VSN falls just short in semis

Five days after dethroning four-time defending Nassau Conference IV champion Seaford in a first-round playoff thriller, upset-minded Valley Stream North went toe-to-toe with Roosevelt in last Thursday’s semifinal at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.

But the Spartans just couldn’t get a lasso around senior tailback Erin Parker, who after a key defensive stand by the Rough Riders rushed for 87 of his 324 yards to kill the final 6:37 as No. 2 Roosevelt held on for a 27-21 victory. Jesse Oppenheimer, Anthony Martelli and Bill Patsos found the end zone for fifth-seeded North, which left everything on the field.

“I thought both teams played well enough to win,” Spartans head coach Tom Schiavo said. “A big game like this comes down to a couple of plays. Our kids and coaching staff did a tremendous job and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone. We’re one big family.”

Parker, who handled the ball on 39 of Roosevelt’s 58 offensive snaps and scored all four of its touchdowns, came up big time and again and converted two crucial third downs on the final possession. Filling in for quarterback Robert Sweeney, who left the game with cramps, Parker gained 17 yards on third-and-13 and nine yards on third-and-6 to assure North (8-3) wouldn’t get the ball back.

“Erin was our quarterback for a stretch last year and we want the ball in his hands,” Rough Riders head coach Joe Vito said. “He’s got a lot of room outside the hash marks on this field.”

Roosevelt, which played its home games at Hofstra while its field at the high school undergoes a facelift, beat the Spartans 61-38 in Week 2 and Parker was the linchpin with 326 yards and four touchdowns. North got 204 yards and four scores that day from Evan Henry, who missed the playoffs with a broken leg.

“We played the same defense we did two months ago, but we just worked every single day to get better,” Schiavo said. “Everyone stepped up on offense to pick up a little bit of slack with Evan out. Patsos was big.”