The Clarkstown North Rams got off to a running start at home against Lincoln High School on Friday night. Rams quarterback Travis Samuels broke an 81-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage and the Rams were on their way to an impressive 47-0 win in their 2011 home opener.
“Making plays like that and getting the lead early keeps everyone up,” said Samuels. “Everyone wants to do as much as they can to help the team. They see someone break a big run and they want to make a big play too.”
The Rams’ running game was a force to be reckoned with. North piled up 229 rushing yards, 100 from Samuels, and 27 first-quarter points without throwing a single pass.
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“An early lead like that makes play calling a lot easier,” said Rams Head Coach Joe Trongone. “Travis is one of our speedsters. He didn’t play for us last year and it’s good to have him back.”
Clarktown North was firing on all cylinders. Their defense didn’t allow a single point all night and didn’t allow a first down until the final play of the first quarter. The Lincoln offense was held to less than 100 total yards on the day.
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Lincoln High School is a young team that has a minuscule senior class, returning just two from last year, which is unheard of in the world of high school football.
Despite their youth, Lincoln was happy to get the game in and get some experience as they fully plan on being a threat to all teams in their section in the coming years.
“Our team is very young,” said Lincoln Head Coach Carl Jenkins. “A lot of kids out there tonight in 9th, 10th, 11th grade have never played before. Yonkers had a lockout and just reinstated sports. It’s not really fair to the kids but I know they will be a good team in the future. We need this experience.”
No matter the opponent, keeping a shutout is impressive. Putting 47 points on the board in high school football is also impressive.
The Rams called off the dogs late in the second quarter. After watching the starters, the backups were hungry. The Rams had six different players rush for touchdowns including Samuels’ 80-yard run and a pair of 50-yarders, one by Korey Johnson, the other by Billy DeLay.
“Everyone got a little action tonight,” said Trongone. “We still have a lot of things to work on. We made a few mistakes in the first quarter that we need to fix. When we take care of the mental mistakes we made, we will get a lot better.”
After a big win, teams often have a bit of a let down in their next game. But coaches and players alike said that they will be working all week to prepare for their next game.
“White Plains will be tough next week,” said Rams’ Anthony Termine. “We know we are going to be in some close games and we are going to be ready for it.”
The Rams host White Plains next Friday, Sept. 23 and look to improve to 3-0 on the season.
