Chris Stancarone drives Division to victory over Roosevelt
Division quarterback Chris Stancarone did it all for the Blue Dragons on Saturday but gave all the credit to his teammates. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
After a great individual performance, Division quarterback Chris Stancarone chose to focus on his teammates.
The junior rushed six times for 98 yards and two touchdowns. He also was 5-for-7 passing for 142 yards and two touchdowns as Divison defeated host Roosevelt, 35-12, on Saturday in the season opener for both Nassau Conference III teams.
Asked about his remarkable day, Stancarone gave credit to the players who helped him make it happen.
"I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my line," Stancarone said. "My line held their blocks, my receivers caught the ball and the defense did a great job of stopping them."
Stancarone rushed for a 74-yard touchdown right through the teeth of the Roosevelt defense to put Division up 6-0 with 5:34 to go in the first quarter. On their ensuing drive to start the second quarter, Stancarone connected with Robert Siemsen for a 30-yard reception to set the Blue Dragons up on the 2-yard line.
Stancarone ran it for the score on the next play. The junior found James Hanley in the end zone for a two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead with 11:18 to go in the half.
Then the Roosevelt offense showed some signs of life. Xavier Cooper had a 50-yard return to set them up at Division’s 29-yard line. The junior running back scored on a 3-yard run five plays later to make it 21-6 with 4:28 to go in the half.
However, that was as close as the Rough Riders would get.
"I think we can always improve on everything," Stancarone said. "But I think we are doing pretty good right now. Everyone just needs to continue to trust each other and we will do a great job this season."
The officials ended the game with 1:01 remaining in the third quarter after a fight broke out on the field and players had to be separated. The game included multiple personal fouls, and the referees decided to call the one-sided game early to prevent any further problems.
"It seemed that it was kind of chippy all game," Roosevelt coach Joe Vito said. "One of our players and one of Levittown’s players started going at it … It looked like, when I was running over there, guys were just trying to grab other people off of the field."
