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Mostly Cloudy Rocks comeback bid falls short
East Rockaway hosts Homecoming Game and festivities
Senior running back Brian Gaffney ran for 130 yards on 18 carries and threw a touchdown pass to lead Mineola to a 14-8 victory over the Rocks to put a damper on a festive homecoming weekend at East Rockaway last Saturday. Junior quarterback Vinny Bieniek was 6-for-10 passing for 190 yards and a touchdown as the Mustangs won the Conference IV matchup.
Head coach Russ Pajer knew it was a game the Rocks could’ve won. “It really came down to missing a couple of assignments,” Pajer said. “We made it easy for them in the first half. We got burned on an option pass, and then give up a 70-yard touchdown pass where the receiver wasn’t covered. That was the difference. We can’t make mistakes like that and expect to win.”
Neither team could muster any offense on their first two drives, but late in the opening quarter, Mineola (1-1) got rolling. The Mustangs took over on their own 42-yard line and took just seven plays before finding the end zone.
On second down from the Rocks’ 18-yard line, Gaffney took a handoff from Bienick, faded back to pass and found Bobby Rodgers wide open in the right corner of the south end zone. The senior wideout pulled the ball in for the game’s first score on the opening play of the second quarter. Junior Mike Sullivan added the PAT to make it 7-0.
Mineola found paydirt again with just over four minutes remaining in the half. After a punt gave the Mustangs the ball on their own 30-yard line, Bienick connected with Justin Oommen, who went untouched for a 70-yard touchdown reception. Sullivan’s kick made it 14-0.
It looked as if Mineola would put the game away early in the second half after a long gain gave the Mustangs first and goal. However, on second down, Bienick’s pass was deflected and intercepted by Rocks senior linebacker David McClure.
East Rockaway finally got its offense going in the final quarter. Junior quarterback Joe Sheridan came off the bench and led the Rocks to their first score of the year. Sheridan hooked up with McClure three times, and on fourth-and-six hit junior Kevin Blessington to keep the drive alive. After senior Cameron Ralph ran for eight yards, McClure took a Sheridan screen pass 19 yards for the score. Sheridan hooked up with Blessington for the two-point conversion to cut Mineola’s lead to 14-8 with 2:49 to go.
The Mustangs went three-and-out on their next possession, and gave East Rockaway (0-2) the ball at its own 30. Any thoughts of last-minute heroics came to an end when Gaffney intercepted a pass with 1:10 left. With the Rocks out of timeouts, Mineola ran out the clock.
Senior tackles Ben Giliberti and Kevin Pandolfo had solid games on defense for the Rocks, who will host perennial power Seaford (2-0) this Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
