Friday night's weather was brisk and the Southampton Mariners came to town with an upset in mind. They clearly sought to avenge last season's playoff elimination at the hands of the Babylon Panthers. But their hopes were dashed by a better team. The Panther defense rocked, holding the Mariners to five first downs and a net 110 yards, 22 on the ground and 88 in the air. The Black D forced five turnovers on four interceptions and a fumble recovery with a pair of picks by Bill Parker and one each by Matt Griffo and Tim Schweitzer. The swipe was by Frankie Deesing. They also chalked up two sacks, one by Matt Martinez and another shared by Matt Brennan and Ish Mohammed. Under a fierce rush by Zak Viverito the Southampton passing game was forced into a number of mistakes.

Coach Rick Punzone said, "We were fortunate to win considering our turnovers and penalties. Southampton was really up for this one and our own play lacked the spark I know we're capable of. But the outcome was positive and we'll build further on that for the next game. Southampton deserves credit for staying tough."

Actually, Babylon did dominate the game. Beside compiling 217 yards on 57 plays, they had two touchdowns and another key gainer called back. A long flag down the left sideline by Chris King was caught by tight end Bill Parker but the receiver came down just out of bounds at the Mariner 6-yard line. With those plays going Babylon's way, the Panthers would have scored seven TDs for the fourth straight week. The called back TDs were an 86-yard sweep around the right side by Ish Mohammed and a 28-yard left screen pass from King to Jake Casciola.

Babylon drew first blood on its second possession. They drove to the Mariner 5 and from there King rolled right, escaped a tackle and fired to Griffo, who made the grab in the end zone. The extra point snap was a bit high and King, the intended holder, went up for it and shoveled the ball back to kicker Schweitzer, who then ran it in for a 2-pointer. Southampton got on the board in the second quarter when Pat Newcomb charged in to sack King in the end zone for a safety. Babylon took an 8-2 lead into the halftime.

Braving the chill, the Babylon Band had given a fine rendition of the National Anthem before the game and rooted and tooted the team on from there. Meredith Carlock's cheerleaders gave a neat performance at half time. They're at every contest, home and away in all weather - Jessica Allen, Kirsten Carlock, Meghan Cernelli, Lauren Colletti, Emma Cullen, Shannon Holgan, Jacqui Jacinth, Shantell Kerr, Barbara Maier, Maggie Rose Melito, Kim Ober, Monic Perez, Jessi Pergolotti, Molly Piccione, Nicole Rugen, Kristen Sutter and Amanda Turnbull.

Babylon dominated the second half. Their first drive was capped on a 6-yard burst by Mohammed off a block by left tackle Matt Lauria. Mohammed then scored a 2-pointer on a pass from Schweitzer. In the final period, King raced 22 yards around left end on a keeper for the TD. Schweitzer added the first of his two extra point kicks.

The Mariner offense had been thwarted until the last 32 seconds of the game. QB Zach Antilety hit fullback Sean Dillon on a circle pass and the receiver toted it in for the score. The play covered 29 yards. Nick Epley kicked the extra point. But on the ensuing attempt at an onside kick, Bill Parker caught the ball near the left sideline at the Babylon 44, raced right, picked up blocking and went the distance for a 56-yard return with 20 ticks remaining on the clock.

Key stats: Ish Mohammed 19 carries for 83 yards, Jake Casciola 16 for 81. Besides Parker's two picks and the kick return for a touchdown, he nailed three punts for 130 yards, all three inside the Mariner 20.

Saturday, the Panthers visit the Port Jefferson Royals (3-1). Game time has been changed to 3 p.m., an hour later than originally posted, due to the SATs that morning.