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A Few Clouds Eagles can't handle Marines
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Valley Stream Central's Ryan Rosa tries to pick up yardage as Long Beach's Dylan Dalrymple, right, and Greg Olsen defend.
Frank Koester/Herald
Big plays on special teams and impressive running by junior Damon Whitfield propelled Long Beach to a 34-14 Conference II football victory over Valley Stream Central at Firemen’s Field on Sept. 17.
The Marines hit paydirt on the first play of the game on a 65-yard kickoff return by senior Jay Ford and never looked back en route to evening their record at 1-1. Junior Derrick Patton capped a 28-point opening half with a 45-yard punt return for a score, and the defense forced four turnovers. The Eagles, who fell to 0-2, managed two late touchdown drives.
“We scouted their game against Jericho and saw they were shaky on special teams,” Long Beach coach Scott Martin said. “I told the kids I’d be disappointed if we didn’t break off a big play or two. They went out and made more than two big plays, and that was huge for us.”
Ford’s game-opening return set the tone. He took a short kickoff at his own 35 and raced down the right sideline untouched, picking up a few key blocks along the way to make it 6-0 at the 12-second mark. “It was good to put them in a hole right away,” Martin said. “Even though they lost to Jericho they put up 30 points, so we came here respecting their offensive power.”
Up 8-0 after a bad snap on a Central punt attempt resulted in a safety, Long Beach stepped on the gas in the second quarter and scored three times to build a comfortable halftime lead. Whitfield, who finished with 162 yards on a dozen carries, ripped off a 42-yard touchdown run one play after an interception by junior Sam Pereless, then added a 12-yard scoring dash with 1:58 left in the half to make it 22-0. “Damon did what we need him to do,” Martin said. “He hit the holes hard.” Patton’s punt-return touchdown came just eight seconds before intermission and put the hosts in an insurmountable hole.
“We’re giving away too many points,” Eagles coach Frank Chimienti said. “But Long Beach, like Jericho last week, made plays and they deserve credit. Our kids are working hard and playing hard. I asked them for a strong second-half today and they delivered.”
A fumble recovery by junior Jaishaun Brown in the fourth quarter led to the first of Central’s two touchdowns. Senior quarterback Parish Logan got it on the board with a 27-yard run and connected with senior Chaus Johnson on a 20-yard touchdown pass on the next possession. Long Beach’s Farrell Gordon, a junior, closed out the scoring with a 15-yard run in the final minute.
Next up for the Eagles is Roslyn on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Firemen’s. Long Beach plays its Homecoming game Friday night against Great Neck South at 7 p.m.
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