Stunning victory for Rams

Last September, West Hempstead’s football team was able to snap a 19-game losing streak and went on to finish a respectable 4-4 in head coach Dom Carre’s first year at the helm.

This September, the Rams snapped another streak of epic proportions. Last Saturday’s 28-20 upset victory over four-time defending Nassau Conference IV champion Seaford sent shockwaves throughout the county. It was the first loss for the Vikings against a Nassau opponent in 45 games.

Fourth-quarter touchdown runs by tailback Tayvon Hall (122 yards on 20 carries) and senior quarterback Bruno DeVito provided the difference for West Hempstead (2-0), which trailed by eight at halftime.

Hall’s go-ahead score came with 6:13 remaining and was set up by senior Danny Sheeler’s interception of a Chris Trotta pass. 

“Our kids deserve a lot of credit,” Carre said. “Our whole mindset coming in was geared towards their running game and our front nine on defense did an awesome job. They caught us on a few passing plays, but we didn’t let them run it.”

Nick Fischetti had a pair of first-half touchdowns for Seaford. West Hempstead senior Justin Boatwright answered the first, romping 52 yards for a score to make it 6-6, and DeVito answered the second with a 1-yard plunge in the third quarter. Hall’s two-point conversion run made it 14-14.

One of the keys, Carre said, was the Rams’ defense holding after the Vikings recovered an on-side kick to start the second half. The unit was led up front by Steffan Viera, James Gomez, Daniel Njoku and Christian Jean-Louis, linebackers Boatwright, Michael Petrizzo and Dean McCabe, and Sheeler in the secondary.

“The guys up front were strong and the linebackers and Danny [Sheeler] were filling in holes like crazy,” Carre said. “It was a total team effort.”

The Rams, who opened with a convincing win at Oyster Bay, play their home opener this Saturday against Cold Spring Harbor at 1:30 p.m.

“Now that we went on the road and beat the best, we don’t want to have a letdown,” Carre said. “We knew we had a pretty decent team. Beating Seaford probably raises the expectations, but we have plenty of big games ahead.”