WPCNR PRESS BOX. By John F. Bailey. September 10, 2005, UPDATED 12:35 P.M.September 11, with MORE PIX : The Tigers marched on down the field the first time they had the ball on this sweltering Saturday afternoon at Mount Vernon's picturesque Memorial Field, held Mount Vernon to no first downs in the First Half, and used the double running threat of Mickey Morrello and Jamaine "Do It" Hewitt mixed with Conor Gilmartin-Donohue's short-medium-long passing game to win their 2005 season debut, 21-12, presenting new football coach Mike "Skip" Stevens his first win as a Head Coach. Offensive play was innovative, contained a lot of surprises and was successful overland and in the air. Defense was top drawer.
Mickey Morrello sets up Tigers First TD of the season in the First Quarter, dragging Mount Vernon tacklers with him to the 8 yard line. on a 29 yard bull-em, drag 'em, dodge 'em on a third and 8 from the MV 37. Morrello was first stopped at the 30, dodged and dumped four or five would be Tiger-Stoppers in the 20's broke to the 15 and dragged his way to the 8. It set the tone. Morrello, obscured is carrying two Knights on his back. Photo by WPCNR Sports.
TouchDOWN! TouchDOWN! Via Conor-Airlines. It's Third Down and Goal after Morello's run, and Conor Gilmartin-Donohue hits "Mr. Lee," Thomas Lee Number 21 A-LONE Far left of your picture, under the left upright for the first touchdown of the season. Lee caught it untouched in the belly facing Conor, who threaded the needle. Gilmartin-Donohue is at far right second from the left on the right side of your picture. Ian Jackson booted the first of three powerful Extra Points to give the Tigers a 7-0 Lead. Photo by WPCNR Sports.
Do-It Hewitt kept doing it all day long: Jamaine Hewitt, far right, takes a pitch from QB Conor Gilmartin-Donhoue (17), on the way to a sweep. Hewitt rushed for 147 yards officially, clipping off about 10 yards a carry and scoring two touchdowns, as the Tiger line consistently blew off the Knights, engineering thruways through the Knights secondary. Hewitt's explosive running starts consistently got him deep into the Knights secondary in seconds. Hewitt said the defensive play of the Tigers was the key to the game. The Knights never got going offensively due to the posse pursuit of the speedy defensive line. Photo by WPCNR Sports
White Plains pushed, punished and pummeled Mount Vernon around all afternoon in this Opening Day Game. The score fails to reflect how dominant the Tigers were from the opening series. Knight scores came in virtual second half garbage time, when the Tigers, like any big cats were playing with their food, bouncing the Knights from paw to paw.
Coach Stevens Drilling the Offense in Pregame Warmups for the First Time as Head Coach: It was the debut game any first-time Head Coach dreams of. Coach Mike Stevens said as much, “I’m just so happy they played so well. That they were so focused. I’ll never forget it.” Photo by WPCNR Sports
After stopping Mount Vernon cold on the first four plays of the game, with quick, fast pursuit and gang-tackles, White Plains took over at their own 37 and marched 63 yards in 9 plays.
An offside penalty by Mount Vernon after an incomplete pass gave the Tigers a second and five on their own 42 and Conor Gilmartin-Donohue handed off to fullback Mickey Morello who broke into sunlight, rambling up the middle, brushing Mount Vernons aside to the Vernon 42 for a first down.
Conor threw a swing pass to Ed Oliva on the sideline who scampered to the 38. Jermaine Hewitt found little or no yardage and it was 3rd and 5 on the Knights 38. On a delay, possibly a draw play, Gilmartin-Donohue carried off the deception flawlessly giving the ball to Mickey Morrello in full rumble. Picking his way with finesse, whirling and bonking, and boinking off defenders, Morello cruised and created havoc in the secondary, exploding down the middle. The Mick was finally dragged down by the last two Knights at the 8 yard line, a 30 yard ramble.
On first and goal, Jamaine Hewitt picked his way to the 5. Conor swung a swing pass into the endzone to a wideopen Morello, but Mickey could not hang on, and it was 3rd and goal at the 5. Conor stepped back, rolling slight to his left and throw a strike to "Mr. Lee," ( Thomas Lee) under the left goal post in a traffic square out between two Knight defenders for his first touchdown pass of the season. Ian Jackson, the Tiger kicker this season, drilled the PAT and the Tigers lead 7-0 midway through the First Quarter.
Unrelenting Aggression.
On Mount Vernon’s next possession, with second and 5 from the Knight 36 Matt Robles picked off a hideous pass in the right flat and returned it to the Mount Vernon 48. White Plains converted a 4th and 2 on the Vernon 41 when a fake punt with Tom Lee taking the snap, but gave it back on an interception on first down, when Conor, in the grasp threw the ball up for a pick.
Still the Knights went four and out, with Thomas Lee knocking down a 3rd and 17 pass attempt, barely missing a interception. White Plains took over from their 40 after a punt and moved to the Mount Vernon 23 where the Knights held. Again the gangtackling and swift pursuit of the Tiger line contained the Knights. I tell you, the White Plains linebackers and defensive line can move and are quick.
“The Hewitt-zer Takes Over.”
White Plains took over on their own 42, midway in the second quarter after an outstanding punt of 35 yards from scrimmage aided by the parched Memorial Field gridiron (hard as concrete).
Now Jamaine Hewitt took over the game. The Mount Vernon line was consistently pushed aside as if White Plains was playing the Junior Varsity, opening up huge holes for the swiftly accelerating Hewitt, who has that “scatback” quality to get loose, but, the strength to challenge tacklers, according to Coach Stevens.
