“You can overcome nervousness with known preparation.”
Xavier Arline took his father’s words more seriously than ever Friday night. The Shoreham-Wading River quarterback was ready for whatever previously-undefeated Elwood-John Glenn threw at him, dodging blocks and hitting his marks to score five touchdowns — three rushing and two passing — in a 40-6 blitz September 28.
“We knew we were prepared, and we came out and executed,” he said. “Any win is big, but over an undefeated team, it’s a big statement.”
Arline, who finished with 215 yards rushing on 14 attempts, put the Wildcats (3-1) on the board late in the first on a 55-yard rush. The drive, just two plays off the punt, began with his 36-yard pass to Dominic Visintin. Johnny Schwarz put Arline in position to score next when he cut up the field to the 20-yard line. Arline ran the ball the rest of the way ahead of nearly half a dozen would-be tacklers with 4:20 left in the second quarter.
“Everything was clicking, but credit to the offensive line though, nothing happens without them,” Arline said.
On the final play before the break, Arline connected with Schwarz on a 30-yard touchdown pass to give Shoreham a 21-0 lead. The sophomore wide receiver said it’s been a privilege to play alongside his field general, who also finished 6-for-12 with 170 passing yards.
“I’ve learned so much from him, in lacrosse, too,” he said. “X is just awesome to play with, awesome to be around. He’s a great kid.”
Shoreham held Glenn to 58 yards in the first half, but the Knights came marching down the field on a 12-play, 73-yard drive that ended with Daysean Johnson’s 20-yard leaping catch in the far corner behind two Wildcat defenders.
“We want to be tougher than our opponent, we want to be more physical than our opponent all four quarters of the game, and I think we did that,” Shoreham-Wading River head coach Aden Smith said. “I was pleased with our effort this week in practice. The kids worked hard and performed to the level of expectation.”
Arline remained relaxed and dazzled on his final rushing touchdown of the night, which sandwiched two Visintin scores. The senior jetted 35 yards across the field and juked left to get behind a tackler running at him from his left side and skated into the end zone.
“We put it all together,” Arline said. “[Elwood-John Glenn] is a high-powered offense. Holding any team in the league to six points is great, and we’re just getting started. This is the start of something.”
