Malverne blanks West Hempstead

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With crosstown rivals battling it out on the gridiron in front of a large and lively crowd, the atmosphere was intoxicating on the grounds of Malverne High School last Friday night. The host Mules were hoping to secure their first victory, while West Hempstead was looking to start its season off with back-to-back wins. 

For a half, neither team could find the end zone and both offensive units looked anemic. However, after the break, the Malverne offense came alive. Quarterback Alex Berry scored three touchdowns and Rashard Teachey rushed for 123 yards to lead Malverne to a 21-0 win over the Rams in a Nassau Conference IV matchup. Berry added 58 yards on the ground.

One its first possession of the second half, Malverne embarked on 12-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with Berry calling his own number and taking it in from four yards out to give the Mules a 6-0 lead. Teachey was stopped short on the two-point attempt.

The drive would surely have stalled if not for the play of Jovani Duran. The junior captain, who did everything but man the concession stand, had a huge block on a fourth-and-three play, and a game-changing reception on fourth-and-12 to keep the chains moving. 

Duran was a beast from his outside linebacker position. On one play, West Hempstead ran a sweep to the left and appeared to have room to run. Duran strung the play out, fought off two blockers, stripped the ball carrier, and recovered the fumble to set up Malverne’s second score. He got his hands on three passes, had two tackles for losses, and even kicked an extra point.

Malverne head coach Kito Lockwood heaped praise on Duran after the game. “I’m just glad he’s on my team,” Lockwood said. “I believe he’s one of the top players on Long Island. He has a combination of speed, skill, and smarts. Jovani is everything a coach could ask for. If people don’t know about Jovani Duran now, they will before the season is over. He’s the whole package.”

Lockwood challenged Teachey during the week leading up to the game, and the fleet-flooted sophomore running back responded by taking his game to another level. Teachey had five carries for ten or more yards, and even threw a touchdown pass to Berry with 7:50 to play in the game. West Hempstead received solid defensive efforts from Anthony Salimbene and Frank Messina.

Rams head coach Dom Carre believes his team still needs to find itself. “We need to fine-tune some things,” Carre said. “We had our chances, but didn’t execute. Give them credit for making some big plays. Our defensive line played well, and in the first half we took away what they like to do. But they just kept chipping and chipping. We’ll get better.” 

West Hempstead travels to Locust Valley, while Malverne visits Mineola this Saturday afternoon. Kickoff time for each game is 2 p.m.