Barnes leads East Rockaway over VSS

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East Rockaway’s Colin Barnes plowed through Valley Stream South’s defense for 220 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in last Saturday’s Nassau Conference IV football matchup, but arguably his biggest play came without the ball.

After the Rocks lost 25 yards on fourth-and-2 from midfield due to a botched snap and put the Falcons’ offense in business just outside the red zone, Barnes forced and recovered a fumble at the East Rockaway 13-yard line with 2:37 remaining to help secure a 34-28 road victory. 

“It’s a huge win,” said Barnes, a junior who had a 41-yard touchdown run, a 4-yard touchdown run, and a 50-yard scoring catch as the Rocks evened their record at 3-3 with two games remaining. “Our linemen did a great job blocking all day,” he added.

It was the third defeat in four home games for South, which slipped to 2-4 with trips to Island Trees and Oyster Bay on tap. Senior Chimemerem Obichere had three touchdown receptions, including a pair of long halfback-option throws by junior running back Matthew Doncell.

“It was just too many mistakes to overcome,” Falcons head coach Joe Gustafeste said. “We made some big plays, but the four fumbles killed us. We spent the whole week practicing stripping and securing the ball. I guess they did the same thing.”

In addition to Barnes’ late fumble recovery, seniors Richard Neckles, Thomas Rogers and James Tierney (117 yards rushing) also had takeaways for the Rocks, who amassed 378 yards rushing on the way to earning a second straight road triumph. “It’s a big win for our playoff chances,” East Rockaway head coach Russ Pajer said. “Barnes and Tierney make us go. We give those guys the ball and force defenses to stop them.”

Rogers, who quarterbacks the offense, handed off to Barnes and Tierney 18 times apiece. One of the two times he kept the ball himself, Rogers bounced off a mound of players on a third-and-1 sneak and raced 72 yards for a touchdown to give the visitors a 34-20 lead with 8:10 remaining. “Everyone thought Tommy was stuffed, except Tommy,” Pajer said. “He didn’t give up on the play and circled the pile.”

South, playing without major contributors Ryan Ortiz and Nick Hernandez, never led in a game that saw both teams find the end zone in all four quarters. The Falcons twice trailed by 14, and each time reached into their bag of tricks to get within a score. The first Doncell-to-Obichere connection came with 2:00 left in the first half, and the second with 4:00 remaining in the fourth quarter.

A 64-yard touchdown run by senior Jason Bowden brought South within 21-20 midway through the third quarter, but the two-point conversion pass failed. The Rocks needed only two plays to take momentum back, scoring on Rogers’ 55-yard screen pass to Barnes.

“We were in control of our own playoff destiny coming into today,” Gustafeste said. “Now I’m not so sure, but we have to find a way to win the last two and see what happens.”