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Overcast MWH Top Sports Stories 2010
Another L.I. crown for malverne
Only school administrators, security personnel and members of the media were permitted to witness the final 1:03 of Malverne’s 79-71 victory over Wyandanch in the Long Island Class B boys’ championship game at Bay Shore High School on March 9 due to a spectator brawl.
The Mules were leading 73-68 when a melee involving Wyandanch fans during a timeout escalated with Warriors senior point guard Jorrell Pinckney joining the fray, which involved members of his family. After a 20-minute delay, 1,000 spectators were cleared from the gym and the game resumed in front of empty stands.
“I was just making sure everyone on our side was OK,” Malverne coach Darrol Lopez said. “That’s all I was worried about. We were fortunate everything happened at the other end of the gym.”
Senior guard Dashawn Moorer poured in 37 points, including 26 in the first half when he matched Wyandanch’s total, to lead the Mules to their fourth consecutive L.I. title. Junior guard Cory Alexander added 15 points for Malverne, which improved to 15-5 but missed out on a trip to Glens Falls when it lost 74-46 to Burke Catholic at Pace University in the state Southeast Regional final.
“Our coaches have been telling us for weeks the next game can be our last,” Moorer said after beating Wyandanch.
Rams drop final to Kennedy
Defending champion Kennedy’s hits were coming from all angles and there was only so much West Hempstead could sustain in the Nassau Class B boys’ volleyball final at Adelphi on May 27.
The second-seeded Cougars, on the heels of a thrilling come-from-behind five-set semifinal win over Jericho two days earlier, rode their ultra-balanced attack to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-27, 25-14 victory over the No. 4 Rams and a repeat title.
West Hempstead, which swept aside top-seeded Floral Park in the semifinals, got 22 assists from senior setter Ben Abelido, 13 kills from senior Danny Minto and five blocks from senior Scott Libby.
“We had a great run but unfortunately we couldn’t take it all the way,” Rams coach Andrew Wilson said. “Bellmore played very well and put constant pressure on us. We split matches during the season, but they were better than us today.”
West Hempstead finishes at .500
Sophomore Tayvon Hall ran for two touchdowns and junior Justin Boatwright added another to lead West Hempstead to a convincing 38-12 win over South Side in the finale for both teams on Oct. 30
Senior Kyle Garrett added 70 yards and a touchdown for an offensive attack that amassed 253 yards on the ground. With the win, the Rams finished with a 4-4 record in Nassau Conference III.
West Hempstead came into the season with a 17-game losing streak. First-year head coach Dominick Carre was pleased the team’s progress, but not satisfied with the .500 record. “We went from being a team that couldn’t get back-to-back first downs a year ago, to a team that could convert on third-and-15,” Carre said. “That said I feel there were games that we let get away. We lost three games by one score. We’re on the right track, but have a lot of work to do to get to the next level.”
Carre is optimistic about the future of football at West Hempstead. “We have a lot of talented players returning next season, but they need to get into the weight room if they want to be successful,” he said. “No teams are going to take us lightly in the future, so we’re going to have to continue to take steps to get better.”
