Hempstead improves to 3-0 behind Jakkai Stith's three TDs
Jakkai Stith, Hempstead quarterback, throws for an eight-yard touchdown during the closing moments of the second quarter in a Nassau Conference I football game at Valley Stream Central on Friday. Credit: James Escher
Autumn has arrived, and so too has the Hempstead football program.
The Tigers continued their ferocious opening to the 2022 season on Friday night by negotiating high winds in a 19-6 win over host Valley Stream Central in Nassau Conference I. It was the first night game held at Valley Stream’s Memorial Junior High.
Hempstead is a 3-0 for the first time since 2007, according to Newsday records.
“It’s a great group of kids that committed to turning this thing around and winning important games,” Hempstead first-year coach Matt Ali said. “It really started with the attitude they had when they showed up in August. The improvements they’ve made have been huge.”
“We have a lot to be proud of, but there is so much more that we want to do,” senior quarterback Jakkai Stith said. “We’re going to keep grinding and working until we get there.”
Stith embodied that attitude and engineered the win with his right arm and his legs. He eschewed a constant wind that often gusted up to 30 mph and threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for a third.
The QB was 7-for-11 passing for 97 yards, including an 8-yard strike to receiver Charlie Jimenez and a 34-yard bomb into a cross wind to receiver Jamir Andrews. Stith added 18 carries for 112 yards and a 4-yard touchdown.
The front line of seniors Shamar Pink, Taj-NyJai Mcleod, Kanye Staley and juniors Adrian Beltre and Pedro Bonilla paved the way for his big night.
“We have an excellent line,” Stith said. “They make the holes to run through and give me the time to throw.”
Running back Joshua Rogers had 38 carries for 216 yards and a 62-yard touchdown run for Valley Stream Central (1-2). Mohamed Daffalla had a fumble recovery and Jaden Fox had an interception for the Eagles.
Valley Stream Central did nearly everything it wanted to do in the first half except take a lead. It ran 31 plays and left the Tigers only seven minutes to operate. But it didn’t score, turning the ball over on downs at Hempstead’s 10-yard line in the first quarter and the Tigers' 33-yard line in the second.
Stith took Hempstead on a 10-play, 67-yard touchdown drive and hit Jimenez with 10 seconds left in the second for a 6-0 halftime lead.
Daffalla’s fumble recovery came on the first snap of the second half and Rogers went 62 yards for a score on the second snap.
In the third quarter, Stith found Andrews in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
“They left the middle open and I took advantage,” Andrews said. “It helps when you have the best quarterback on the Island throwing you the ball.”
After the wind caused a VSC punt to go just 17 yards, Andrews nearly had a 34-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter but it was called back. Three plays later, Stith ran for the final touchdown.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
