70 Hours Later, Marines Top Valley Stream Central, 27-21

A  70-hour halftime proved to benefit the Marines.

On Sunday, Long Beach and Valley Stream Central lined up to play the second half of a tied game that was postponed after a thunderstorm rumbled through Firemen's Field in Valley Stream Thursday afternoon. The Marines broke the 21-21 tie in what proved to be the only points scored on Sunday.

"The three day halftime allowed us to prepare to stop their powerful running back Laton Butler," said Long Beach Assistant Coach Bill Whittaker.

On Thursday, Butler was a headache for the Marines, rushing for three touchdowns. The defense made the necessary adjustments and shut down the powerful runner on Sunday afternoon.

"We changed to a five man defensive line," said head coach Scott Martin after his team's 27-21 win. "We really wanted to stuff that line and spread them out."

This game plan worked to perfection, rendering Butler ineffective in the second half of the game by keeping him out of the end zone.

Martin's also made an offensive adjustment. He decided to start Damon Whitfield at running back. Whitfield re-paid Martin by scoring a touchdown at the end of third quarter, giving the Marines their margin of victory.

Quarterback Thomas Rowley added to his performance on Thursday, when he scored the tying touchdown, with a key run for a first down in the fourth quarter. Over the two-day game, Rowley passed for 111 yards and rushed for 50, scoring two touchdowns.  

"He really led our team today," Martin said about Rowley's performance. "We couldn't have done it with out his toughness and his great performance in both halves of the game."

With the lead, Long Beach's Matt Firpo picked off Valley Stream quarterback Ricky Grosso in the end zone, a momentum changer that allowed Long Beach to eat crucial minutes off the clock.

The defense came up strong again as Valley Stream drove downfield with a minute on the clock and linebacker Michael Rourke intercepting Grosso's pass near the endzone with 13 seconds left. The Marines had four picks overall.  

"We look to build off this strong win and maintain high spirits going into this next game," Martin said.

The Marines play their homecoming game against Bellmore-JFK at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24 at Long Beach Middle School. 

                                     1    2    3    4   F

Long Beach              7    14   6     0  27
Valley Stream         14    7    0    0  21