Barthelmy's 214 yards, 2 TDs lead Newfield football
Newfield's Shervon Barthelmy gains yardage on his way to score a touchdown against Comsewogue. (Oct. 1, 2010) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Shervon Barthelmy is all about yards after contact. The junior halfback prides himself on his ability to shake a tackle and break away for big gains. Barthelmy was in full breakaway mode Friday night.
Barthelmy rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries as Newfield defeated Comsewogue, 26-7, before a rain-drenched crowd of 1,100 at Nick DeCillis Field in Selden. It was Barthelmy's second straight game with more than 200 yards. And he did it despite Newfield being penalized eight times for holding and Comsewogue five times for personal fouls.
The win allowed first-place Newfield, which had 342 rushing yards, to start 4-0 for only the second time in school history.
"He's very difficult to tackle in a one-on-one situation and forget it in the open field," Newfield linebacker Ron Denig said. "He refuses to let one guy bring him down. The initial hit is never enough to stop Shevie. We know because he comes hard at us in practice all the time."
Barthelmy's running set up quarterback Mike Silva's 1-yard sneak in the first quarter. He ran five times for 38 yards on the nine-play, 57-yard drive for a 6-0 lead with 2:35 left.
"The coaches have worked with my forward lean to help keep me moving upfield," Barthelmy said. "And it doesn't hurt that I follow the toughest fullback [Denig] around into the teeth of the defense."
Comsewogue (2-2) didn't go quietly. The Warriors responded with a defensive gem when linebacker RJ Radmann recovered a fumble at the Newfield 24. Three plays later, quarterback Mike Scalera hit Ryan Brunet with a 17-yard scoring pass and Matt Cossidente added the extra-point kick for a 7-6 lead with 9:21 left in the half.
"I was furious that they had the lead," Denig said.
It was as if he took it personally. On Newfield's next offensive play, Denig ignited the Wolverines with an 80-yard touchdown run. He broke a tackle at the line and raced down the home sideline, where he threw a powerful stiff arm to ward off the last would-be tackler.
"That was an incredible run," Newfield coach Joe Piccininni said. "And the stiff arm was timed just right."
Barthelmy had a 13-yard scoring run to cap a seven-play, 67-yard scoring drive with 4:21 left in the half. Tom Keute added the kick to make it 19-7. Barthelmy's 8-yard scoring run punctuated a 10-play, 60-yard third-quarter drive.
"We're coming to play every game," Barthelmy said. "We have something special going on here and we won't lose sight of our goals. One game at a time."
