East Rockaway improves to .500

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To say East Rockaway had its way against Friends Academy would be understating its dominant performance. The visiting Rocks scored all of their points in the first half en route to a 42-26 win in a Nassau Conference IV football matchup last Saturday.

East Rockaway (3-3) averaged nearly 10 yards per carry and amassed 434 yards on the ground. Junior wingback Danny Fusco ran for 95 yards on 10 carries and scored three touchdowns for the Rocks. Nine different players ran the ball for East Rockaway. The Quakers fell to 1-5. 

East Rockaway head coach Russ Pajer was pleased with his team’s workmanlike performance. “The line dominated upfront, and they couldn’t stop us,” Pajer said. “We were able to run the ball at will. The blocking was very good, and the backs ran hard. Except for a few big plays, we did a real nice job on defense as well. It was a nice group effort.”

The game actually started as a back and forth affair, with the teams trading scores. Senior Dom DeRosa (12 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns) opened the scoring when he bulled his way in from a yard out. 

After Friends tied the score at 6-6, junior quarterback Mike DelGais and Fusco hooked up from 39 yards out. DelGais again found Fusco for the two-point conversion and a 14-6 lead.

The Quakers answered immediately, as Cyrus Holder took the ensuing kickoff and went 75 yards for the score. The two-point conversion attempt failed leaving the Rocks with a narrow 14-12 lead.  

The second quarter was all East Rockaway. The offensive line, led by senior Chris Candreva, wore down the Quakers’ defensive front. With Candreva, Mike Russin, Alex Kottke, Justin Wint, and Noah Ingenito dominating upfront, the Rocks put the game away.

After a 10-yard touchdown scamper by Fusco, senior fullback Christopher Amabile, who carried the ball nine times for a game-high 143 yards, ran it in from 32 yards out. DelGais found Fusco for the two-point conversation to give the Rocks a commanding 28-12 lead. 

DeRosa and Fusco each found the end zone again before the end of half as the Rocks took a 42-20 lead at the break. East Rockaway took the foot off the pedal in the second half, and kept the score respectable. Russin and DelGais had solid games on defense for the Rocks.

With two games remaining, East Rockaway will need to win out and get a little help to make the playoffs. Pajer sees the race for conference supremacy as wide open. “The league is pretty balanced,” Pajer said. “It’s been a crazy, unpredictable year. I believe anyone who makes the playoffs has a shot to win it. We’re just going to go out and try to win the next two games. We can only control what we do.”

The Rocks travel to Oyster Bay on Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Baymen.