Hegarty Scores 3 TDs as Ward Melville Earns First Win of Season

Ward Melville picked up its first win of the football season, as three touchdowns by sophomore fullback Brendon Hegarty helped shore up its 41-18 win against Walt Whitman.

Last week, Hegarty picked up 50 yards against Commack before leaving the football game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.

But though he was still a little sore on Thursday, he said, the fullback picked up 130 yards rushing as the Patriots improved to 1-1 in Division I football.

"He's a little dinged up," head coach Rob Neugebauer said, "but you can't ask much more from a sophomore. He put it all out there today."

Ward Melville stopped Whitman (0-2) on its opening drive, then scored on its own first series of plays, which included a 30-yard catch by Tyler Hegarty, a 14-yard carry from Zach Zanone, and a six-yard touchdown run from Zanone. Frank Lucatourto completed a two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead, which the Patriots would never relinquish.

Brendon Hegarty expanded that lead to 14-0 on a five-yard touchdown run with two minutes left in the first quarter. He scored four mintutes into the second quarter with an eight-yard run, and with the extra point the Patriots had a 21-0 lead.

"We had a lot of momentum and just went with it," he said.

Whitman's P.J. White caught a dramatic 53-yard touchdown pass that made it 21-12 with 7:05 left in the third quarter, but that was the closest the Wildcats got. A few minutes later they staged a fake punt to pick up a crucial down, but a penalty set them back. A botched snap yielded an opportunity for the Patriots to take over with good field position to start the fourth quarter. After runs of four and six yards from Brendon Hegarty to set up a first-and-goal five yards out, Lucatuorto breezed into the end zone virtually undefended to put Ward Melville up 27-12.

"That was the turning point for us," Whitman head coach Robin Rosa said. "We were fighting back into the game after that."

Ryan Kellerman picked off a pass from Whitman's Kenny Phillips on the Wildcats' next drive. Brendon Hegarty's third touchdown of the game came exactly one minute after the Patriots' last one, and a two-point conversion gave them a 35-12 lead with eight minutes left in the game.

Hegarty didn't practice most of the week, only jumping in on Wednesday for the first time since Ward Melville's 41-20 loss to Commack on Sept. 7.

"I was just icing it to get healthy," he said. "I really wanted to be able to play today."

Walt Whitman and Ward Melville entered Thursday's game on fairly even ground: two young football teams, picked to finish at or near the bottom of Division I, who both lost season openers last week.

Xavier Livingston and Darrell Felder scored touchdowns for Whitman. Lucatourto finished with 80 yards rushing and Zanone totaled 75 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving for Ward Melville. Patriots quarterback Pat O'Hea threw for 115 yards on 5-of-9 passing.

"Things finally started to click," said Neugebauer, who got soaked by a jug full of cold water for earning his first win as head coach. "Once you get momentum on your side you have to be able to keep it. You have to be able to finish the game and today we were able to do that."

Ward Melville is next in action on Sept. 24 with a 6 p.m. game at Longwood (0-1). Whitman hosts Commack (1-0) on Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.