Huskies get much-needed win as team steamrolls over Pelicans, 36-17
After losing their first three games of the season – something that doesn’t happen to this proud program very often – it was pretty obvious what the Harrison High football team’s priority was going into Pelham last Friday night.
The Huskies got just what the doctor ordered in the form of a 36-17 victory that certainly wasn’t perfect – Pelham scored all 17 of its points off of Harrison turnovers. But, as they say – a win is a win.
And first-year coach Dominick Zanot and his players were sure happy to get this one.
Zanot didn’t mince words. “We needed a win,” he said flatly. “We have good football players here… it’s been an adjustment for the kids, as well as the coaches (the transition to a new coaching staff). And the combined record of the first three teams we faced (Panas, Rye and Somers) is 9-1. We competed in the first two games, but against Somers the wheels came off… we didn’t execute, and we had some key injuries (Michael Dragone and Rashan Gilmore)… two of our primary carriers… and Gilmore could be a season ending injury. We had to re-build our offense, put kids in new positions.”
Whatever Zanot and the Huskies did, it worked against the Pelicans.
Harrison led 16-7 after a quarter, and went up 28-17 by halftime.
Mike Salvatore scored on a nine-yard run for Harrison’s first TD, and on the Huskies’ next possession it was junior AJ Lovallo – playing his first game at running back – breaking off a 45-yard touchdown run, good for a 16-7 lead after a successful two-point conversion.
Lovallo added a 36-yard TD in the second, and Salvatore scored on a five-yard burst with 3:00 to play in the half to put the Huskies up 28-17.
Salvatore scored his third touchdown of the game on Harrison’s opening possession of the second half – on a four-yard run – and a two-point conversion accounted for the final margin.
It was a breakout day for Lovallo, who finished with 120-yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Salvatore scored three times and rushed for 52 yards, and junior Zach Evans added 54 yards on 11 attempts. Huskies QB Joe Nannariello didn’t go to the air much, completing 3-of-7 attempts for 37 yards, no TDs and one pick. Nannariello also ran for 25 yards on two carries.
“They really rose to the occasion,” Zanot said of his players. “None of them played like backups, they played like starters. AJ was impressive… he hadn’t had much of an opportunity before, and he was a pleasant surprise. Our offensive line played well, and our defense put a lot of pressure on the quarterback.
“Salvatore and Evans also contributed,” Zanot added. “We really focused on the yards after the initial contact. And Drew Estes, on defense, was outstanding at outside linebacker.”
Next up for the Huskies is a meeting with Sleepy Hollow (3-1) Thursday at 4 p.m. at Harrison. Zanot knows his team has a challenge ahead with the Horsemen. The team’s only loss was to Rye.
“We’ll need to run the ball successfully,” Zanot said of the game. “We have to keep the Sleepy Hollow offense off the field. They have a very good quarterback – we’ll need to contain him and keep pressure on him.”
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