Johnnie Akins' 249 yards, three TDs lead Roosevelt
Valley Stream North's Brian Carroll tries to get to Roosevelt's running back Johnnie Akins, who breaks clear for a Roosevelt touchdown. (Sept. 15, 2012) Credit: Richard Slattery
After giving up an opening-drive touchdown and getting stopped on fourth down on their own opening drive, Roosevelt was looking for a spark.
They got just that, and exploded to a 34-7 victory over Valley Stream North in Nassau IV Saturday.
Johnnie Akins led the way for the Rough Riders (2-0), rushing for 249 yards and three scores on 21 carries.
Roosevelt's defense took care of the rest, recovering five fumbles and notching five sacks.
Valley Stream North (1-1) struck first, marching 71 yards on a drive that ended with a Billy Patsos two-yard touchdown run.
The Spartans then stopped Roosevelt on fourth down on their opening drive.
"We got punched in the nose," Vito said of the early touchdown and stalled drive. "But the guys responded very well from there."
Roosevelt would score on its second offensive possession when Justin Terry connected with Marquell Saunders on a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Shamary Kirkpatrick punched it in on the two-point conversion to give Roosevelt an eight-point lead early in the first quarter.
From there, everything ran like a well-oiled machine for the Rough Riders.
Akins scored on touchdown runs of six yards, 26 yards and 51 yards, all in the second quarter.
It was the second straight week that Akins went over 200 yards on the ground.
"Akins really took control," Vito said. "He's the new workhorse of the offense. It's hard to replace a guy like Erin Parker, but he's really picked up the slack."
Terry found Saunders for a 52-yard passing score in the third quarter to provide the final margin.
Akins also made an impact on defense with one of the Rough Riders' five fumble recoveries.
Raymond Jones led the way on defense with two sacks, a blocked punt, and a fumble recovery.
" always plays us tough," Vito said, "but our defense settled in. They turned the ball over a number of times, otherwise the game is a lot different."
