Balanced Carey tops MacArthur

Carey’s unleashed its wide array of weapons in each of the first two Nassau Conference II football games and the results have been impressive.

The Seahawks, the preseason No. 2 seed behind seven-time defending county champion Garden City, scored five touchdowns for the second time in as many weeks Saturday to cruise past visiting MacArthur, 34-7. They also had four different players reach the end zone for a second straight week, led by senior TJ Wakely’s pair of touchdown runs.

“We have a lot of guys who can make things happen offensively and we’re trying to avoid being one-dimensional,” Carey head coach Mike Stanley said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but so far I think we’ve shown what we’re capable of.”

Also for the second time in as many games, senior tailback William Tolliver opened the scoring. He set the tone Sept. 2 in a season-opening 35-14 victory over Elmont with a 2-yard touchdown run and put MacArthur in an early hole with an explosive 45-yard score down the right sideline.

The Generals, coming off a tough one-point defeat to Manhasset, answered Wakely’s first touchdown on a picture-perfect 22-yard connection between senior quarterback Alex Varga and senior receiver Frank Hespe to get within 14-7 early in the second quarter but were unable to generate enough offense to keep pace with the Seahawks.

“They’re a very good team and we haven’t played well the first two weeks,” MacArthur head coach Bob Fehrenbach said. “We let one get away at Manhasset and there were some key plays they made today that we didn’t.

“We’ve been on the road and we’re looking forward to our home opener and cleaning up the mistakes,” he added.

Carey increased its lead to 21-7 on Wakely’s 4-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-goal with 2:23 remaining in the second quarter. Then, with just over a minute left in the opening half and the Seahawks facing a 3rd-and-16 from midfield, senior quarterback Christian Boswell dumped a screen pass to senior tailback Ben Rose, who had plenty of blockers and nothing else but daylight and the hosts took a 28-7 lead into halftime.

“We’ve had that play in our bag since the summer and it was just a matter of time before we called it,” Rose said. “We just have to keep playing hard and physical.”

Junior Michael Verdarosa capped the win with a 31-yard touchdown run off a jet sweep in the third quarter. He recovered a blocked punt for a score against Elmont.

Boswell went 6-for-6 passing for 97 yards. “He had a good offseason and he did a nice job today,” Stanley said of Boswell, who has alternated series’ with junior Chris Obertis and both had touchdown passes in the opener.

Senior Jerome Ferguson Jr. and senior Sal DiMarco led Carey’s defense with two sacks and eight tackles, respectively. Junior Matt Smith had a sack and fumble recovery. For MacArthur, junior Chase Palma had an interception, junior Jesse Seder rushed for 55 yards, and junior Kieran Dinkelman had 43 yards receiving.

All Week 3 games will be held Thursday, Sept. 14. The Seahawks travel to New Hyde Park; the Generals host Roslyn/Friends Academy.