Eagles suffer heartbreaking loss

Mathematically still alive to reach the Nassau County football playoffs for the first time since 1993, Valley Stream Central’s chances were dealt a serious blow last Friday night when it suffered a heartbreaking 24-21 Conference II loss at Westbury.

The Green Dragons stunned the Eagles late in the fourth quarter with a two-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by Brandon Wilson’s 4-yard scoring run with 2:02 remaining. Chanse Watson set up the winning score with a 76-yard catch on the previous snap.

“They’ve got a home-run type of offense and they broke off some big plays,” VSC coach Frank Chimienti said. “As far as we’ve come as a program, we had problems all year tackling on the perimeter. It’s a devastating loss. The kids battled hard and to say I’m proud of these guys is an understatement.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in Central’s post-game gathering. With a forfeit win coming this Saturday against Jericho, which failed to field a varsity squad in 2010, the Eagles will finish the regular season with a record of 4-4. “The emotion shows how everyone wanted to win in the worst way,” Chimienti said. “Everyone knows what it meant in the standings.”

The result vaulted Westbury (4-3) into the eighth and final playoff spot in Conference II with 95.91 power rating points. Calhoun (3-4, 97.7 points) also jumped in the standings, from 10th to seventh, by virtue of its win over New Hyde Park, and Central dropped to ninth with 92.86 points. “We’ll need some help to get in,” Chimienti said. “We’re going to practice all week and see what happens in the other games next Saturday. I would love to see our team, especially the seniors, get another shot.”

Sophomore running back Laton Butler accounted for all but one of Central’s points against Westbury. He rushed for 153 yards, surpassing 1,000 on the year in the process, and three touchdowns. The last of his touchdowns came with 2:30 left and he followed with a two-point conversion run to give the Eagles a 21-18 lead.