Owls Swoop Through Tornadoes in County Finals

On a frigid Friday night at Hofstra's Stuart Stadium, Conference III's top-seeded Lynbrook Owls knocked off the No. 2 Golden Tornadoes, 39-14.

Lynbrook running back Travis Lock was unstoppable, rushing for 273 yards and three touchdowns. And the Owls' defense held Lawrence scoreless in the second half.

Lawrence put up a good fight, keeping pace with Lynbrook and trailing just 20-14 at halftime. At the start of the second half, quarterback Samson Bialostok led Lawrence to Lynbrook's 8-yard line, a drive highlighted by a 30-yard pass to Ryan Fredericks on a critical 3rd and 27. But Lynbrook's defense stopped them short of the end zone, taking over on downs at its own 4-yard line.

Three minutes later, Lock capped an eight-play, 93-yard drive with a  15-yard touchdown run, giving Lynbrook a 26-14 lead.

Still very much alive with a little over three minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Lawrence tried to battle back. But on its next two possessions, Bialostok was intercepted twice by Lynbrook's Luke Spitzer, with the second one leading to a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Paul Magloire.

Magloire added another touchdown, a 4-yard run, with 5:41 left in the game, to give the Owls a commanding 39-14 lead.

Bialostok finished with 12 passes for 204 yards and one touchdown pass. Running back Ed Robinson carried five times for 62 yards, and Ryan Fredericks ran 11 times for 61 yards. Lawrence's two touchdowns were scored by Fredericks, on a 1-yard carry, and Seiddrik Ervin, who caught a 26-yard pass from Bialostok.

"It feels great," Lynbrook coach Steve Locicero said of the win. "The Lynbrook community did a great job rooting for these kids. To bring a championship back to this community is very special."

Lawrence coaches could not be found on the field for comment.

Lawrence defeated Lynbrook last year in the county title game, and also earlier this season.

Lynbrook will take on Sayville for the Long Island championship on Nov. 26 at Hofstra.