Malverne's 38 points not enough

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There was no shortage of excitement on the football field at Malverne’s Homecoming last Saturday afternoon as the Mules and Island Trees combined for nearly 100 points in a high-octane Nassau Conference IV matchup.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Bulldogs running back Cameron Provenzano provided many of the offensive fireworks. He rushed for five touchdowns, with at least one coming in each quarter, and caught a two-point conversion to lead Island Trees to its fourth win in five games, 57-38. Provenzano, who had 205 yards on 18 carries, scored twice in the fourth quarter to halt Malverne’s rally.

“We’re a young team and most of these guys are experiencing situations for the first time at the varsity level,” head coach Kito Lockwood said after the Mules slipped to 2-3. “We just couldn’t find a way to get a defensive stop,” he added. “They’re really big and strong up front. It’s not your typical Conference IV line. When you’ve got that kind of size in our conference, you’re going to win your share of games.”

Malverne senior Louis Ridley continued to rack up yardage and end zone celebrations in the loss. Like Provenzano, he scored four times. He had rushing touchdowns of 59 and 78 yards and receiving touchdowns covering 39 and 21 yards. “Louis kept us in the game with big play after big play,” Lockwood said. “He’s been the best player on the field every week.”

Troy Silva opened the scoring with a 16-yard run and the Bulldogs quickly led 14-0 after Provenzano’s 24-yard touchdown. Ridley got the Mules on the board and added a two-point conversion run, however, two more scores put Malverne in a 20-point hole early in the second quarter. Ryan Mastropaolo scored from seven yards out and quarterback Ryan Wells added a 1-yard touchdown sneak and Island Trees built a 28-8 cushion.

Senior Jalen Brown, who split time at quarterback with senior Rashad Teachey, threw both touchdown passes to Ridley. Teachey, who was instrumental in the team’s blowout wins over Friends Academy and Oyster Bay with nine total touchdowns, had a pair of two-point conversion runs and sophomore Justin Murphy added a fumble recovery for a touchdown to help the Mules creep closer.

Island Trees led 35-22 at halftime. In the third quarter, Ridley sandwiched his longest run and shorter touchdown reception around Provenzano’s 5-yard score and Malverne’s deficit was a reachable 42-38 entering the fourth.

“Unfortunately, as soon as we’d get back in the game, they were able to answer with a score,” Lockwood said.

Despite the loss, the Mules likely still control their own destiny as far as making the playoffs is concerned. They are tied for the eighth and final postseason spot with Valley Stream South (1-4) with 98.20 power ranking points. The teams meet this Saturday at Malverne at 2 p.m.

“We have to take care of business,” Lockwood said. “If we can win two of our last three and get to .500, we’ll probably get in.”