesome working with him. He’s amazing.”
The captain felt similarly of his receiver, who caught his pass and racked up 71 total yards on a touchdown that tied the game 14-all in the second.
“He’s an athlete,” Arline said. “He really did his thing out there, and he’s still so young and has so much more potential. This whole team is full of athletes, and that’s why it’s so hard to beat us.”
Each of the Mustangs’ leads didn’t last long, like when Matthew LoMonaco caught a short crossing route pass dumped by quarterback Brendon Ventarola and turned it into a 16-yard touchdown. But none were shorter lived than Dominic Boscarino’s fourth-and-goal 5-yard touchdown catch from Ventarola for a 21-14 lead with 1:09 left in the second quarter. Arline returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards, and Jake Ekert’s extra-point kick knotted the game for the third time, 21-all.
Schwarz’s first interception at Mt. Sinai’s 27 set up Arline’s third touchdown, a 4-yard run that broke the tie. He reached up and grabbed another before his twin brother Tyler stole his own pass. In a strong second-half defensive showing for both teams, Ventarola also came down with an interception. Shoreham-Wading River’s unit shut out a Mount Sinai offense that totaled 188 yards in the first half, holding the Mustangs to 42 yards in the second.
But what Schwarz’s quick reaction allowed him to do in the fourth highlighted the evening. On fourth-and-3 from the 21-yard line, a bad snap left the ball bouncing to his feet, which he blocked from getting past him, and scooped up before scooting 9 yards for a first down.
“The wind caught the ball,” he said. “I bobbled it, and took off.”
The sophomore said his team looked to the early loss at home against Mt. Sinai as a turning point for his team.
“We weren’t the same team then as we are now,” he said. “Last year we got knocked down in the semifinals, so we vowed this year we’re bringing back the Suffolk County and Long Island titles. I feel we’ve been rolling ever since we lost to Mt. Sinai — each win gave us an added boost of confidence.”
The county title win is the fourth for the Wildcats in the last five years. Shoreham-Wading River will face Cold Spring Harbor in the Long Island championship November 23 at Stony Brook at 4:30 p.m.
“This is what you dream of before you even step onto the football field as a little kid,” Arline said. “This group has been really special — I think we’re the best team in Division IV across the board, and we continue to play like it. The best thing about our team is when we’re up against adversity, we know how to face it.”
