Late fourth-quarter heroics capped a special night for Hewlett’s football program as it celebrated its 100th season.
The Bulldogs once led Sewanhaka by 14, but trailed by as many as six and were down by four with two minutes remaining after being gifted a safety in the Nassau Conference II matchup.
“We have a tremendous backfield with Dylan [Parchment] and Sal [Castro] and I just want to do my part when my number is called,” Aaron Pahl said.
And that he did.
Pahl caught a fourth-and-6 pass from quarterback Preston Cusumano to keep the Bulldogs alive, then set up Parchment’s game-winning 2-yard touchdown run with 1:08 remaining with an acrobatic 34-yard reception as Hewlett stunned the Ravens, 20-14.
“I knew Preston was going to put the ball where it needed to be,” Pahl said. “I had a good beat on it. I knew there were a couple of defenders right there, but I wasn’t thinking about them. I was just thinking about how to come down with the ball.”
Sewanhaka drove from its own 45 to the Hewlett 16 in the final minute looking to put a damper on the celebration, but ultimately dropped its fourth straight after winning the opener.
The Bulldogs improved to 3-2.
“Our motto this year is `Don’t flinch,’ and tonight was a perfect example,” Hewlett head coach John Palladino said. “Not only week to week, but play to play we don’t want to get too high or too low. Tonight was a roller coaster and the kids did a great job of sticking with it.”
The Ravens scored three straight touchdowns in the second quarter, including a pair in 10 seconds, to turn a 14-point deficit into a 20-14 halftime lead they’d still hold with 2:10 left. Junior tailback Amari James starred for the visitors with all three scores as part of a 147-yard rushing performance.
“It’s a really tough loss because of how hard the kids battled,” Sewanhaka head coach George Kasimatis said. “Hewlett beat us on some big plays. The same thing happened to us here last year. We can’t dwell on it because we have a big one against Elmont next.”
The Bulldogs struck first after senior Justin Poveda’s fumble recovery at the Sewanhaka 12 led to Castro’s 1-yard touchdown run two plays later. It was 6-0 with 5:21 left in the opening quarter.
The offense was back in business again after senior Brody Apter recovered the ensuing wobbly kickoff. Cusumano completed a pair of fourth-down passes on a drive that culminated 46 seconds into the second quarter with his 7-yard touchdown toss to Apter. Castro’s 2-point conversion run made it 14-0.
Then James, junior quarterback Peyton Saravia-Sims and a spirited defense sparked by Lance Williams Jr., Justin Moreau, Matthew Roper and Anthony Gutierrez brought the Ravens back.
James scored on back-to-back snaps, the latter from 37 yards was set up by a Gleed-Arly Josma fumble recovery off a squib kick. It was suddenly tied at 14. James’ 2-yard touchdown run with 49 seconds to go in the half gave the visitors their first lead at 20-14.
The score held until the waning moments. Pinned inside their own 5 with 2:10 left, the Ravens elected to take a safety and Hewlett began its final possession at its own 46 following the free kick.
“Unbelieve atmosphere tonight with the 100th celebration and we’re going to enjoy this one before turning our attention towards Mineola,” Palladino said.
