Lawrence rolls into title game

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It didn’t take long for Lawrence to seize control of last Saturday’s county semifinal playoff game against Bethpage.

Senior halfback Chris Collier took the first play from scrimmage and dashed 90 yards for a touchdown that sent the top-seeded Golden Tornadoes off and running en route to a 35-13 win. The opening play fireworks sparked a big day for Collier on Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium turf to advance Lawrence (9-1) to the Conference III title game for the first time in three years against defending champion Wantagh.

“I saw a big, open hole thanks to my o-line,” said Collier, who finished with 217 yards on 30 carries. “It was beautiful blocking and I just burst it up and went from there.”

The explosive opening play was not a surprise to head coach Joe Martillotti after he saw the way Bethpage was aligned on defense. “I called a play, they gave us the box we wanted and I walked away,” Martillotti said. “I told my coaches, ‘I don’t even need to watch the play, Chris is going to score.’”

Collier added another long touchdown run of 64 yards late in the second quarter to give Lawrence a 14-0 halftime lead. The strong start was key for Lawrence, which defeated Bethpage 35-31 in the teams’ regular season meeting on Oct. 7 when the Tornadoes were nursing multiple injuries.

“It sets the tone and it rolls over, every time we have a big play, for the whole team,” Collier said. “I knew if we came out strong, the game was ours from the beginning.”

Collier put Lawrence in command early and then teammate Carlos Duran helped seal the Tornadoes’ first county finals trip since 2014. The senior wide receiver hauled in a 51-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Christian Fredericks for a 28-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. Just minutes earlier on defense, Duran returned an interception back 10 yards for a score that made it 21-6 after Bethpage had forced a fumble.

Lawrence out-gained Bethpage 447 to 280 thanks to a stout defensive effort. Keijohn Graham, Christian Rodas, and Suquan Stays recorded five solo tackles apiece with Jordan Amezquita registering four.

“We’re pretty tough on defense,” Martillotti said. “We swarm to the ball.”

Lawrence will play for a county title Saturday afternoon at 12:30 back at Hofstra against third-seeded Wantagh, which defeated Roosevelt 25-20 in the other Nassau II semifinal. The regular season meeting on Oct. 14 saw the Tornadoes storm away with a convincing 43-15 win.

“I’m psyched,” Duran said. “I’ve been on this team for two years now and we lost in the first round the first year and then in the second round last year, so I’m very ready for this game.”