Undefeated Rams Take Down Seahawks

Last weekend, West Hempstead's varsity football team made headlines when they ended Seaford High School's 44-game winning streak. This Saturday they extended their own.

With the stands jam-packed for the home game, the undefeated Rams beat Cold Spring Harbor High School, 7-3, to bring their record to 3-0. But the victory did not come easy.

Both teams remained scoreless for the first half of the game, but the Seahawks continued to knock on the door of the Rams' endzone multiple times.

Tensions rose late in the third quarter when Cold Spring Harbor had the ball on the Rams' four-yard line and had three attempts to bring it into the endzone after a couple of controversial calls by the officials.

Still, the Rams' defense stopped the Seahawks each time, holding them to a field goal.

"That showed the character of our team," Rams head coach Dominic Carre later told Patch. "Most teams would have pouted and let the other team score [the touchdown], but they stuffed them twice in a row."

Then, West Hempstead's offense quickly retaliated. With just 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter, senior running back Justin Boatwright (#27) scored a touchdown to put his team on the board.

"When they scored first, it woke us up," said Boatwright, who had a total of nine carries and gained 101 yards for the day. "When we play our game no team can beat us."

With the extra point good, the Rams went into the fourth quarter leading 7-3, and held the Seahawks for the rest of the game.

"I think the team was a little too high from last week and they slacked in the beginning but then they stepped it up in big situations," Coach Carre said.

"Justin's the man," he said, crediting Boatwright for providing "the spark" needed to get the team going in the second half. He added that junior running back Tayvon Hall also played an important role as the "decoy" in the game.

"Everyone follows him," he said, explaining how this frees up other players to move the ball up the field. Still, Hall had 13 carries for the day and a total of 70 yards.

When the Rams came out of the lockerroom Saturday they were greeted by a throng of fans, family and friends, but the celebration won't last long.

"I'm going to work them harder than ever," Carre said, as he prepares to face his own alma mater, East Rockaway, next weekend.

"They are the fourth seed. We are the fifth," he said."Those coaches taught me 99 percent of what I know about coaching. It's going to be weird going back."

West Hempstead will play at East Rockaway High School at 3 p.m. on Oct. 1. The JV football team, which also beat Cold Spring Harbor Saturday, 34-22, to earn their first win, will play at home at 9:15 a.m.