By: Karenlyn Barone
"It was really nice to beat Mineola on their home turf," said senior quarterback Nick Gandolfo. "They did it to us last year and it left a bad taste in our mouths."
The 7th-seeded Rocks got off to a fast start. Senior Matt Cooney scored on the very first play of the game, with a 62-yard pass from Junior, quarterback, Mike LaRocca. The extra point failed, but the Rocks led 6 -0.
During the second quarter, Cooney, who truly had his day in the sun, was able to score a field goal from 22-yards and the Rocks went up 9-0, stunning the confident Mustangs. A second touchdown would rock the boards, as senior Ray Nestro recovered a fumble in the end zone and scored -- Rocks, 15 - Mustangs, 0.
"Ray didn't get a lot of field time last year and spent this year training and working his butt off," said senior captain Charlie Fried. "The team named him game captain for the Mineola game and he really came through."
A Rock attempt at a 2-point conversion failed and Mineola struggled to recover. They managed to score a touchdown with a 4-yard run, and make the extra point, leaving the score at halftime 15 - 7.
The third quarter remained scoreless as neither team was able to move the ball into scoring position. The Rocks line held the Mustangs back and junior Tim Lewis was responsible for 15 game tackles, the most in the division that day, and junior Dan Trione had an impressive 14 carries for 40 yards.
Fourth quarter action saw a stellar 90-yard Mineola touchdown pass and a 2-point conversion, tying the score 15-15.
"The game should have been over at that point," said Russell Pajer, varsity football coach. "But Chris Collura [a senior, first-year player] had his second interception and put us right back in the game."
Collura's catch, with 1:20 left in the game, set the ball up on Mineola's 37-yard line. Cooney then caught a 20-yard pass from Gandolfo and put himself in a "do-or-tie" situation.
"We looked at each other and thought about the alumni players up in the stands who felt the pain of losing last year in the last four minutes, when the score was tied 14-14 and Mineola made a 2-point conversion to beat us," said Fried. "There was no way we were going to have that happen again."
Cooney's kick went off with 16 seconds left to play -- SCORE!
How sweet it is -- Rocks, 18 - Mineola, 15.
"It's nice to get a little bit of revenge after last year," said Pajer with a smile. "Winning is great!"
The Rocks next challenge comes this afternoon when they meet 14th seed Malverne at 4p.m.
