Seaford powers past Clarke

Six days after falling at Clarke in the Conference IV regular-season finale, Seaford got another crack at the Rams in a first-round playoff matchup last Friday afternoon and made good on its return trip.

With 219 yards and three touchdowns, the fifth-seeded Vikings put on a textbook rushing performance and rolled to a 33-6 victory. Bizzarro added a two-point conversion run and snagged an interception that led to a touchdown in the final minute of the first half.

“Enthusiasm had as much to do with this win as anything,” Seaford head coach Rob Perpall said. “Clarke deserved to win last week’s game. They played well and brought more intensity than we did.

“We went back to practice Monday and decided we were going to let it all go,” he added. “We practiced all week with enthusiasm and played like heck today.”

No. 4 Clarke, which won the Nov. 1 game, 28-14, behind junior Aaron Dawson’s 197 yards rushing and three touchdowns, was limited to three possessions in each half of the rematch and committed a pair of turnovers.

“They controlled the offensive and defensive lines,” Rams head coach John Boyle said. “We didn’t have too many possessions, and if you don’t get anything going right away, it could be trouble.

“This is the third time in the last six years we played a team in the first round of the playoffs after closing the regular season against them,” he added. “It’s tough to beat someone two weeks in a row. If you win the first one, you don’t want to make any changes. If you lose, you’ve got to change some things.”

The Vikings (6-3) changed which team scored first, driving 68 yards on four plays to take an 8-0 lead. Blocks from linemen Thom Flynn and Kevin Digney sprung Bizzarro for a 40-yard touchdown. Bizzarro tacked on the two-point conversion run behind center Jack Lasher.

The Rams (5-4) answered quickly after a heady play by junior Dillon Abbatiello, who grabbed the ensuing on-side kick around midfield and returned it to Seaford’s 11. After negative results on two handoffs to start the series, Clarke senior quarterback John Zaino connected with senior John Dell’Olio on a 16-yard touchdown pass to make it 8-6.

The visitors came right back, marching 73 yards on 11 plays and took a 14-6 lead on Bizzarro’s 10-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. Bizzarro then came up big defensively late in the second with an interception at the Clarke 46. Five plays later, sophomore quarterback Andrew Cain checked off a wheel route and found senior Bobby Buell over the middle for a 29-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left in the half.

In the second half, Seaford had clock-eating scoring drives of 8:38 and 9:34 capped by 1-yard runs by Bizzarro and senior John Schaller, respectively. Next up is a showdown with defending county champion Roosevelt this Saturday at Hofstra at 5 p.m.

“We had a great week of practice,” Bizzarro said, “and came ready to play from the opening kickoff.”