Lawrence falls to Bethpage

Behind a strong push from its offensive line, Bethpage chugged for 288 yards rushing and limited host Lawrence to just eight possessions on the way to an impressive Conference III 37-19 victory over the top-seeded Golden Tornadoes last Friday night.

Quarterback Justin Rohr and running backs Paul Bitetti and Danny Chillianis each had a rushing touchdown in the first half as the Golden Eagles (2-0) built a 23-0 advantage en route to the upset. Rohr added a fourth-quarter touchdown pass, ran in a two-point conversion and completed another to Chillianis.

“Bethpage always has tough kids and they were bigger and stronger than I thought they’d be,” Lawrence head coach Joe Martillotti said. “We blew defensive assignments across the board. We made more mental mistakes than physical mistakes, and they bled the clock and moved the chains.”

The Golden Tornadoes (1-1) scored on the final play of the first half on junior Eddie Robinson’s 15-yard reception to get within 23-7 and were knocking on the door on the opening possession of the second half but couldn’t punch it in from inside the 5-yard line. Bitetti’s 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter capped another time-eating drive and took away any comeback hopes Lawrence had.

“We played goal-line defense the whole second half,” Martillotti said. “They moved the ball, but not like they did in the first half. Still we can’t take anything away from Bethpage. They played a great game.”

Sophomore quarterback Joey Capobianco had more than 200 yards passing, two touchdowns an one interception for the Golden Tornadoes, who travel to face Hewlett (2-0) this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Capobianco’s second scoring toss went for 55 yards to freshman Jordan Fredericks early in the fourth quarter. Senior Ryan Fredericks added a 31-yard touchdown run.

“I wasn’t disappointed with the offense. We had a quick scoring drive at the end of the half to get us back in the game, and we unfortunately had two guys slip heading into the end zone to start the second half,” Martillotti said. “We scored three times in eight possessions, but the way the game went we basically needed to score every time.”

Martillotti said the biggest thing the Golden Tornadoes must fix heading into Hewlett is their responsibilities on defense. The Bulldogs are coming off a 35-14 win at South Side. “Hewlett runs the triple option better than anyone,” he said. “Our defense needs to do a better job. Everyone has to stick to their own assignments and make plays.”