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Mostly Cloudy Mules enter playoffs on sour note
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Malverne junior Corey Alexander is wrapped up by Locust Valley's Sam Casella during last Saturday's Conference IV game.
Kathy Leistner/Herald
One week after its most significant victory of the football season, Malverne picked a bad time to play its poorest game of the year. The Mules, who were looking to improve their Nassau Conference IV playoff seed, played 48 minutes of uninspired football in a 26-0 loss at the hands of visiting Locust Valley last Saturday.
The loss dropped Malverne to the eighth and final playoff slot. The Mules (3-5) will be on the road to take on top-ranked, defending county champion Seaford on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Vikings, who beat Malverne 35-0 during the regular season, have won 29 consecutive games in conference play.
Coach Kito Lockwood hopes the Mules will be up for the challenge. “It’s all about matching up with the opponent,” Lockwood said. “We have to try to match Seaford’s intensity and physicality. The boys have to bring a little bit more if they want to compete with Seaford.”
The first half of the Locust Valley game was a back-and-forth battle with neither team dominating. Early in the second quarter, the Falcons, who needed a win to lock up the third seed, finally broke through when Marc Mauro raced in from 33 yards out. Mauro, who ran for 107 yards on 13 carries and scored twice, broke the 1,000-yard mark for the season. The teams headed for the locker room with the Falcons holding a 7-0 lead.
Both teams had plenty of fire when they returned to the field for the second half, but Malverne’s energy was short-lived. Locust Valley’s offense, which gained 262 yards on the ground, wore the Mules down, physically and mentally. Midway through the third quarter, Mauro found the end zone again, this time from 41 yards out.
It went from worse to disastrous as the teams opened the final quarter. The Mules lined up to punt from their own end zone at the south end of the field, but the snap couldn’t be handled. Locust Valley’s Alexander Minicozzi fell on the ball for the touchdown to give the Falcons a commanding 20-0 lead. Locust Valley tacked on another score late in the final quarter.
Just a week earlier, the Mules put forth a solid effort while beating Island Trees and highly touted running back Anthony Wrightington, 20-6. With their playoff hopes on the line, the Mules ran for 177 yards and put up their finest defensive showing of the season. Max Fequiere, Quintril Chambers and Drake Taylor led the defense, which held the Bulldogs scoreless in the second half. Senior quarterback Brandon Michaels was 5-for-7 for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Lockwood would like to see his team take advantage of the playoff opportunity. “Seaford is obviously great, but going into the playoffs, every team is 0-0,” Lockwood said. “We have a lot of talent, some real smart boys, but we need to play with more toughness. Hopefully, we’ll come ready to play on Saturday.”
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