Turnovers Prove Costly as Fox Lane Loses to the Admirals
yardage during last Friday’s game at Arlington.
By Andy Jacobs
The Fox Lane football team showed it could move the ball on Friday night against a quality opponent.
Unfortunately for the Foxes, they also showed they could turn the ball over.
With turnovers putting an end to four lengthy drives, Fox Lane wound up on the losing end to host Arlington, falling 20-0 at Freedom Plains in the final game of the regular season. Senior running back Austin Greene ran for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the playoff-bound Admirals extended their winning streak to six games.
“Those were killers,” said Fox Lane coach Steve Quinn afterwards about the untimely turnovers that dashed any hope his team had of upsetting the Admirals. “We were real pleased how we were able to move the ball tonight. But we had to cash in and we didn’t.”
As a result, the 1-6 Foxes were sent home with their fourth loss in a row. The turnover trouble began shortly after the opening kickoff when a botched handoff at the Admirals’ 20-yard line put an end to a five-minute drive that lasted 10 plays, covered 45 yards and was sustained when quarterback Luke Verrochi connected with Hunter White for a 16-yard pass play on third-and-eight.
Arlington took over at its own 15-yard line and managed to keep possession of the football for the rest of the quarter. The Admirals picked up a first down on fourth-and-three inside the Foxes’ 5-yard line on the first play of the second period and quarterback Chris Cremin then scored from a yard out. Chris O’Neil added the extra point to give Arlington a 7-0 lead.
After the Foxes quickly went three-and-out, the Admirals, whose only loss was to the John Jay Patriots the first week of the season, took advantage of good field position to stretch their lead. Greene scored his first touchdown of the evening on a 22-yard run to cap a seven-play, 53-yard drive that gave Arlington a 13-0 advantage with just over five minutes left in the first half.
A 23-yard run by Verrochi into Arlington territory soon put the Foxes in position to reduce their deficit. But after a nine-yard pickup by Verrochi moved the ball down to the Admirals’ 23-yard line, a Verrochi pass was picked off by Ryan Denardo with 1:18 left on the clock. The Foxes walked off the field at halftime still trailing by 13 points.
“I think, as coaches, you always kick yourself,” said Quinn, asked whether he had any regrets choosing to throw in that situation. “We’ve had a tendency to run the ball heavy on first and second down, and it was only second and one. So the thought process was, ‘Throw the ball away if it’s not there and we’ll get the first down on that third down.’ We score there and we’re within a few points. It’s a different ballgame instead of playing from behind the whole way.”
When the teams returned to the field after an extended break that allowed the huge Arlington marching band to entertain the Senior Night crowd, it took the Admirals just 36 seconds to strike again. Anthony Badami returned the kickoff 40 yards to the Fox Lane 35-yard line and, after an incomplete pass, Greene got to the left sideline and dashed all the way to the end zone for his second touchdown of the night.
While Quinn admitted the long TD run by Greene took the wind out of the Foxes’ sails, he was pleased that the defensive unit made an impressive stand later on in the third quarter, stopping the Admirals on a fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line when a pass by Cremin intended for Justin Leigh fell incomplete.
“We stopped them down there,” said Quinn. “I was pretty proud of our defense and how we stood up.”
The fourth quarter began with the Foxes trailing by 20 points, but a couple of minutes into the period Lucas Beni broke free for a 35-yard run to the Admirals’ 42. A 30-yard scamper by Verrochi soon moved the ball inside the 10-yard line. Another run by the quarterback picked up six more yards before the Foxes committed their third disastrous turnover of the game, a fumble that Jordan Valerius picked up and advanced 35 yards.
With just under four minutes left, Beni bolted 38 yards to the Admirals’ 42, then picked up another 11 yards on the next play. But with 90 seconds left, a Beni option pass from the 23-yard line was picked off by Marc Barbieri, ending the Foxes’ final chance to put points on the board.
“These guys played their hearts out tonight,” said Quinn. “They really did. So we’re disappointed with the result, but the effort was outstanding. We struggled to move the ball this year, so to be able to do that against one of the best teams in AA, that speaks volumes about what we’re capable of doing.”
The Foxes host Mount Vernon on Friday evening in the first of their two non-playoff games that conclude the 2014 season.
“We knew a few weeks ago we weren’t gonna be in the playoffs,” said Quinn. “So these guys are gonna come back and work as hard as ever on Monday with the expectation that we win our last two.”
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