Malverne rolls into semifinals

An early deficit and a red-hot opponent in last Friday’s Nassau Conference IV football first-round playoff matchup didn’t affect fourth-seeded Malverne as the Mules scored 34 unanswered points to eliminate No. 5 Mineola, 34-7.

The Mustangs were riding a six-game win streak and needed barely over a minute to get on the scoreboard when Jack Ryan connected with receiver Tommy Renner on a 71 yard touchdown pass that stunned the home crowd.

“I always preach not to have letdowns,” Malverne head coach Kito Lockwood said. “The easy score was somewhat of a tool of motivation. They responded well.”

The Mules did so by establishing a strong ground game as the opening half unfolded. After a turnover on downs by Mineola (7-2), Malverne senior captain Norman Brown ran 62 yards for a game-tying touchdown in the late stages of the first quarter.

“Early on in the season he (Norman) had five turnovers and a lot of people doubted him,” Lockwood said. “My slogan was, ‘We’re gonna live with Norm Brown, we’re gonna die with Norm Brown’ because I believed in him.”

While Brown finished with 204 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 20 carries, plenty of credit went directly to Malverne’s offensive line and coach Richard Mirabito for the stellar evening Brown had.

“These guys right here (Joel Onwuamaegbu, Tristan Brunson, Aaron Munoz, Kevin Estime, captain Jedidiah Aidelogie, senior captain Michael Williams, and Alexander Choisi) have everything to do with Norman’s success,” Lockwood said. “Norm don’t do what he do without these guys. They’re well-coached up and Norm Brown takes care of the rest.”

Brown and Sylvian Castin stole the show in the second quarter on offense as Brown added two more rushing touchdowns and Castin caught a 61 yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Farvens Ulysse, who completed all five of his passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

“It was easier to get them off of us,” said Brown, who scored from 1 and 74 yards out in the second quarter. “They were adjusting to the run and it was easier to open up the pass.”

The two senior captains (Brown and Castin) and junior Michael “Munch” McDougall all made their presence known on the defensive side of the ball. Brown and McDougall had many tackles for loss while Castin closed out the first half with an interception.

“It doesn’t matter what time is on the clock, we got to get the job done,” Castin said. “We got to make sure we are making plays on both ends of the field and make sure the energy is up and take care of the guys.”

Castin added another receiving touchdown in the second half to finish the night with 90 receiving yards and two scores.

The Mules (6-3) will head to Hofstra University on Thursday to face unbeaten North Shore, the defending Conference IV champions, in the semifinals at 4 p.m. The top-seeded Vikings defeated Malverne 16-0 on Sept. 17.