Matt Rodriguez runs for 138 yards, 3 TDs in 'underestimated' East Meadow's win over Hempstead
Matt Rodriguez #24, East Meadow running back, fights for yards during the second quarter of a Nassau Conference I football game against Hempstead at East Meadow on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. Credit: James Escher
No one made a mistake. It just looks that way
East Meadow certainly shaped up like a No. 10-seeded football team in Nassau Conference I when it all started. Only one returning lineman? A sophomore at quarterback? Little in the way of playoff experience? That “10” looked like a great fit for the Jets.
Well, the only “10” that East Meadow should have received on Saturday was a perfect score for their 37-21 takedown of visiting Hempstead in oft-torrential rain.
With three games left in the regular season, East Meadow (4-1) has equaled its win total from a year ago and it had the look of a postseason team as it knocked the Tigers from the ranks of the unbeaten.
“We’ve been believers since the beginning,” two-way lineman Joseph Arbitello said. “But we knew that this was going to be the game where we find out who we are.”
“Our guys are playing really well,” Jets coach Vinny Mascia said. “They have a great work ethic. They worked hard in the winter, spring and summer. They put the time in and have done everything asked of them. And they have a camaraderie about that that can’t be beat.”
East Meadow’s arrival as a strong performer a year ahead of schedule has surprised some foes. Featured back Matt Rodriguez said they're underestimated, "but then we come out and punch them.”
To most, a glance up before kickoff at dark skies and a pouring rain foretold a miserable day. But the Jets saw a perfect canvas on which to paint something beautiful.
The line of Arbitello, Yiannis Kavakas, Manny Martinez, Josh Vargas and Shaun Reilly paved the way for the run-heavy Jets to roll up 270 rushing yards. Rodriguez kept finding daylight on the way to 138 rushing yards and three touchdowns. And Isaiah Perkins capitalized on a slick ball to secure a pair of takeaways – a fumble recovery and an interception – that set up early touchdowns.
“When the weather is like that, you know it’s just going to be you and the guy in front of you man-to-man,” said senior quarterback Kevin Canto, who was thrust into the role when sophomore Trevor Smith broke a thumb right before opening day.
Hempstead (4-1) was hamstrung with three key two-way players out with injuries and then made miscues it could not afford to allow East Meadow to score three first-quarter touchdowns and set the tone.
Perkins’ fumble recovery ended the Tigers' opening possession and gave the Jets the ball at the Hempstead 20, setting up a Tyreke Cornett 7-yard touchdown run. The Tigers’ next possession ended with a short punt that put East Meadow on the Tiger 32 and set up Canto’s 20-yard TD pass to Eric Garcia. Another weak Hempstead punt led to the Jets going 51 yards on three plays for a 16-yard Rodriguez touchdown.
Perkins’ third quarter interception set the table for a Rodriguez 1-yard TD and a 34-7 lead.
“We knew the ball was going to be slippery,” Perkins said. “We were looking for turnovers.”
Dwayne Meadors ran for 151 yards and touchdowns on runs of 2 and 72 yards for Hempstead. His second touchdown made it a two-score game with 4:31 left and the Tigers got the ball back with 1:58 to play, but an Arbitello fumble recovery snuffed any shot of a Hempstead comeback.
“East Meadow has just been guys playing football recently,” Arbitello said. “This team is a group that wants to play together and win together.”
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.
