East Rockaway too much for Clarke

East Rockaway rebounded from its first loss of the season with a convincing 40-27 victory over Clarke on Homecoming Day at Clarke High School last Saturday. Senior Michael Castellano rushed for a career-high 241 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns to lead the Rocks. 

With the win, East Rockaway improved to 3-1 in Conference IV, while the loss dropped Clarke to 2-2. Anthony Tesoriero scored twice for East Rockaway, which got outstanding defensive efforts from juniors Michael Lores and Nick Ulip, and senior Jamie Parzych.

Things looked dicey for the Rocks when starting quarterback Andrew Bashford went down with an ankle injury during their first drive of the game. But junior Sean Bohan came on and proved to be more than capable by rushing for two scores and throwing for another in his varsity debut. 

While Castellano could have boasted about the incredible day he had, he was more interested in talking about the job done by the backup quarterback. “When Andrew went off with the injury, we didn’t get down at all,” Castellano said. “Sean always practices hard and prepares to play, so we knew he would be ready to lead us. I’m just proud of the job he did.”  

Still smarting from a loss to top-seeded Seaford a week earlier, the Rocks came out like a well-oiled machine. The orange-and-black went 65 yards in eight plays with Bohan sneaking it in from a yard out. Bashford limped on the field and split the uprights on the extra point to give East Rockaway a 7-0 lead.

The hard-hitting Rocks’ defense, led by Lores, Ulip, Parzych, and senior Tom Gagliardi, quickly showed that it came to play. The Clarke offense ran just three plays in the opening quarter.

After a crushing hit by Lores on a key third down play forced the Rams to punt, Castellano went to work. Rather than allow the Rams to down the punt, Castellano picked up the rolling ball and sprinted 44 yards down the left sideline and into the end zone. Bashford’s kick made it 14-0.

On Clarke’s next drive, Brian DeMott picked off a pass and returned it to the Clarke 38-yard line.  Two plays later, Bohan found Tesoriero open in the flats, and the junior fullback took it to the house from 38 yards out. 

The Rams got on the board late in the opening half when Mike Martiello hooked up with Justin Ragusa on a 34-yard touchdown strike. The point-after cut the East Rockaway lead to 20-7.

Clarke never got closer, as the East Rockaway offensive line, led by seniors Doug Draude, Jack Capetola and Gagliardi, opened up holes all afternoon. The Rocks amassed 373 yards on the ground. Castellano, Tesoriero and Bohan all scored second-half touchdowns for the Rocks. Junior Chris Puchalski had an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for Clarke.

The Rocks travel to Roosevelt this Saturday to take on the first-place Rough Riders at 3 p.m.

Clarke head coach John Boyle said he saw some good things despite the loss. “We’re starting to click a little better on offense,” Boyle said. “We’re still getting secured in the backfield, so it’s still a work in progress. We’re getting better.”

The Rams travel to Cold Spring Harbor on Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.