EASTCHESTER – Both Sleepy Hollow and Eastchester entered Saturday’s game with identical records. What looked like an even matchup on paper became a blowout in favor of the visitors, as the Horseman rolled to a 28-0 victory in a Class A qualifying round game.
Sleepy Hollow, led by running back Mike Lopez, dominated on the ground the entire game. Lopez ended the game with 125 yards rushing, as well as a rushing touchdown. Lopez finished with 146 total yards and helped his team control the ball on offense.
“Lopez is a warrior, he kept us going all game. We just attached the wagon to him and said get us there,” Horsemen coach Steven Borys said. “ He’s one of the hardest-working players we’ve ever had in this program.”
Sleepy Hollow’s Issac Newland stiff-arms an Eastchester defender during the Horsemen’s 28-0 win over the Eagles in a Class A qualifying round game at Eastchester High School on Saturday.
Lopez didn’t want any of the credit for his performance.
“Our offensive line does all the work for me,” Lopez said. “During one of my big runs our right guard blocked a guy who was right behind me, who I didn’t see. He just yelled at me to keep going. My linemen are awesome.”
While the offense for Sleepy Hollow was great, their defensive performance should not be overlooked. They kept Eastchester off the scoreboard, and stopped them on fourth-and-short twice.
“They run a great option game, which our guys were able to completely shut down,” Borys said. “ We just made a ton of big plays. We made tackles that we needed to make, and we looked really athletic out there.”
Eastchester coach Fred DiCarlo wasn’t happy with the play of his defense.
“It’s not really about our ability, we just didn’t come to play,” DiCarlo said. “They made some big plays, and our guys missed a lot of tackles. We’ll have to play with a lot more effort in our next game.”
Player of the game: Mike Lopez ripped off big run after big run. Whenever the Horsemen needed to convert on third down Lopez came through.
Turning point: Two minutes into the fourth quarter the Horsemen had a fourth-and-17 on Eastchester’s 30-yard line. Sleepy Hollow quarterback Sean McCarthy handed the ball to Issac Newland, who passed it back to McCarthy, who caught it for the first down.
Stat line: McCarthy threw for 190 yards and two touchdowns, to Malik Jones and Jahmaali James. Travis Cowels and Mike Lopez had one rushing touchdown each.
Quotable: “We’ve been doing that play since Pop Warner,” McCarthy said. “ Issac to me, I was happy coach let us do that.”
Sleepy Hollow’s Mike Lopez (32) breaks the grasp of a tackle during their 28-0 win over Eastchester in the Class A playoff game against at Eastchester High School in Eastchester on Saturday, October 15, 2016.
Sleepy Hollow’s Issac Newland (14) pushes off a tackle during their 28-0 win over Eastchester in the Class A playoff game against at Eastchester High School in Eastchester on Saturday, October 15, 2016.
Sleepy Hollow’s Kevin Borden (11) scores a touchdown during their 28-0 win over Eastchester in the Class A playoff game against at Eastchester High School in Eastchester on Saturday, October 15, 2016.
Sleepy Hollow’s Juan Garcia (1) tackles Eastchester quarterback Mark Cacciola (11) during their 28-0 win in the Class A playoff game against at Eastchester High School in Eastchester on Saturday, October 15, 2016.
