Rocks crumble in semifinal loss

East Rockaway hung tough, but in the end Roosevelt was just too much.

Senior Donte Colter ran for 262 yards and scored four touchdowns as No. 2 Roosevelt advanced to the Nassau Conference IV championship game with a 48-14 win over No. 3 East Rockaway at Hofstra last Saturday. Rocks senior quarterback Andrew Bashford was 11 for 25 for 226 yards through the air in the loss.

“We had a great season,” East Rockaway coach Russ Pajer said. “The coaching staff is very proud of the boys. This matches the best record we’ve had since 2000. It would have been nice to play a couple more weeks, but the boys should hold their heads high. We had the community excited about East Rockaway football again.”

Roosevelt’s high-powered offensive attack got on the board first when Colter ran it in from 18 yards out. The conversion failed. Back came the Rocks. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Bashford found Sean Bohan streaking down the right sideline for a 44-yard gain to the Roosevelt 18-yard line. Three plays later, senior Mike Castellano plowed his way through the pile and scored from seven yards. Bashford hooked up with Bohan on the two-point conversion to give the Rocks an 8-6 lead.

The lead lasted for just 15 seconds. Bashford’s kick was muffed by the Rough Riders, but Taquan James picked the ball up from the turf and raced 70 yards for the score to give Roosevelt a 12-8 lead.

The Rocks then embarked on an incredible drive, but came up empty. East Rockaway held the ball for 21 plays and took 11:46 off the clock but was stopped at Roosevelt’s 13-yard line. The teams went to the locker rooms with the Rough Riders ahead by four.

Roosevelt found the end zone early in the third quarter when Colter scored his second touchdown, this time from five yards out. Trailing 20-8, the Rocks marched deep into Roosevelt territory and had first-and-goal from the three, but could not pound it in.

The Rough Riders, who improved to 9-1, put the game away a few plays later when Colter got loose and didn’t stop until he had gone 75 yards for the score. Bashford scored from a yard out for the Rocks final score of the day. Roosevelt, which is coached by East Rockaway resident Joe Vito, will take on defending champion Seaford (10-0) in the title game Saturday at 4 p.m. at Hofstra.

Despite the loss, Bohan had an outstanding game, and put himself in the annals by catching nine passes for 192 yards. The junior receiver set a Nassau County record for receiving yards in a playoff game. 

East Rockaway (7-3) picked up some postseason honors as Bashford, Castellano, and lineman Doug Draude all earned All-County recognition. Senior tight end/defensive end Tom Gagliardi and junior fullback/linebacker Anthony Tesoriero were All-Conference recipients.