New Hyde Park Football Beats Herricks, 42-12

It was a big day for football on Saturday in New Hyde Park as came into this game at looking to gain some ground in Conference II play. They did just that as they beat crosstown rival , 42-12.

With the win New Hyde Park finds themselves tied for third place in Conference II with a record of 3-1 while Herricks drops to 1-3.

Heroes: Nick Dziomba had a great day on both offense on defense. As the season continues, he is continuously proving that he is the key to New Hyde Park’s power running game.

All day long, Dziomba wore down the Herricks linebackers and defensive line with powerful runs and hits. He capped off the day with a tremendous run up the gut of the defense for a 50 yard touchdown. He finished the day with 142 rushing yards on eight carries, an astonishing 17.5 yards per carry.

Dziomba also showed off his athleticism on defense all game. During the third quarter, he was playing in a cover scheme and was shadowing Herricks’ running back. As the quarterback loaded up for the pass, Dziomba read the throw and leaped in front of the running back to intercept the ball. He then capitalized on his own turnover with a 50-yard touchdown on the next drive.

Diego Dilone also had a great day, running for two more touchdowns while recording three sacks. Fran Terrero provided the spark and consistency for the Gladiators, running for one touchdown and later catching one as well.

Turning Point: Dziomba provided a ton of momentum for his team when he intercepted the ball in the third quarter. He then turned that interception into six points by pounding his way through the Herricks defense for a 50-yard touchdown.

Diego Dilone capped off the win later in the quarter with New Hyde Park in Herricks territory. The Gladiators found themselves on the Herricks 21-yard line and decided to call a play for their other power runner Dilone. Dilone took the ball and with the fury you might see on NFL Sunday, refused to go down. He bounced off defenders like a pinball willing to take any unsuspecting defensive back down with him. However no one had enough strength to take him down and he put his team up 42-6.

Quoteable: “We took it to heart last week when we lost to Garden City," said New Hyde Park Head Coach Kevin Dolan. "The coaches and players came up with one word for how we felt last week: embarrassed. We maintain the mindset that your never as good as you think, but your never quite as bad as you think either. This is a great team and these kids have a tight bond. We made up for that loss with a great week of practice. We came out today hard and played some good football. We have a short week ahead of us and Calhoun will be no easy game. We all sense that urgency, but we are very excited about our chances.”

Herricks Head Coach Mike Yoo said, “We have to come out on the first play and compete. Today, we didn’t do that. We got beat up front a little bit. I think we have to get tougher up there and if we can protect, I think we can be successful.”

Bottom Line: The two teams in this game now find themselves on opposite sides of the spectrum in terms of conference play. New Hyde Park is now in position to make a run for a playoff spot, tied in third place. Next week’s game against Calhoun will be a true test for this New Hyde Park team. By no means will this game determine the outcome for the rest of the season, but if New Hyde Park can get a win, they will find themselves amongst elite company.

Herricks is backed by a good coaching staff and good players, so anything is possible. It will be interesting to see how next week’s set of games will dictate the season the rest of the way.

Statistics:
Dziomba- 142 rushing yards 1 TD
                 1 INT
Terrero- 75 rushing yards 1 TDs
Dilone- 50 rushing yards 2 TD
            3 sacks

                  1                   2                  3                    4                  Final
NHP           21                  7                 14                  0                    42
Herricks      6                   0                  0                    6                   12

Scoring:
NHP- Foley 15 yd reception (2pt no good)
NHP- Dilone 5 yd run (2pt no good)
HER- Gaitan 15 yd reception (XP no good)
NHP- Terrero 55 yd run (Kick good)
NHP- Terrero 23 yd reception (Kick good)
NHP- Dziomba 50 yd run (Kick good)
NHP- Dilone 21 yd run (Kick good)
HER- Kwan 11 yd run