Wednesday, December 11, 2024
The East Rockaway football team celebrated Senior Day the best way possible as two soon-to-be graduates helped the Rocks secure their first winning record in a full season in five years and a high seed in next week’s playoffs.
Anthony Grimaldi and Antonio Buzzetta both scored their second touchdowns of the game in the second half and the defense stood tall the rest of the way as East Rockaway doubled up West Hempstead 28-14 last Friday night to close the regular season at 5-3. It was the Rocks’ third win in four outings after splitting their first four games.
The Rocks, who last won five games in 2019 before posting a 4-1 mark in the Covid-shortened spring season of 2021, will be the No. 4 seed against No. 5 Seaford (4-4), the top Conference IV preseason seed and defending champion, Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. in a rematch of the Oct. 18 meeting won by East Rockaway 28-7.
“I’m very happy with where we are,” Rocks head coach Russ Pajer said. “If you told me I was going to get the four seed, I would have been very happy.”
The team is 0-3 in the playoffs since advancing to the semifinals in 2018.
East Rockaway entered the season with a roster of just 25 players and a preseason ankle injury to Buzzetta that shelved him for more than half the season. Grimaldi was also banged up at times, but the six-foot varsity veteran still willed his way to almost 1,200 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns this season, including two kickoff return scores and a pick-six.
“He’s a really tough, physical, kid,” Pajer said of Grimaldi. “He works hard at it. He wants to be a football player. He wants to be successful. He’s very into what he does.”
West Hempstead had the lone score of the first quarter, but East Rockaway responded early in the second on a 22-yard scoring scamper by Grimaldi and subsequent two-point run by Buzzetta for an 8-7 lead. Buzzetta added the first of his two two-yard touchdown runs late in the first half, but that two-point conversion failed as the Rocks carried a 14-7 advantage into intermission.
The Rams tied it early in the third quarter, but the Rocks got another score from Grimaldi – this one from four yards out – late in the session to give the team the lead it would not relinquish, and Buzzetta capped the scoring in the fourth.
Pajer credited the offensive line of Jethro Jacquet, Terry Hayes, James Lewald, Nick Fioretti and Nick Hickam fullback Conor O’Hagan for East Rockaway’s offense rushing for almost 2,400 yards on the season, with eight different players finding the end zone.
Grimaldi collected 195 of the Rocks’ 390 rushing yards against Seaford a few weeks ago, with two scores. Buzzetta’s three-yard touchdown run highlighted a 16-point third quarter and senior Edwin Abreu-Lopez recovered two onsides kicks.
“Seaford’s a talented team,” Pajer said. “They’ve got Brian Falk. He’s a good running back [and] he’s a good football player on offense and defense. The quarterback can throw the ball nice. They’ve got some big linemen. So, we have to play a good game. Mistake-free football.”
