East Rockaway advances to finals

The little engine that could just keeps on rolling along.

Luke Fahrenkrug scored three touchdowns to lead No. 6 East Rockaway to a 30-13 victory over top-seeded Locust Valley in a Nassau Conference IV semifinal played Nov. 10 at Shuart Stadium on the campus of Hofstra University.

Senior wingback Nick Ulip ran for 110 yards and a touchdown for the Rocks, who return to the championship game for the first time since 2000 where they’ll meet No. 2 Roosevelt on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Hofstra. Roosevelt advanced with a 27-21 win over No. 5 Valley Stream North.

Senior fullback Anthony Tesoriero added 89 yards on 13 carries for the Rocks. Tom Dolan led the defense with six tackles.

Head coach Russ Pajer summed things up. “You know what, we’re able to win games like this because we’re a team,” Pajer said. “If one player is having a tough game, someone always seems to pick him up. We have so many guys who can make plays, so it’s always a total team effort. I’m just very happy for the guys, and excited about going to the championship game.”

The Falcons, who were looking to avenge their only loss of the season, a 21-0 defeat at the hands of the Rocks in the regular-season finale, drew first blood when senior Alex Rawa, who had five receptions for 99 yards and two touchdowns, pulled in a pass from quarterback Joe Jacobi and went 50 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. 

East Rockaway evened things up with 24 seconds to play in the first half. Quarterback Sean Bohan hit Fahrenkrug with a screen pass in the left flat, and the senior wingback went nine yards untouched to put the Rocks on the board. John Neckles split the upright to tie the score at 7.

The Rocks got a break early on in the second half as senior Justin Jonas recovered a fumble on Locust Valley’s 35-yard line. Moments later, on fourth-and-14 from the Locust Valley 28, Bohan threw a strike to Fahrenkrug in the back of the end zone to put the orange-and-black up 14-7.

Locust Valley answered with another touchdown pass from Jacobi to Rawa, but the point-after attempt failed leaving the Rocks with a narrow 14-13 lead late in the third quarter.