Rams Conquer Cyclones in Final Home Game

Rams football ended their regular season on a high note this Sunday on their home turf with a 38-12 victory over the Cyclones.

Excited fans packed the stands at West Hempstead High School for the 1:30pm game, which looked like an encore of homecoming, complete with balloons, banners and performances throughout the day from the cheerleaders, kickline and marching band.

Both teams came out playing hard, but were scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the game. With just over two minutes left of play in the first quarter, West Hempstead put up the first points with a field goal kick by Daniel Sheeler. South Side attempted to answer back with a strong drive toward the endzone but fumbled the ball, which the Rams pounced on, taking possession of the ball at the 20-yard line.

West Hempstead started the second quarter leading 3-0, with the ball on the Cyclones 28-yard- line. South Side shut them down, pushing them back to the 33-yard line and forcing a turnover.

The Cyclones fumbled the ball twice on their next drive, but were able to recover both times. However, the Rams defense broke through and sacked the Cyclones quarterback, forcing a turn over on downs.

With the ball on the Cyclones 20-yard line, Kyle Garrett of West Hempstead, who had 70 yards total for the day, ran the ball into the endzone, but a flag on the play called the play back. With 6:37 left in the first half, Justin Boatwright took the hand off and ran 22 yards to score the Rams first touchdown.The  extra-point kick by Sheeler, who was solid and consistent throughout the game, was good.

Still trying to make a dent on the scoreboard, South Side fought back, but the Rams would not let them move past their own 21-yard line. Both teams played solid defense throughout the rest of the second quarter and it appeared that the score would remain 10-0 going into half-time. With less than a minute remaining though, Tayvon Hall completed a strong drive for West Hempstead, running six yards for a touchdown. Sheeler once again nailed the kick and the Rams took a dominant lead of 17-0 before giving the ball to the Cyclones, for their last drive of the first half. A persistent South Side squad made an aggressive drive to the endzone. On their final play of the half, Kyle Polinsky pulled out some fancy footwork, maneuvering around the Rams defensemen and executing a lateral pass to his teammate to keep the play alive. The Cyclones couldn't break through the relentless Rams defense, who kept them scoreless as the first half ended.

A recharged South Side offense started the second half strong, with a 55-yard run by Taaj Cox, who was tackled by Joseph Violano at the Rams 25-yard line. Zach Scaduto gained another five yards for South Side, bringing them into the red zone. Scaduto picked up another 10 yards, setting up first and goal at the five.  On the proceding play Peter Meehan scored, catching a perfect pass from Cyclones quarterback James Howard. Tayvon Hall blocked the extra-point kick, but South Side was on the scoreboard, trailing the Rams, 17-6, with just over nine minutes left of play in the third quarter.

West Hempstead fired back right away, with key plays by Boatwright, Garrett, Michael Petrizzo and John Gomez, who took a hard hit after catching a pass to gain seven yards. Quarterback Bruno DeVito, who ended the game throwing for 95 yards, delivered another laser pass to Sheeler, who was brought down only three yards away from the endzone. Petrizzo ran the ball in for a touchdown, and Sheeler delivered another solid kick to earn the extra point, bringing the score to 24-6, with just under three minutes left in the third quarter.

South Side began moving down the field on the following drive to diminish the Rams' lead, but Tayvon Hall nearly intercepted a pass, on third down that held the Cyclones from scoring again in the third quarter.

The Cyclones picked up where they left off at the start of the fourth quarter, with the ball on the Rams' 12-yard line, facing fourth and four. Howard fired a pass to Scaduto, who was standing in the endzone, to score a touchdown only nine seconds into the final quarter. The Cyclones attempted a two-point conversion, but Rams defenseman David Lopez tackled Scaduto before he could score.

The Rams retaliated with a spectacular run by Petrizzo, who thought he had scored a touchdown, but a penalty was called on the play, bringing the Rams back to the Cylcones 45-yard line. South Side would not let the Rams score this time, forcing a turnover on downs on their own 16-yard line. The Cyclones moved the ball to the 30-yard line, where Howard threw a pass that was intercepted by Petrizzo. West Hempstead put the ball in the hands of sophomore Tayvon Hall, who ran 43 yards for a touchdown. With the extra point from a kick by Sheeler, the Rams bolstered their lead to 31-12.

West Hempstead kicked the ball off to the Cyclones, which was returned by Cox, who fumbled. The Rams recovered the ball at the Cyclones 40 yard line.  A two play drive was capped off by a Kyle Garrett 35-yard touchdown run. The kick was good, bringing the score to 38-12 with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

The Cyclones tried to rally. On fourth down, with only four yards needed for a first with 1:41 left to play, the Rams broke up a pass attempt to regain possession of the ball.  The Rams offense game out onto the field one more time and took a knee to end the game.

"The kids showed a lot of perseverance," said Paul Mastronardi, head coach for South Side. "They're a great group of kid and unfortunately, the ball didn't bounce our way this year."

The win brought the Rams regular season record to 4-4, an impressive finish for a team that went win-less (0-8) for the past two years.

"I'm really proud of all my kids," Rams head coach Dominic Carre said after speaking with his team post-game.

He said his team had an advantage going into Sunday's game. "We were riding high after a big win," he said, referring to the Rams 34-14 victory over Division Avenue High School in Levittown.

"South Side came out tough," Carre said, "but our kids put up 17 points in the first half...and they kept playing hard."

Carre was especially proud of his seniors, who have been with the program since their freshmen year. "We had a rough past," he said, "but they came back from the summer ready to play."