Long Beach turns tide on MacArthur

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Last Friday night, No. 5 Long Beach decided it was time to fully unleash its star running back Tyreek Bromley on the offense, and very quickly reaped the rewards of its decision. Bromley rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns, helping carry the Marines to a 36-14 victory over No. 4 MacArthur in the Nassau I football quarterfinals.

The Generals defeated Long Beach a week earlier, in a game in which Bromley was mostly restricted to his normal linebacker duties. But this time around a healthy Bromley proved to be a dangerous weapon in the offense. That combined with a three-touchdown day from senior quarterback Sam Brown, gave the visiting Marines the edge.

“We saw (Bromley) all over the field, and we knew we had to get him the ball,” Long Beach head coach Scott Martin said. “And Brown was just being Brown. He kept his composure and played well. If we’re gonna go far, we’ll need those two guys.”

The MacArthur offense put together a few lengthy drives early on in the contest. However, the Generals failed to produce points from those possessions, and quickly fell behind on the scoreboard. 

“We just didn’t finish,” MacArthur head coach Bobby Fehrenbach said. “We had a couple of turnovers, and didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.” 

The Marines got going early, as Brown connected with senior wideout Vincent Deale on a 29-yard touchdown pass just 3:29 after kickoff. 

The Generals responded with an impressive drive, which lasted nearly eight minutes. However, it ended with an interception by junior defensive back Deon Ray in Long Beach territory.

Early in the second quarter, Brown struck again, this time finding senior fullback Thomas Rutherig for a 13-yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, Bromley recovered a MacArthur fumble, and then provided an 18-yard touchdown run on his team’s ensuing offensive possession. 

The Generals pulled within 13 points before the end of the half, when junior quarterback Kyle Acquavella threw a four-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Jack Leogrande. 

MacArthur’s momentum did not last long, as Bromley’s speed and athleticism lead the Marines to another score early in the third quarter. Bromley had several key rushes a on a 75-yard Long Beach drive, then capped it off with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. 

“Our line really stepped up for me,” Bromley said. “They made holes, and made it just easy for me to run, read and execute.”

In the fourth quarter, a five-yard touchdown rush on a keeper play by Brown with 4:32 left in regulation, secured the win for the Marines. 

The Generals will now look forward to 2017, hoping this playoff experience proved valuable for their returning players. “We had a lot of younger guys playing this year,” Fehrenbach said. “We really came on late in the season and got ourselves a home game here. But, they were the better team tonight.”

Long Beach’s season gets to continue, and according to Martin, the team’s confidence is high. The Marines face No. 1 Garden City this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Hofstra.

“If we make some big plays in the game, we can compete with anybody,” he said.