BY MARC JIMENEZ
Good afternoon football fans. I am here at Hofstra for today’s Conference II final between Elmont and Hewlett, which is set to kickoff at 12:30 p.m. Both teams enter with 8-2 records. The last time they squared off, on Sept. 27, Hewlett won 24-22 on Eric Balberg's 23-yard field goal with 21 seconds left.
If Hewlett, which beat Garden City 17-16 in the semifinal, is going to defeat Elmont again, the Bulldogs will have to come up big on defense. Elmont, coming off an impressive 53-21 victory over Carey in the semifinal, has a solid running game. Quarterback Diashawn Miller leads the high-scoring offense while Justin Mayers and Brian Cole split time carrying the ball.
Will be back with updates throughout the game.
Update Another chilly day. Actually, it’s freezing outside. Kickoff in 5 minutes.
Update Elmont will receive the ball first.
7:17 Elmont took over at the 22. Diashawn Miller rushed for 4 yards on first down. Justin Mayers followed with 5-yard run and Miller gained 3 on a QB sneak. Mayers ran for a no gain on first then ran for 9 the next play. After a false start, Elmont faced a 3rd-and-6 and Brian Cole was stopped for a short gain. Elmont punted and Hewlett took over at the 41.
4:16 Hewlett's Matt Rizzo rushed for 7 on first down and 13 more on second. QB Andrew Cohen followed with a 13-yard scamper to bring it to 26. Three plays later, Rizzo was stopped of the first by a yard. Hewlett went for it on 4th-and-1 on the 17 and got nothing on a Anthony Velardi run.
0:25 Mayers rushed for 31 on first down to get near midfield, then broke off a 22-yard run to bring it to the Hewlett 28. On 1st-and-10 on the 17, Mayers danced his way to the 8. Two plays later, Cole gained 3, setting up 2nd-and-1.
End of the First Quarter Elmont has the ball on the 1.
11:56 Mayers took a big hit, but scored on a 1-yard run. He has 11 carries for 94 yards. On the two-point, Miller went to Mayers. Elmont 8, Hewlett 0.
11:47 After the kickoff and a face-mask penalty, Hewlett took over at the 37.
10:10 On 3rd-and-9 at the 38, Cohen gained 7 but he was stopped short of the first. After a timeout, Cohen was dropped at the 38, losing 7 yards on the play, as Elmont took over with great field position.
7:24 Mayers gained 2 on 1st-and-10, bringing the ball just inside the Hewlett 15. Cole then ran for 5 yards and Mayers ran for 10 yards for the score. Miller then ran in the two-point. Mayers has 109 yards and 2 scores. Elmont 16, Hewlett 0:
7:17 Hewlett takes over on the 30.
3:23 On 4th-and-1 at the 39, Rizzo picked up the first on a 2-yard run. Cohen got tackled for a 2-yard loss on first down. Three plays later, Cohen rushed for 6 on 4th-and-3. Then he ran for another 5 to get to the Elmont 40.
1:23 After a timeout, Cohen nearly broke on. He ran for 7 and was taken down at the 30. Later, Adam Isaacs gained 2 to move the ball to the Elmont 16. Hewlett is facing a 4th-and-10 on the 17. Elmont called a timeout.
1:16 Hewlett went for it and Cohen connected with Isaacs Hewlett used 17 plays to gain 69 yards in 6:08. Elmont 16, Hewlett 7 .
0:22 Elmont got good field position on the kickoff. They are on the 40.
0:05: Elmont went deep three times, but got nothing. On 4th down, Adelbert Clerge caught a 24-yard pass to the 16, but he was thrilled by Dylan Pastor. He was on the ground for a few minutes. Then on the last play of the half, Miller hit Mayers with a 16-yard TD pass. The two-point was no good. Elmont 22, Hewlett 7.
Halftime
Stats:
Rushing -- E: Mayers: 117 yards, 2 TDs on 15 carries. Cole 33 yards on 5 carries. H: Cohen 44 yards on 11 carries.
Passing -- E: Miller is 2-of-6 for 40 yards and a TD. H: Cohen is 2-of-3 for 22 yards and a TD.
6:18 Hewlett received the ball first in the second. On 3rd-and-6 at the 21, Anthony Velardi picked up 7 for the first down. Three plays later, Cohen ran for 7 for another first at the 43. Later, on 3rd-and-3 at the Elmont 38, Rizzo was stopped for a no gain. Actually, he lost a yard. But Cohen, on a swinging gate formation, ran for the first. Cohen ran again for another 14 to the 13.
5:24 Cohen was intercepted by Michael Robinson. Elmont takes over at the 2.
2:28 On 3rd-and-12 at the 11, Elmont was stopped for a loss of 2. They punted. Hewlett takes over at the 26. Let's see what they can do with this great field position.
0:10 Hewlett's Isaacs picked up 2 yards to bring it to the 14, then ran for 1 yard, two plays later, to bring it to the 10.
End of Third Quarter Elmont 22, Hewlett 7
11:51 Isaacs, hurt on the play, was stopped for a no gain. Hewlett is facing a 4th-and-7 on the 11.
11:21 Hewlett brought out the swinging-gate formation once again, and was called for a false start. So on 4th-and-12 on the 16, Eric Balberg lined up for a 33-yard field goal, but it was bad snap! Mayers picked up the ball and ran it back 70 yards for the score. Elmont 28, Hewlett 7.
11:07 I hate to say it, but this one is over.
8:24 Hewlett, to its credit, is not giving up. They are at the Elmont 28. Cohen is throwing the ball and having some success. However, they were stopped at the 26.
7:59 Elmont, needless to say, is running out the clock.
2:50 Elmont, on 4th-and-4 at the Hewlett 27, picked up the first down on Mayers 8-yard run.
Final Elmont 28, Hewlett 7