By STEVE SINISKI
For the third time in just 12 months, the Vikings came out on top with a 21-7 victory. They advanced to defend their title in the final this Saturday against No. 2 Roosevelt.
The fifth-seeded Mules, who finished 6-4, appeared to weather an early storm that included a fumble on their first play from scrimmage and a Seaford onside kick recovery after the turnover was converted into a touchdown. In fact, junior quarterback Brandon Michaels completed all four of his pass attempts on an 11-play, 73-yard drive in the second quarter that ended with his game-tying 1-yard sneak over center.
Seaford, however, answered with consecutive touchdowns on the last possession of the half and opening drive of the third quarter. Particularly damaging was a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior Chris Rigoli to junior Mike Gallo with just two seconds left before intermission.
“Every touchdown is monumental,” Seaford coach Rob Perpall said after his team improved to 10-0. “Especially in this game. “This is the fifth time we’ve played them [over the last several seasons] and it’s hard to beat the same team.
“They have a never quit attitude and they just kept plugging along. They make timely plays and play together as a team.”
Just moments earlier, the Mules appeared to stop Vikings senior Nick Barbuto on a fourth-and-1 at the Vikings 32, when senior linebacker Matthew Bates and junior lineman Uwagbae Eweka combined on the tackle at the line of scrimmage. The measurement showed Barbuto made the first down by a nose—of the football—setting the stage for a two-minute drill. Rigoli completed all four of his pass attempts for 59 of the final 64 yards.
“We gave up too many yards on first down and didn’t defend the pass as well as we though we would,” Malverne defensive coordinator Kito Lockwood said.
After taking the kickoff to open the third quarter, Rigoli capped a 14-play 77-yard drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock with a 3-yard run on a keeper.
After getting worn down by Barbuto in the regular season meeting, a 24-8 loss at Seaford, the Mules were able to limit any damage he did. Barbuto ran for 175 yards on 39 carries on Oct. 11, but Malverne, led by Bates (14 tackles) and junior linebacker Jackson Hayes (nine), held Barbuto to just 77 yards on 28 carries last Sunday.
“All season long the focus was on controlling the line of scrimmage,” Lockwood said.
Bates made big plays on both sides of the field, grabbing three of Michaels’ passes for 59 yards, including an 18-yard reception on the Mules scoring drive. Senior Garlinsky John added a 9-yard run on fourth down three plays later to keep the drive alive, and junior Brandon Hightower reeled in a 15-yard catch on a perfectly executed play-action fake to set up Michaels’ plunge from the Seaford 1.
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