Rams lighting up scoreboard

The way Clarke has put up scores on the lacrosse field, it would be easy to confuse the Rams with the football program.

Clarke (5-3 overall, 1-2 in Conference IV play) has scored at least 11 goals five times (topping out at 21 in a season-opening win over New Hyde Park), and there is one common link between the lacrosse and football teams that could offer an explanation for the explosion. Junior attack Mike Martiello, the lacrosse team’s top scorer with 22 goals and 25 assists, also happens to be the quarterback of the varsity football team. Martiello has formed a potent one-two punch with junior attack Shane Lauria, who like Martiello is among Nassau’s leading scorers with 26 goals and 17 assists.

“We knew based upon the preseason and past seasons that we had guys with real good stick skills,” coach Tim O’Malley said. “They’ve had a real good connection.”

In the last game before a 13-day holiday layoff, Martiello and Lauria each had five goals in a 15-11 win at Island Trees April 15 that snapped a two-game losing skid. At first blush, the break may appear to come at a bad time, given the potency of the offense, but according to O’Malley, it may just be perfectly timed. “We were able to pick up a couple of scrimmages and had a couple of guys with some nagging injuries, so it’s really helped out,” he said.

The offense, as a whole, which has also received consistent production from junior attack Anthony Gomes, senior attack Connor Boalick and senior midfielder Shayne Questel, is far from one-dimensional and able to generate points based on whatever the defense gives it. The transition game is smooth, and Clarke has also proven to be patient. Questel’s size and bulk make him a perfect target in the crease, and he’s racked up four goals on short dumps where he can create space like a rebounder on the basketball court.