DeVito's two big TDs lift W. Hempstead
West Hempstead QB Bruno Devito, 10, takes a snap during a Nassau High School Conference IV Football game in East Rockaway on Saturday. (Oct. 1, 2011) Credit: Kevin P Coughlin
Third-and-19s and fourth-and-13s aren't down and distances conducive for touchdown passes -- but don't tell that to Bruno DeVito.
The West Hempstead quarterback completed two passes all game, and both went for scores on those down and distances, as the Rams (4-0) earned a 22-14 win at East Rockaway Saturday in Conference IV.
"I don't get many times to throw it," said DeVito, who was 2-for-7 for 59 yards. "So when I do, I just have to calm down mentally and make plays."
With seven minutes left in the third quarter, DeVito hit Tayvon Hall on a slant for a 25-yard touchdown on fourth-and-13. The point after gave West Hempstead a 15-8 lead. The Rams converted three fourth downs Saturday, and East Rockaway converted four.
Hall said they ran the same play earlier in the game, and though they didn't connect, they noticed something in the Rocks' defense.
"Their middle linebacker blitzes a lot and we noticed the middle of the field was open," said Hall, who also ran for 79 yards on 15 carries. "All I had to do was sprint to the pylon."
East Rockaway pulled off its own fourth-down magic on the ensuing drive. Sean Bohan found Luke Fahrenkrug open in the back of the end zone to cap a 13-play drive on the first play of the fourth quarter and make it 15-14. Rather than go for the tie with an extra point, Rocks coach Russ Pajer sent his offense back on the field. But the pass fell incomplete. "We don't like ties," Pajer said. "It was there, we just couldn't get it to him."
Justin Boatwright (98 yards on 12 carries) capped the scoring with a 13-yard run and Danny Sheeler's interception ended it for the Rocks.
East Rockaway (2-2) has had all four of its games this season decided by eight points or fewer, and West Hempstead has won six in a row dating to last year.
"It's bittersweet because those are my boys," said West Hempstead coach Dom Carre, a 1999 East Rockaway graduate who played for Pajer.
"We needed this. We've been bad for years. But I'm glad it's over."
Carre's offense kept the coach on his toes by getting itself into sticky situations, but DeVito answered the call. His 34-yard touchdown to Sheeler on a rollout came on a third-and-19 on the team's first drive and set the tone for the afternoon.
A high snap on the extra point worked in the Rams' favor when Sheeler sneaked into the end zone for a wide-open conversion catch.
East Rockaway answered on its next drive, as James Geiser set up his 5-yard touchdown with a 42-yard scamper from midfield. Bohan found Danny Ulip (12 carries, 54 yards) in the right flat for the conversion.
The Rocks tried a similar play later in the game, but couldn't convert. DeVito, on the other hand, converted twice for West Hempstead when the odds were longest.
The quarterback said of the Rams' undefeated record at the midway point of the regular season: "This was really big for us. Our town hasn't seen it for awhile."
