Wolf Pac, LaRue dominate Eastchester in Homecoming win

These past two weeks have offered a series of highs and lows for the Mahopac gridders. It started with the lows, as a 21-7 road setback to rival Somers on Sept. 26 was made even more painful when the Wolf Pac (3-2) also lost senior star receiver and defensive back Lorenzo Echandy to a broken collarbone for the remainder of the season. The three-time reigning NYSPHSAA Class A champion Tuskers simply took over in the second half, breaking open a scoreless halftime tie.

But then came a wave of highs on Friday, Oct. 3. The upswing started with the hifalutin Homecoming festivities provided by the Mahopac Touchdown Club, followed by a 33-14 win over visiting Eastchester and the coming out party of junior wide receiver/defensive back Ryan LaRue, who hauled in three TD grabs – of the high-point and/or mid-stride variety – from junior quarterback Ethan Dedvukaj. LaRue also picked off a pair of passes on defense, setting up short fields the Wolf Pac would capitalize on.

“LaRue 100 percent stepped up,” said Dedvukaj, who connected on 16 of 21 for 231 yards and fired four touchdown passes, including a 25-yard spin to junior Nick Lucia (5 grabs, 40 yards) for a 7-0 first-quarter lead. “The kid is just different. Our connection was different tonight. With Lorenzo going down, somebody needed to step up and that was (LaRue). His route-running and catching ability make him very dangerous. All I need to do is get him the ball. These last few games we’ll see why Ryan LaRue will be the best receiver and DB in the section.”

Mahopac center and co-captain Matthew ‘Benti’ Bentivenga had a pretty good view of the action, as he and linemates – Peter Grishaj, Johnny Feaver, Max Smolinski, Brendan Duffy, Matt Dugan, Matt Reilly and Jack Kaden – paved the way for 338 yards of scrimmage offense, including 88 rushing yards on 10 totes from senior halfback Nate Mascoll.

“Ethan and Ryan stepped up, kids looked awesome,” said Bentivenga, whose dad, Jimmy B, opened the pregame festivities with a rousing rendition of our national anthem #GuitarRiffStyle. “The whole team did. I told them all week that since Lorenzo’s hurt they needed to step up and they did. I’m so proud of them.”

Mahopac took a 13-0 lead into the break after the first of LaRue’s TDs just before half, a high-point ball from Dedvukaj. After Eastchester scored to make it 13-7, LaRue took the game over in the third quarter, reaching paydirt from 42 yards out at 2:54 for a 20-7 lead. He then picked off a pass at 1:10, returning the ball to the Pac 38. At 9:39 of the fourth quarter, LaRue (5 catches, 121 yards) struck again from 38 yards out for a 27-7 lead. He followed that up with his second INT, setting up an electrifying 49-yard TD jaunt from Mascoll for a 33-7 lead with 6:13 left. Change-of-pace running back Julius Salomon added 11 rugged carries for 59 yards. WR Gavin O'Keefe added two catches for 34 yards.

“Ethan and I put in a lot of work during the summer, and we’re building our chemistry,” said LaRue, a three-sport athlete (hoops, lacrosse). “Lorenzo going down was a big loss for our team, but our other players rose to the occasion and stepped up showing off the hard work we have been putting in all season. I am just really happy I could perform for my team and won’t take my foot off the gas for the rest of the season.”

Mascoll, Alex Girau and Bobby Egan each had five tackles; senior captain Michael Trinchitella added four to lead a dominant defense that limited the Eagles to 66 yards from scrimmage.

Mahopac, now 2-2 against Section 1 teams and 1-1 in league play, will visit a desperate Yorktown (1-4 overall, 1-1 league) on Friday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m., in a pivotal league game. Yorktown – having lost to forceful Somers, Harrison and Rye – is better than its record shows, so the Wolf Pac cannot sleep on the Huskers.