Malverne can't finish off Clarke
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Malverne's Brandon Hightower heads upfield for some yardage during last Saturday's 6-3 Conference IV loss at home to Clarke, which scored a late touchdown to win it.
Susan Grieco/Herald
High school football coaches will often talk about the importance of playing the full 48 minutes of a game. Taking a couple plays off or making a few mental errors can be the difference between winning and losing.
Malverne learned that lesson the hard way in a 6-3 home loss to Clarke on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore quarterback Mike Martiello and senior John Radice hooked up on a 35-yard touchdown pass with 2:28 left in the game to give Clarke the victory. Martiello was 6-for-11 passing for 131 yards.
Mules head coach Kito Lockwood was puzzled by the latest loss, which dropped the team to 2-4 in Conference IV. “This was one that I thought we had won,” Lockwood said. “We need to execute better and play hard for an entire game. It’s not the first time or the last time that there will be a questionable call that goes against us. We just need to learn how to finish off games.”
The Mules were stopped on the next play and forced to punt. Clarke senior John Chodkowski quickly put the Rams in striking distance with a 21-yard scamper down the left sideline. Martiello then hit Radice over the middle, and the senior went the final 20 yards untouched.
Lockwood isn’t one to make excuses. “While I’ve never seen a holding penalty called on a quarterback sneak, we’re not using it as an excuse for losing the game,” Lockwood said. “Clarke executed better than we did. We had a few too many defensive breakdowns.”
The game was a classic defensive battle with neither team scoring for the first three quarters. Malverne got terrific performances from Terry Banks, Jr., Uwagbae Eweka, Jackson Hayes, Brandon Hightower and Corey Alexander.
The Mules scored their lone points early in the final quarter. Malverne took over at its own 12 and went 69 yards in 13 plays. Alexander highlighted the drive with a 26-yard run on third-and-16. When the drive stalled, the Mules called a timeout to set up for a field goal. Alexander’s high kick narrowly cleared the goal post to give Malverne a 3-0 lead.
The loss put Malverne’s playoff chances in jeopardy. The Mules are one of seven teams in Conference IV with two wins and Lockwood knows it’s time for his team to step up. “If we want to be a playoff team, we have to find a way to put teams away,” Lockwood said. “We’re very capable; we just have to go out and prove it on the field.”
The Mules travel to Island Trees on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. game and close the regular season Oct. 31 at home against Locust Valley.
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