By virtue of the being seeded 4th in the Conference IV Nassau County football playoffs, the Manhasset Indians got a home game at Ed Walsh Field this past Friday night, and took advantage of it by defeating the Seaford Vikings 20-8.

The Indians, with a 6-2 record, proceed to the semi-finals at Hofstra's Stuart Stadium on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m., in a re-match with first seeded Cold Spring Harbor.

The quarterfinal game pitted the Indians against a 5th seed Seaford squad noted for its tough defense. However, it was the Indians who showed a much-improved defensive scheme and aggressiveness.

Seaford got the ball first after a very familiar sight - a booming Phil Kalagiros kick into the end zone. The Indians knew that Seaford liked to run the ball, and so a packed defensive line was waiting and was ready. Many times during the game, Seaford tried to run over the guards and tackles. The Indians were definitely up to the task as linemen Tom Morelli, John Kessler and Mike Torpe led by consistently clogging up the middle. Right behind, and making stinging tackles were the linebackers Terrence Molinari and Matt Heske. Safeties Matt Sutherland and Scott Madison had a real good day denying long passes.

When the Indians did get the ball after a three play and punt by Seaford, the march began. A couple of runs off tackle by Molinari and fellow back Danny Mullin yielded a first down. Then there was a nice 12 yard slant pass, from quarterback Tom Dodge to tight end Frankie Coughlin, and the Indians were on the move. Four yards to the left by Molinari over Kessler and Morelli, five yards to the right by Mullin over a nice pulling block by Heske and tackle Chad Fabuss. On a key third and one, it was Madison on a dive over the middle, where center Patrick Judge had cleared out the Seaford linebacker. First down. This set up another six yard slant pass by Dodge, into the end zone to Coughlin and a touchdown. Indians up 7-0.

The Indians controlled the ball all game, and in the first half, Seaford had only three possessions and 14 total plays. On their second series, a third and six Seaford sweep to the left was crushed by a gang tackle of cornerback Tom McDonnell and Scott Madison, just short of a first down, and forced another punt.

The Indians then began a 74 yard drive, which included a mix of Molinari left, Mullin right and a crisp 16 yard pass by Dodge over the middle to a curling Madison. The Indian drive was all but stalled at the Seaford 27 yard line. Then, Dodge dropped back to pass, and seemingly had all day to read the defense and wait patiently for the receivers to clear. When Dodge let fly, a pinpoint pass was lofted to sprinting wide receiver Peter Miller who caught the ball right at the goal line for a touchdown. Indians up at halftime, 13-0.

The Indians received the kickoff in the second half, and again the drive was on. Again it was Molinari and Mullin, Mullin and Molinari. Then Molinari broke loose, and flew down the left sideline for 44 yards before finally being tackled. Mullin then scored a 21 yard touchdown by racing around right end. The downfield blocking and extra-effort by linemen and ends was superb. Indians now in control after a Kalagiros kick, 20-0.

Seaford got the ball back and drove almost eighty yards for their only score, by short yardage running, and in reality, ran the clock out on themselves. The struggling Seaford offense drove for almost nine minutes before they could finally break through with only two minutes left. The Indians had taken care of business and earned a rematch against Cold Spring Harbor on the turf at Hofstra.