Ground attack leads Seaford over W.H.

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After three weeks of football in summerlike weather, the conditions last Saturday — gray skies, 55 degrees and wind gusts of 25 mph — throughout Nassau County made it feel more like playoff time than the season’s midway mark.

There was also some thunder and lightning in West Hempstead, where top-ranked Seaford’s vaunted ground attack paved the way in a 40-6 victory in a Conference IV matchup. Junior Danny Roell rumbled for 258 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries, while senior Frank Lauretti added 101 yards and score on 18 carries as the Vikings (4-0) racked up more than 400 yards rushing.

“I call them thunder and lightning,” Seaford head coach Rob Perpall said of the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Lauretti and the 5-9, 165-pound Roell. “Power football is our game,” he added. “We did a nice job on a day when the elements and field conditions were tough.”

The Rams (2-2), who totaled 62 points in back-to-back wins over Mineola and Cold Spring Harbor, managed only a third-quarter touchdown run by senior Thomas Cannisi and committed four turnovers. “The key for us is being more consistent,” West Hempstead head coach Dom Carre said. “We’re a work in progress. We’re a good team that has to find a way to get over the hump.”

After each team failed to convert on fourth-and-short on its opening possession, Seaford opened the scoring with a lengthy touchdown drive that featured a dozen rushes, an incomplete pass and one nifty gadget play. On third-and-goal from inside the 10, junior quarterback Andrew Cain pitched the ball to sophomore back Nick Calandra, who took a few short steps right before tossing the ball left to a wide-open Cain for a 6-0 lead with 27 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

“That’s the result of watching a lot of film,” Perpall said. “Everything we did leading up to that play helped set it up.”

A fumble recovery by Calandra on West Hempstead’s ensuing possession put the Vikings back in business at their own 29. A defensive penalty on fourth-and-4 kept them moving, and after Cain crossed midfield with a keeper, Roell went 48 yards for a touchdown on a delayed draw.

“Our linemen and our quarterback are the big reasons why we’re getting so many yards on every play,” said Roell, who goes to work behind Jack Lasher, Peter Couvaris, Nick Kocienda, James Poole and Kevin Dingy.

Roell preserved a 12-0 halftime lead with an interception, and had touchdown runs of 49 and 2 yards, plus a two-point conversion, to make it 26-0 early in the second half. The Rams got on the board with 7:45 left in the third quarter when a long reception by senior Danny Sheeler set up Cannisi’s sixth touchdown of the year.

In the fourth, Seaford’s Kevin Murphy and Nick Couvaris scored from 3 and 37 yards, respectively.

“We’ve played well, but we have to work a little harder because we can’t have any letdowns,” Perpall said.

Seaford travels to Roslyn this Saturday, while West Hempstead visits East Rockaway. Both games start at 2 p.m.

“When you play eight games, every game is a big one,” Carre said.