West Hempstead football tops Valley Stream South to finish 7-1

West Hempstead coach Dom Carre knew his team had potential but wasn’t sure how it would all come together this fall.

The Rams (7-1), labeled the preseason No. 7 seed in Nassau Conference IV after dealing with injuries last year, turned potential into history.

West Hempstead finished its regular season with a 48-16 home win over Valley Stream South on Saturday. The win marked West Hempstead’s first seven-win regular season since 2012. Now, second in the Nassau Conference IV standings, the Rams are set to host a playoff game for the first time since 2013.

“As long as we’re there for each other I think we can beat anyone,” said senior running back Jonathan Balthazard, who missed seven games last season with an injury.

Balthazard rushed for 70 yards on six carries against Valley Stream South and scored both of his touchdowns in the first quarter. A’Lorenz Chatman, who led West Hempstead’s offense with 95 rushing yards, also scored in the first quarter, helping the Rams to a 20-0 lead.

“We’re super talented," Chatman said. "I’m not going to lie."

Jurrel Hall ran 35 yards into the end zone on the second play of the second quarter. On the next play, Gavin Lee intercepted a Valley Stream South pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.

Corey Pierre added a 54-yard touchdown run with 6:56 to play in the second quarter, lifting West Hempstead to a 41-0 lead before halftime.

"We have people who can play multiple positions, and we run a unique offense,” Balthazard added. “Mix that with our athletes and our talent, I don’t think it’s easy to stop.”

The Rams forced Valley Stream South into five consecutive three-and-outs to start the game. Prince Meeks scored the Falcons’ first touchdown with 1:30 left in the third quarter. Andy Dorant scored Valley Stream South’s last touchdown of the afternoon, and Declan Cole scored West Hempstead’s only touchdown of the second half.

After the game, Carre congratulated his team on a good regular season and reminded them to focus before the win-or-go-home playoffs.

“They do things naturally that we don’t even teach them, just because they’ve played together for so long,” Carre said. “You can’t teach experience, that’s what I think it comes down to.”

West Hempstead lost in the first round of last year's playoffs to a Cold Spring Harbor team they beat during the 2021 regular season. The Rams will use last year's playoff experience to prepare for this year’s postseason.

“Just because you beat a team once doesn’t mean you’ll beat them again,” Pierre said. “Our one loss to North Shore, we’ll get them back in the playoffs. We’ll get our revenge.”