By: TONY BELLISSIMO
In a span of three minutes in the second quarter, Elmont secured all the momentum it would need to upset Hewlett, 27-6, in Sunday's Nassau Conference II semifinal playoff game at Hofstra Stadium.
Benedicte Rameau recovered a key fumble to stop a Bulldogs drive and Casey Mack raced 51 yards for a touchdown four plays later to break a scoreless tie. The Spartans (6-2-1) never looked back and will face Garden City in the championship game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
"It's a big win for our program," Elmont coach Jay Hegi said. "Hewlett has a tremendous team, but we do too and we played a mistake-free game."
Hewlett played without three-pronged weapon Max Seibald, who suffered a badly sprained ankle in the team's 47-0 playoff victory over Calhoun on Nov. 6. To make matters worse, senior quarterback Jon Baron injured his right knee on the same play Rameau recovered the fumble, and two-way starting tackle Jeff Malina was limited after hurting his left ankle in the first quarter.
"I don't want to make excuses because Elmont was the better team today," Bulldogs coach Jay Iaquinta said. "Injuries were our greatest fear all season and they hit us at the worst possible time. We felt we could overcome just about anything else."
Each team punted twice before Baron led the Bulldogs on a drive early in the second quarter that would take them from their own 16-yard line to the Spartans' 20. He completed three passes for 26 yards to senior tight end Dan Goldberg and added a 26-yard run to put Hewlett (7-1-1) in the red zone. But on a second-and-7, the offense coughed up the ball and Baron was caught at the bottom of a 10-player pile.
"You never think you're going to be without three of your top players at the same time," Iaquinta said.
While Baron was being carted off to the locker room, the Spartans reached deep into their playbook to get on the board. Mack would score on a double-reverse, racing down the right sideline for the biggest play allowed by Hewlett's defense all season. "We've been trying to figure out how to get the ball in Casey's hands more and that's one way," Hegi said.
Trailing 12-0 after Elmont quarterback George Santiago scored on a 1-yard run to open the second half, Baron connected with Dom DeNapoli on a 36-yard scoring toss to make it 12-6. Hewlett had regained momentum, but after Eaton Farrell caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Santiago and Kenny Thompson's two-point conversion late in the third, the writing was on the wall.
"That was the turning point of the game," Iaquinta said. "We were about 30 seconds from getting the wind at our back. They had three or four big plays. Defense is where we felt the absence of Max the most."
Santiago, who threw four interceptions in a 13-6 loss to Hewlett in the season opener, orchestrated the game-clinching drive in the fourth. Dwayne McKenzie scored on a 17-yard run to seal the deal.
"We'll have to play a perfect game to beat Garden City," said Hegi, who hopes junior running back Peter Russell and senior linebacker Anthony Diggs can return from ankle injuries. "Scoring first or staying as close as possible heading into the second half is what we need to do."
Elmont now has a change to avenge its 37-0 shutout against Garden City in week three. The Spartans learned their lesson, having gone 5-0-1 since then. The Trojans come off of a convincing 40-7 win over Lawrence. Kick-off at Hofstra University is set for 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20.
Great season comes to end for VSN
By Jerry Burke
Not much was expected from The Spartans of Valley Stream North as the season began. Ranked 13th in the 14-team Nassau Conference IV and opening up the season with a loss to Locust Valley, they weren't supposed to be there this late.
But they were. Thanks to a remarkable seven wins in a row, VSN made it all the way to the semifinals for the first time in 15 years. "I'm still speechless," said head coach Tom Schiavo. "The season's been a dream."
The dream came to an end Sunday when Cold Spring Harbor scored two late touchdowns to top the Spartans, 19-14.
Senior running back Jason Nappy carried the ball 90 yards in the loss, including a 25-yard dash into the endzone that gave VSN the 14-7 lead in the third quarter. CSH's defense took over from there, forcing the ball on downs deep inside Seahawk territory after Joe Shea's one-yard fourth-and-one sneak failed.
Valley Stream scored first in the opening quarter on a one-yard run from junior John Kenny. Senior Ryan Mastrangelo kept hope alive for the Spartans, blocking CSH's extra point with five minutes left to keep his team ahead 14-13.
The loss may have stung, but here's to an awesome season from a team no one was expecting from
