Hewlett shuts out Floral Park in opener
Hewlett High School quarterback #12 Mark Rizzo throws a pass in the third quarter. (Sept. 10, 2011) Credit: James Escher
It was a different kind of home opener for Hewlett.
First, it took place at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium because the Bulldogs' turf field hadn't been finished. Second, the Floral Park defense had homed in on Hewlett rushing standout Sam Martorella. Almost totally recovered from an ACL injury suffered last season, Martorella was largely contained.
But most importantly for Hewlett, senior Mark Rizzo found a home at quarterback.
Making his first varsity start at the position, Rizzo carried seven times for 78 yards and two touchdowns and completed 4 of 9 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown Saturday to lead Hewlett (1-0) to a 24-0 win.
"The position he plays, the triple-option high school quarterback, is probably the toughest position in sports," coach Jay Iaquinta said. "He's not just getting the ball and handing it off. He's reading, he's pitching, he's running, he's throwing. He's always doing something."
Memo to the rest of Nassau III: Hewlett is no one-trick pony.
That isn't to say Martorella had no impact. He grabbed an interception on Floral Park's second snap of the game, setting up Trevor Ellman's 25-yard field goal.
Rizzo started slowly, seeing three of his first four passes fall incomplete and gaining only a yard on the other. But he launched his first throw of the second quarter to Michael Gray in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown.
On Hewlett's next possession, Rizzo raced down the left sideline for a 49-yard score.
"We have a lot of big-play guys this year," Rizzo said. "But we've got to figure out that inside running game a little bit so we can get both those big plays and those shorter gains that we want."
Rizzo, who will attend North Carolina on a lacrosse scholarship, also showed off his wits as the punter. Near the end of the fourth quarter, the snap went wide of Rizzo and scooted into the backfield. With defenders racing toward him, Rizzo scooped up the ball and managed to get a 33-yard kick off, pinning Floral Park in its own territory for the final drive of the game.
"When you're put in that situation, you've just got to come up and make a play," Rizzo said. "I thought about running it right there, but I've got to do what's best for the team and get the ball out of there."
Said Iaquinta: "Great athletes make great plays, and he does it."
Floral Park (0-1), which moved up from Nassau IV this year, was stymied by the Hewlett defense all day. Floral Park had no completed passes, had six attempts batted down and one intercepted. The offensive bright spot was Ronnell Jones, who had 23 carries for 101 yards.
"Our defense definitely played as well as we could have hoped today," Iaquinta said. "They stepped up big. We're undersized, so we better be a little quicker."
On offense and defense, Hewlett certainly looked at home.
