Vandoros runs for 211 yards, TD in North Shore's win
Cold Spring Harbor High School running back #12 Chris Moriarty, left, fights for yardage as North Shore #77 Zachary Winslow, top center, and #20 Evan Vandoros tackle him in the third quarter. (Oct. 16, 2010) Credit: James Escher
How many hits does it take to bring down Evan Vandoros?
On a good day, like North Shore's 12-0 win at Cold Spring Harbor Saturday, it could be four - a nip at his heels as he breaks a low tackle, a pulled jersey as he stretches for those five extra yards, and finally two sandwiching smacks long after he's converted a fourth quarter first down.
Other times, like in the opening seconds of the second quarter, the number is wholly inconsequential. Vandoros broke three tackles on a run off right guard and scored a 25-yard touchdown to put the Vikings (3-3) ahead 6-0 in Conference IV. The lead would hold for the rest of the game, as a rash of turnovers and penalties kept Cold Spring Harbor off the board and unsteady until a near-score with less than three minutes left in the game.
"I run low," said Vandoros. "The other teams see the film."
Said jovial running back Nick Capparelli: "Like Shonn Greene," name-checking the bruising Jets running back.
And a lot like Greene, Vandoros' game is all about quick feet and wily misdirection.
"He's got heart," coach Dan Agovino said. "He gets the extra yardage when you need it, especially on big plays on fourth down. He's got more big plays on fourth down this year than any back I've ever coached."
Saturday, especially, things were breaking in his favor. The Seahawks (3-3) were burned on penalties throughout the game. Denis Hickey's incomplete pass on fourth-and-5 halfway through the fourth was erased on a holding call that gave North Shore the first down at the Seahawks' 27-yard line.
Vandoros' 13-yard run with about four minutes left in the game set up a first-and-goal at the 2-yard line, which Capparelli ran in to make it 12-0.
Cold Spring Harbor threatened twice in the late going, but was thwarted by a fumble on the two-yard line with 2:57 left and Zach Winslow's interception on the North Shore 47 with 1:53 left to play. The pick essentially put the game away for the Vikings.
"It was pretty important," Winslow said abashedly. "That was a nail-biter."
Vandoros finished with 211 yards on 22 carries and added a sack on defense. The performance erased a losing record and looks to be part of the Vikings' continued resurgence.
North Shore, seeded fourth preseason, suffered a disappointing start thanks to back-to-back losses to Roosevelt and Mineola in Weeks 2 and 3.
"Our kids bounced back," Agovino said. "We made some changes on offense and got the ball rolling ... Locust Valley was a turning point."
After the 26-19 win over the Falcons, North Shore fought undefeated Seaford in a 41-13 loss.
"We played them hard," Capparelli said proudly. "We made them punt four times in the first half. We're the first team to do that." Capparelli added that the team was reinvigorated and is now prepared for the dogfight to the postseason.
"I'm ready to go," he said after the game. "I'm not even tired right now ... These are like playoff games."
A second question: How many hits does it take to bring down the Vikings? About as many as it takes to take down their running back.
