Seaford tops West Hempstead in OT

When one of Seaford’s leaders went down, his teammates rallied when it mattered most.

With Seaford and West Hempstead tied late in the fourth quarter of last Saturday’s Conference IV football game, senior receiver Tom Spurrell limped off the field after a hard hit and was unable to return.

The Vikings then stepped up in his absence with a 24-16 overtime win thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by running back Patrick Bizzarro and the defense forcing a key turnover when the Rams appeared poised to extend the game.

“We had to win this game for him and we did,” said Bizzarro of Spurrell, who was presented the game ball after recording 12 tackles and a fumble recovery before his injury. “We were playing that game for him.”

Bizzarro helped make sure Seaford (2-1) earned the key win with 156 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He followed up his game-winning overtime touchdown plunge with a two-point conversion to provide the final margin. West Hempstead then had a chance to match Seaford’s score and drove down to the one-yard line before Frank Lauretti forced a fumble that was recovered by Johnny Schaller in the end zone.

“He is one of our captains and one of our leaders who has been with us for three years and everybody loves him,” said Seaford head coach Rob Perpall of his players rallying following Spurrell’s injury. “He has the heart of a lion.”

The dramatics in overtime capped off a back-and-forth battle that saw West Hempstead and Seaford trade first half touchdowns and two-point conversions. West Hempstead quarterback Anthony Beaubrun opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and followed with a conversion that gave the Rams an early 8-0 lead. After Seaford answered with a Bizzarro 14-yard touchdown run, the Rams took the lead right back on a 27-yard dash by running back Jahhari Creightney and a conversion run from Tommy Cannisi.

“It came down to a couple plays that they converted and we didn’t,” West Hempstead head coach Dom Carre said. “We’re young and we have to get better.”

Seaford’s offense was far different compared to last year’s meeting with West Hempstead when the Rams ran all plays out of a full-house backfield and didn’t attempt one pass. In last Saturday’s win, sophomore quarterback Andrew Cain completed 9 of 17 passes for 86 yards including two-point conversions to tight end Bobby Buell that tied the game at 8-8 and 16-16 in the first half. Cain also used his legs to produce Seaford’s second touchdown on a 3-yard run into the end zone.

“He is one of the best quarterbacks we have ever had and he is only a sophomore,” Perpall said of Cain.

“Both teams played their hearts out,” Perpall added. “We just made one more big play than they did.”

Seaford will ride its momentum into this Thursday’s game at Roosevelt in a rematch of last year’s county championship won by the Rough Riders. West Hempstead (1-2) will try and rebound at home against Valley Stream South. Both games start at 4 p.m.