RSS Feed
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Panthers clinch playoff Seed, Hammer Hampton Bays 41-0 The Babylon Panthers rolled to a 41 zip victory over the Hampton Bays Baymen at Hampton Bays Sunday. The game had been scheduled for Saturday, but postponed because of severe weather conditions. The Black D continued to stifle their opponents. This time they held the Baymen to a net 31 yards rushing and 57 passing for a total 88 yards. The Panthers forced five turnovers and held the Baymen to five first downs and four three-and-outs. The offense did its job, as well. They romped to 410 yards rushing on 55 carries by eleven different ball carriers. Babylon didn't attempt a pass. The Panthers seized the initiative on the opening kickoff. They forced a fumble, recovered by Eddie Rifice at the Hampton 20-yard line. On the next play, Ish Mohammed raced around left end for a touchdown. The Panthers' next possession began at the Bays 42. Fullback Jake Casciola burst up the middle for 7. Quarterback Chris King zipped around the left side for 16. Mohammed then followed key blocks from Casciola and Tim Schweitzer and ran around the right side from the 19 for the TD. Schweitzer added the first of his five extra point kicks. The Panthers then went 40 yards on four plays for their next score. The key was a 27-yard sweep of the right side by Mohammed to the 1. Rifice slashed in over left guard for the TD to cap the drive. The Panthers were far from finished. Hampton's next possession was killed when Kyle Gredder batted a pass at the line of scrimmage. The ensuing punt was taken by Tim Schweitzer at the Babylon 47 and toted to the Hampton 28. Four plays later, Joe Bender banged in over left tackle from a foot out. Cornerback Bill Parker intercepted a deep right fly at the Babylon 19 and ran it back to the 33. Two plays later, Casciola blasted over left tackle and went 65 yards for the TD, helped by Schweitzer's fine downfield block. And Babylon led 34-0 at the end of the first quarter. In the second half, an exchange of turnovers wound up with linebacker Frankie Deesing covering a fumble at the Panther 32. Babylon went 68 yards on seven plays. Bender ran through right tackle and went 34 yards to cap the drive. Babylon continued to hold the Baymen at bay with a batted pass by Zak Viverito, a teamed interception by the Schweitzer brothers (Tim tapped and Bryan picked) and a sack by Bryan Schweitzer which forced a fumble and recovery by T. J. DeMartino. In all, Hampton Bays would get past the midfield stripe only twice during the whole contest - once driving to the Babylon 38 where they were stopped and once on a recovery by Mike Lloyd at the Panther 37 only to be turned right back over on the next play with Deesing's recovery. The Smurfs took over after the first period. These are the guys that pay their dues throughout the long, tough practices going up against one of the top teams in Long Island every day. For them, facing another team is like a day at the beach. Behind their line with Tom Heavner at center, guards Keith Menger and Don Pietrowski, tackles DeMartino, Terence Hotchkiss and John Adorno and ends Sean Gargiulo and Conor Tennyson, the running backs maintained Babylon's game. Quarterback Willie Rivas took the helm and guided the offense, handing off to the running backs - Bender, Bryan Schweitzer, Dom Rifice, Peter Vames and Adam Schuler behind blocking back James Panarelli. They did much more than hold their own against the Baymen. Key stats: Casciola 6 carries for 87 yards and Mohammed 4 for 73 - all in the first period - and Bender 8 for 70. Obviously pleased, coach Rick Punzone said, "We had a great game from the Smurfs who played three quarters. Our concern was about a possible letdown after last week's big win over a tough team and the upcoming game against another very tough one. But we had a good start on the fumble of the opening kickoff and everything went well from then on." Saturday, the Panthers face the rugged Mount Sinai Mustangs at Williams Field. Both have clinched the top two places in the division and each is undefeated at 7- 0. This will be a dogfight for the top slot going into the playoffs. Game time is listed at 2 p.m.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||
