Roosevelt running back Shamari Kirkpatrick, left, bumps chests with Mitchell...

Roosevelt running back Shamari Kirkpatrick, left, bumps chests with Mitchell Davis after scoring his second first-half rushing touchdown during a Nassau IV football game between Roosevelt and Locust Valley on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014. Credit: Kevin P. Coughlin

Shamari Kirkpatrick spent the week leading up to Saturday's game trying to motivate his Roosevelt football teammates. He wanted everyone as amped up for this game as he was. He wanted his team fired up for a chance to beat the first-place team in Conference IV.

When the game started, Kirkpatrick was ready to burst.

"I felt the beast come out of me today," Kirkpatrick said. "I felt like a whole new person when this game started. I wanted to win this game badly. I wanted it dearly."

It showed. Kirkpatrick, refusing to go down on several runs, scored all three TDs and rushed for 217 yards on 34 carries in host Roosevelt's 21-7 win against previously unbeaten Locust Valley in Nassau Conference IV.

Roosevelt, the three-time defending conference champions and Locust Valley are both 5-1, with the Falcons ahead in the standings because of power points.

"We told each other today that this was more than a game," fullback David Bull said.

Kirkpatrick capped a four-play drive with a 6-yard touchdown run to give Roosevelt a 19-7 lead with five minutes left in the game. He then added a two-point conversion.

The drive was setup by the defense. Well, lineman Dorkim Simeona in particular.

On a third-and-6 for Locust Valley on their own 17, Simeona hurried the quarterback and tipped a pass, forcing an incompletion. The Falcons then punted with six minutes left.

"I felt some pride in myself on that play," Simeona said. "We were able to stop them on downs and then score after."

And seal the win.

Kirkpatrick's first TD came on Roosevelt's first drive. He burst through a hole created by Bull's big block.

"I love blocking in front of him," Bull said. "I'm trying to help him get to 2,000 yards."

Kirkpatrick is at 1,250 yards. His second TD helped get him to that point. He broke a 41-yard run when he stiff-armed one defender and then sprinted the rest of the way behind blocks by Simeona and Chukwuma Ukwu.

Tom Talenti cut Locust Valley's deficit to 13-7 with a 7-yard TD run in the second quarter, but the Falcons had two costly turnovers in the second half. Roosevelt's Rashawn Vailes and Quran Simmons each recovered fumbles, halting a pair of promising drives.

"I'm just happy we did it today for Roosevelt," Kirkpatrick said. "This reinforces that we're coming for the LIC. We beat the undefeated team and that's what we aimed for in practice."

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