50.0°,
Mostly Cloudy County champions!
Lawrence rolls over Lynbrook, 41-7
There was no 21-point comeback this time.
There was no drama.
Lawrence scored three first-quarter touchdowns and never up, knocking off top-seeded Lynbrook, 41-7, in the Nassau Conference III championship game last Saturday night before a crowd of 2,500 at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium.
The third-seeded Golden Tornadoes, who lost 49-35 to the Owls on Sept. 17 after racing ahead by 21 points early in the second quarter, were led by senior Kenny Barnett’s 162 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Barnett’s scoring runs came from 2, 47, 2 and 50 yards, and quarterback John Kinder added a touchdown run and a touchdown pass as Lawrence (9-2) won its third county championship in the last four years.
“So many of us have played together since we’re eight years old, and to win a county championship is the best feeling in the world,” said senior linebacker Joel Santisteban, who halted a Lynbrook drive in the third quarter when he stripped the ball from Travis Lock and recovered it at Lawrence’s 25-yard line. “We’ve played the last three games like there’s no tomorrow.”
It’s the sixth Nassau title for Coach Lou Andre, who will guide the Golden Tornadoes against Half Hollow Hills West (11-0) in the Long Island Class III title game on Saturday at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium at noon. The Colts beat Hauppauge, 29-0, in the Suffolk Division III final.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” Andre said. “In the last two weeks we defeated the two teams that beat us during the regular season. That’s not an easy thing to do.”
Just like it did in its 56-28 semifinal victory over No. 2 Plainedge a week earlier, Lawrence exploded out of the gate and built a three-touchdown lead in the opening quarter. The revamped defense set the tone on Lynbrook’s first offensive series when Jake Frank recovered a fumble forced by a blitzing Shawn Tarrant at the Owls’ 30. Kinder scored on a 4-yard run three plays later, and Marcos Pinto’s extra point made it 7-0.
“It’s not only the defensive adjustments we made,” Lawrence defensive coordinator Joe Martilotti said. “We’ve played with more passion in the past month.”
