East Drops Final Season Game 36-20 Against Patriots

Some second-half offensive sparks from East kept Ward Melville off-balance but not off the board for long, as East fell 36-20 at home Friday night to visiting Ward Melville. East ended its season 0-8, as the Patriots breaks even with 4-4 in Division I.

Although the Patriots pulled out a decisive road win to end the season proper, using the clock to their advantage and making good on some short-distance plays, Ward Melville caoch 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."

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 its own 42, East seized the initiative quickly: Kyle Starke hooked up Rob Bruno on a third-and-six, and Billy Merone busted through with a 17-yard run for two consecutive first-downs.

Joe Ryan's 4-yard run shortened it up to a third-and-goal play, when Starke's 1-yard dive properly crowned East's first drive. With a howling north wind at East's back, Arrows kicker Eric Link made it a seven-point lead at just under six minutes to go.

Another touchback on the ensuing kickoff and Melville began building steam, taking Patriots running back Frank Lucatuorto's 6-yard carry up to East's 10 by the end of the first quarter, finishing what it had started less than two minutes into the second quarter on Lucatourto's 1-yard answer, though a two-point run-in attempt was declared no good by officials (to the obvious chagrin of Ward Melville fans).

East's one-point lead didn't hold for long, when Melville struck again later with under seven  minutes remaining. 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 Tyler Hegarty, downed by East's Ryan Mellon at the Arrows 15. Mellon led in tackles for the night with seven.

A pass interference call on East did them no favors defensively, handing Melville the keys to complete the drive after an automatic first down was declared. A 5-yard scoring dash by Lucatuorto resulted, though Patrick O'Hea's pass to Tyler Hegarty failed to add two extra points.

But it wasn't over yet: The final strike of the first half came again from Melville with less than two minutes to go, as Ben Danieli's 13-yard run to score made up for a holding call that had stopped the Patriots on the play before. Tyler Hegarty also made up for his earlier misjudged catch in the end zone, grabbing the pass for the two-point conversion to make it 20-7 at the half. Link's two attempts at field goals in the final seconds, northbound and against strong gusts from the 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 Melville's 45, a flag set East back to a second-and-6 at midfield but Merone was undeterred, bolting past the Patriots' D-line to an uncovered backfield and on to paydirt, with Link's kick bringing 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 Melville's 4 before Ryan rushed in for the score. Link's kick was declared no good, but East had edged up 28-20.

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

"There were a couple of fumbles and a couple of penalties, but the offense did come to life," said East assistant coach Bill Clark, who said East'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."