Week 3 football recaps

HEWLETT 35, LAWRENCE 7
By Tony Bellissimo

Hewlett’s defense got the best of Lawrence’s offense on Saturday and propelled the Bulldogs to a 35-7 Conference III victory over the defending county champions before an estimated crowd of 1,000.

Sam Martorella rushed for a pair of scores and threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gray on a halfback option to lead Hewlett, which upped its record to 3-0. The Bulldogs forced four turnovers—Dylan Sasson had an interception and a fumble recovery—and allowed just a touchdown run to Golden Tornadoes quarterback Samson Bialostock.

“Defensive coordinator John Palladino did a tremendous job preparing the kids for this game,” Hewlett head coach Jay Iaquinta said. “We didn’t allow any big plays.”

Lenny Canales caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Kahn, and Jake Geiger capped the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run.

“You can’t turn the ball over as much as we did and expect to win,” Lawrence coach Joe Martillotti said after his team dropped to 2-1. “They capitalized on our mistakes.”

MEPHAM 29, CALHOUN 3
By Steve Siniski

Mepham turned a blocked punt and interception into two touchdowns as part of a 22-point, first-quarter outburst in a 29-3 road victory over district-rival Calhoun on Saturday.

The Pirates (2-1 in Conference II) were well-rested after an 18-day layoff thanks to a Week 2 forfeit win over Jericho and showed hardly any rust. The Colts (1-2) first offensive series ended when end Joe Aliberti broke through the line and blocked a punt, giving Mepham possession at the 16-yard line.

That play kick-started a Pirates offense that scored three times In just  eight plays and included a 67-yard touchdown on a reverse by Vin Moryc, a 30-yard keeper by quarterback Nick White and a 24-yard burst by Kevin Tauriello.  “We got out to a good start,” Mepham coach Anthony Cracco said. “We got rolling and got some momentum. They’re a good team.  If we didn’t jump [out fast] it would have been a slugfest.”

White directed four scoring drives in all, and finished two of them with touchdown passes. He had a 12-yard strike to Kyle Berlin in the third quarter, and a five-yard scoring pass to Moryc in the first quarter, completing 8 of his 11 throws for 78 yards overall. White also added 79 yards rushing. “He’s a weapon,” Cracco said. “He’s smart  with the ball and can run with it. It’s his third year [as the starter] and he’s a leader on offense.”

CLARKE 13, MALVERNE 9
By Mike Caputo

Everything clicked for Clarke in the second half.

The Rams scored 13 unanswered points and used some defensive heroics to seal a 13-9 comeback victory over Malverne in a Conference IV matchup on Saturday.

At the half, Malverne (0-3) went into the locker room with a 9-0 lead, thanks to a 32-yard field goal by Corey Alexander and a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tyrae Kelly to Quintrel Chambers.

In the second half, Clarke's Brandon Abbot rushed for two touchdowns. He finished with 20 carries for 76 yards.

Malverne started on its own 16-yard line with 2:11 left to play, needing to go 84 yards to get the winning score. On fourth-and-10 from its own 35, with under a minute and a half to go, Alexander converted on a 28-yard pass to Marcus Montgomery. Alexander then ran for 13 yards, and after an incomplete pass, connect with Montgomery again on a seven-yard pass to Clarke's 18-yard line.

With 11 seconds to go, Clarke's Billy Ruland and Nick Dicamillo combined to sack Alexander and force a fumble, which was recovered by Nick Johnson of the Rams (2-1) to seal the deal.

"I have to look at the tape again, it was so exciting at the end," Clarke coach John Boyle said. "The sack was definitely big."

According to Boyle, Clarke has faced Malverne three times since 1987, and all three meetings came down to the last minute. "I was wondering if the tide was going to change," Boyle said. "[Malverne] is a well-coached, good football team."