Marines roll in home opener

After failing to score in the opener, Long Beach’s offense produced big plays on the gridiron for the second week in a row as the Marines rolled to a 34-7 Conference II victory over Kennedy last Friday night.

Senior quarterback Tom Rowley threw touchdown passes to juniors John Delahanty and Matt Firpo and also rushed for a score as Long Beach improved to 2-1 by beating the Cougars in its home opener for the second year in a row. Senior Peter Amibile added a pair of rushing touchdowns and made eight tackles on defense.

“We’ve been solid on defense all year,” Marines head coach Scott Martin said. “After we lost at Elmont, we looked at the next two games as must-wins and the kids responded. They were focused and performed really well.”

Not even a steady downpour of rain in the second half could put a damper on Long Beach’s second straight convincing win. It led 28-0 at halftime. Delahanty got things going when he caught a tipped pass for a 31-yard touchdown on the Marines’ second possession of the night. After sophomore Liam Rafferty recovered the ensuing on-side kick, Firpo snagged a 22-yard scoring strike from Rowley. A two-point conversion run by Rowley made it 14-0.

“We’ve probably kicked on-side more than we’ve kicked off normally,” Martin said. “It’s risky, but it’s just part of our philosophy. It was the first one we recovered this year.”

Amibile’s first touchdown, a 67-yard burst, was followed by another successful two-point try, this one by senior Ikiel Williams, and capped a 22-point opening quarter. Rowley’s 36-yard touchdown run provided the halftime cushion.

“It doesn’t always work out the way you draw it up, but we’ve been able to hit on some big plays,” Martin said.

The Cougars (0-3) got on the board in the third quarter when Ralph Faiella caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Chris Racalbuto, but Amabile answered with a 1-yard touchdown plunge and the weather proved too much for either offense to accomplish anything the rest of the way. Senior Lorenzo Torres, junior Jake Brown and freshman Chris Parler each had an interception.