By ANDREW McCLURE
Apparently, it can’t slow down the freight train known as the Elmont rushing attack either.
Senior tailback Justin Mayers carried the ball 22 times for 206 yards and three touchdowns to lead fourth-seeded Elmont to a 53-21 rout of top-seeded Carey in a Nassau Conference II semifinal game played at a rainy Shuart Stadium at Hofstra last Saturday. The Spartans, who amassed 491 total yards of offense, will meet Hewlett for the conference championship on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Hofstra. Elmont last won a title in 1986.
Carey was led by junior Greg D’Arienzo, who ran for 94 yards and scored three times.
Elmont head coach Jay Hegi wasn’t surprised by the offensive explosion. “We have so many weapons,” Hegi said. “Our tailback is elusive, our fullback is bruising, and the quarterback can get it done on the ground and through the air. When we’re clicking like this, we’re very tough to stop.”
The problem for Elmont, which improved to 8-2, was that Carey’s offense was clicking, too. After Mayers scored a pair of touchdowns to give the Spartans a 14-0 lead, the Seahawks came to life. D’Arienzo followed a terrific block by Joe Gregorio and ran the ball in from 35 yards out to get Carey on the scoreboard.
After junior quarterback Diashawn Miller scored to give the Spartans a 20-7 lead, the Seahawks owned the rest of the first half. With the wind at his back, Carey senior quarterback Luke Zahradka hooked up with D’Arienzo on a 56-yard touchdown pass to get the Seahawks within six. Moments later, after Carey’s defense forced Elmont to punt, Miller bobbled the snap and then had his punt attempt blocked to set up a one-yard touchdown run by D’Arienzo. Chris Siegenthaler’s third extra point gave Carey a 21-20 lead at the half.
The second half, however, was all Elmont. Facing a third-and-four situation at Carey’s 32-yard line, Miller faked a handoff and took off on a naked bootleg around left end. He didn’t stop until he reached the end zone to put the Spartans up 26-21.
After a costly turnover by the Seahawks, Elmont’s offense put the game away. A front line composed of Clifford Muscadi, Jimmy Brown, Shane Chang Fatt, Malcolm Frazier, Kevin Michel and Nikata Josephs blasted open holes as the Spartans ran for nearly 400 yards.
Midway through the third quarter, senior fullback Brian Cole scampered for 54 yards to set up the third score of the day for Mayers. Cole finished with 97 yards rushing. Senior Adelbert Clerge’s 27-yard fumble return for a touchdown put the icing on the cake for the Spartans, who scored 33 unanswered points in the second half. Senior James Myers had four receptions for 46 yards.
Carey head coach Mike Stanley gave Elmont plenty of credit. “Our four turnovers were a factor, but we just couldn’t stop their offense,” Stanley said. “We made a lot of adjustments on defense during the game, but we couldn’t slow them down. When that happens, you know you were beat by a stronger team.”
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