Patriots Down Arrows 36-20 in Football Finale

Ward Melville may have been a little off-balance from some second-half offensive sparks from Sachem East, but none of that kept the team off the board for very long as it extended its thirteen-point lead at the half to a final score of 36-20 for the win Friday night.

The Patriots broke even at 4-4 in Division I – in which they were initially picked to finish last – as East ended its season 0-8.

Although the Patriots pulled out a decisive road victory to end the season proper, staying mindful of the clock and delivering scores on some very short-distance plays, Melville coach Rob Neugebauer was dissatisfied with his team's second-half effort.

"It was sloppy play," he said. "We played a crisp first half and had some lucky breaks, but they made some adjustments and capitalized."

Despite a few fumbles and penalties, Sachem East's offense "did come to life," said East assistant coach Bill Clark, who said his team's work continues in the weight room and hopes to get a good look in 2011. "There were a few breakdowns defensively, but the kids played their best game of the season tonight."

A touchback at the opening kickoff gave Ward Melville control, stalling at its 24 having lost five yards on a second-down flag. Punting to their own 42, East seized the initiative quickly: Arrows quarterback Kyle Starke hooked up Rob Bruno on a third-and-6, and running back Billy Merone busted through with a 17-yard run for two consecutive first-downs. Running back Joe Ryan took a 4-yard scramble to a third-and-goal, where Starke's 1-yard dive ended East's first drive. Arrows kicker Eric Link made it seven with a howling north wind at his back at just under six minutes to go.

Ward Melville gathered itself up off another touchback from the ensuing kickof. Running back Frank Lucatuorto's 6-yard carry up to East's 10 ended the first quarter, where the Patriots finished what they'd started less than two minutes into the second on a 1-yard answer by Lucatourto. A two-point run-in attempt was declared no good by officials.

Ward Melville struck again later with under seven minutes remaining to topple East's one-point lead. Merone recovered the next kick to East's 32, going 24 yards in three carries for two first downs, before a fumble recovered by Melville turned the tide, setting the stage for Patriot receiver Justin Joseph's deep catch from a 40-yard toss by tight end Tyler Hegarty, downed by East's Ryan Mellon at the Arrows 15.

A pass interference call on East put Ward Melville closer on an automatic first down, and a  5-yard scoring dash by Lucatuorto was the result, though Patriots quarterback Patrick O'Hea's pass to Tyler Hegarty failed to add two extra points on this drive.

But it wasn't over yet: The final strike of the first half came again from Ward Melville with less than two minutes to go, as running back Ben Danieli's 13-yard run to score made up for a holding call that had stopped the Patriots on the play before. Hegarty made up for his earlier misjudged catch in the end zone, grabbing this pass for the two-point conversion to lead by 13 at the half. Link's attempts at two East field goals in the final seconds, northbound and against strong gusts from Ward Melville's 42 and the 20 respectively, both went wide.

A more neutral third quarter finally gave more ground to East on a recovered fumble. Merone scrambled for nine yards for the second-and-1 at Ward Melville's 45, a flag set East back to a second-and-6 at midfield, from where Merone eventually found the hole leading to a 50-yard score for the Arrows. Link's kick boosted the board to 20-14 with 8.4 seconds left.

Another push by the Patriots in the fourth quarter landed them at East's 1 yet again to score, this time by O'Hea with 5:09 left and topped off by Lucatuorto's 2-point run. East got it back on the next drive, as Starke took a pair of keepers down to Ward Melville's 4 before Ryan rushed in for the score. Link's kick was declared no good, but nonetheless East had edged up 28-20.

The close game was short-lived, as Melville returned the ball for a score by Danieli on a first-and-inches play at 2:30 left, and Hegarty ran back in to tack on two more to end scoring.