On 1st from the Tiger 42, Hewitt burst 16 yards up the middle to the Knights 44, scorching the already-parched earth. It was Hewitt again on the next play to the 37. On 3rd and 2, Hewitt swept behind a convoy of blockers around left end to the Knight 27.
THE HEWITT-ZER SETS UP TD 2: Conor took a direct snap and pitched the ball to Jamine running to the right, the opposite direction and the entire Mount Vernon club watched Hewitt ramble to the 5 yard line on the slant-run to the red zone. Hewitt (28) Center is at the center of the picture at the 10 on his 22-yard jaunt. Then he lugged the ball up the gut to the 1 then reamed it in for his first touchdown of the season. Jackson converted and it was 14-0 with 4 minutes to go in the half. The Tigers had gone 58 yards in 6 plays for a 14-0 lead. Photo by WPCNR Sports.
Mount Vernon did not have a first down in the first half. The Tigers had a 14-0 lead at the half.
Second Half – Long Reliefers Hold The Lead
In the third quarter, White Plains continued to move the ball on the opening series from their 32 yard line, until Conor underthrew a pass to the deep right sideline and it was picked off by Eugene Cooper who returned the ball to the Knight 23. No harm was done, because the Tigers pushed the Knights back to their 5 yard line on three plays. A punt set the Tigers up in business on the Mount Vernon 48. They promptly cruised to the Knight 28 on a 19 yard run by Hewitt, but a fumble on a handoff was picked up by Vernon’s Steve Sandoval, a 270 pound lineman (according to the program), with nothing but daylight.
Joseph Henry of White Plains caught up with Sandoval and saved a touchdown, tackling him from behind at the Tiger 45.
With 3rd and 7 on the Tiger 37 Mike Connelly caught Tyree Stevenson behind the secondary at the 15 yard line who turned, caught the pass and rolled to coffin corner and was tackled at the 1 by Jeffy Charles. It was the second first down the Knights had made all afternoon. They had made one before the first half ended.
Connelly scored a touchdown on a sneak on the next play to make it 14-6. Next the Mount Vernon coach made an odd decision. After the conversion was made after an offside penalty, the Tigers were called for roughing the kicker. Rick Wright, the MV coach elected to take the PAT already made off the board and try a two-point conversion. The Tigers sniffed it out and turned Connelly aside in the backfield. It meant the best the Knights could do on a second score was tie, and needed two touchdowns to win. Very odd decision. Basically it sealed the game right then and there.
After the Tigers were held on downs for the first time all day, Mount Vernon got the ball back on their on 23 at the start of the 4th quarter.
On second and 6 from the 31, Mount Vernon almost got a 5th down, but as Coach Stevens explained it, a play did not count in the sequence.
Pop Up Punt Equals Insurance Runs.
On that fateful 4th down at the Knight 31, the Knight punter who had calmly punted out of trouble the whole day, shanked it high in the air and White Plains took over on the Knight 41. A 10 yard punt. Not what you wanted there.
“The Hewitt-zer” took over again. Conor handed off to Jamaine Hewitt for 11 yards around end to the Knight 28. On 3rd and 7 from the 25, Conor hit on a key 3rd down conversion, connecting with the graceful Ed Oliva again in the right flat who rambled inside the 9 for a 1st and goal.
Hewitt plowed ahead to the 1 on the next play then went off tackle to score his second touchdown. Jackson drilled the PAT and it was 21-6, White Plains with half the quarter left.
Mount Vernon added a meaningless touchdown in the waning moments of the game.
Strong Defense. Secondary on Point.
White Plains showed very disciplined play today. They were penalized for approximately 50 yards, but no penalities hurt drives, and there were no motion penalties and only one offside on a PAT.
Coach Stevens with Quarterback Conor Gilmartin-Donohue (center) and his TD receiver, Thomas Lee, left. Conor, quarterbacking in his first start ever was a poised leader. He handed off flawlessly, knew the plays, never demonstrated any confusion and completed three key 3rd down conversion passes in traffic to Tommie Lee for a Touchdown, Ian Jackson and Ed Oliva to keep drives alive. Photo by WPCNR Sports
Coach Stevens told WPCNR that it is White Plains plan to throw the ball more because it opens up the running game. Today they did not need it. The Tigers showed more weapons than just Mr. Hewitt. Mickey Morrello has that Mel Triplett feel at fullback, and was he hard to bring down today! Hewitt carried the ball for 147 yards officially, and combines speed with toughness. (No such thing as a Tiger who is not tough.)
In a group interview, Joseph Henry, Justin Lee, and Mr. Hewitt all speaking at once and not even out of breath said the defense was awesome, the secondary “on point.” They said they were not tired at all through the game, while Mount Vernon was. They said they were angry about the lack of respect for the team coming into the season by the football prognosticators who have picked Mount Vernon, Gorton and New Rochelle as the cream of the conference this season.
The team was strong. That is a testimony to the three-a-day practices in 95 degree heat the Tigers have been laboring through the last three weeks. A game day must seem like a fun day for them, considering what they go through to prepare for it.
A final word, the Tigers were very well prepared for this game. Routes were crisp. Blocking was overpowering, swift and sure. The poise when mistakes were made was on display.
It was a great debut for the Tigers who play Roosevelt next Saturday at Parker Stadium.
WHITE PLAINS CHEERLEADERS at the game. Photo, WPCNR Sports
Gridiron Closing Handshakes. Photo, WPCNR Sports.
