RSS Feed
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Panthers take opener; nip Knights in 35-33 slugfest It was tighter than expected. But the Babylon Panthers came out on top in their toughest encounter of the season at Williams Field, Saturday. The offensive line of the Big Black Machine proved too much for the upset-minded Glenn Knights. The Panther running game would not be denied as they won it, 35-33. Coach Rick Punzone said, "We won against an outstanding team with two outstanding athletes. I'm very proud of our kids. Our offense was very good. They played a great game." The coach's reference was to Glenn stars Trevor Coston and Ifeani Momah. Coston is a throwback to the old single wing, triple threat tailbacks. He can run, pass and punt as well as anyone seen by the Panthers this year. Momah is a 6'7" receiver, whose seven leaping catches garnered 122 yards for the Knights. Coston directed an aerial circus, completing 19 of 33 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns. And he ran for 115 yards on 21 carries and three TDs. His total 387 yards and five TDs amounted to one of the best performances against the Panthers, ever. The Knights totaled 420 net yards, 299 passing and 121 rushing. Glenn coach Dave Shanahan, a long time Babylon opponent, lauded his club afterward. He gathered the Knights in the far end zone and said, "I'm so very proud of you. You all played a great game and have a great deal to be proud of." Each of his coaches addressed the team with similar praise. Shanahan later said, "We brought Babylon to the brink and outplayed them in a number of ways. But they did a very good job of squeezing the ball. I wish them luck in the playoffs." Babylon showed they were tough. They had 295 yards rushing and 26 passing for a total 321 yards from scrimmage. Tailback Ish Mohammed was a workhorse. He carried 29 times for 225 yards, the most in his career. Each team had 17 first downs. The Panthers opened with tailback Mohammed blasting off right tackle 55 yards to the Glenn 4-yard line. He then slashed over the left side through a huge gap between guard Marc Martinez and tackle Matt Lauria to cap it. Tim Schweitzer added the first of his five very important extra point kicks. The Black D held the Knights to their only 3-and-out with Frankie Deesing moving in for a sack. Coston's punt was fielded by Adam Schuler at the Babylon 31. His give to Schweitzer was carried up to the 46. The Panthers then went 54 yards on ten plays with fullback Jake Casciola banging in from the 3 behind Matt Martinez and Alex Mangini. But the Knights answered right away. They went 75 yards on six plays, each featuring Coston. Their last five plays went for four first downs and the touchdown, a left look-in pass to Dennis Gannon from the 5. Matt Fisher kicked the extra point. Babylon's offensive line continued to hog the pigskin as the Panthers went 60 yards on twelve plays. Mohammed went in from the 3, behind Lauria and Zak Viverito. Glenn would not be denied. They tacked on another score with Coston getting them from their own 35 to the Bab 19 on three passes following a shared sack by Matt Martinez and Matt Brennan. Coston zipped through left guard and raced it in from there. The extra point attempt was the leverage moment of the game. Matt Martinez stormed in to block Fisher's kick. The play forced Glenn to go for two-point conversions from then on, resulting in a successful outcome for Babylon. Babylon was held to 3-and-out before punter Bill Parker nailed one, 74 yards, which bounced around inside the Glenn 10 and then into the end zone. The Panthers carried a 21-13 lead into halftime. In the third period, Coston gunned a 41-yard right fly to Momah getting the ball to the Panther 24. But Viverito covered a fumble on the next play for the game's only turnover. Babylon then went 72 yards on eleven plays to take a 28-13 lead. They scored on a play-action pass from quarterback Chris King to tight end Parker at the goal line to the left. The play went for 26 yards, a beauty. Viverito chalked up a sack to stem Glenn's next drive at the Bab 19. Glenn grabbed the momentum from there. On the ground and in the air, Coston took the Knights to the Panther 30. He then went through left guard, cut left and raced for a TD. The 2-point try was thwarted when Matt Griffo upended Julien Baptiste just short of the goal line, a terrific tackle. Parker took the ensuing kickoff at the Babylon 24 and hauled it to the Glenn 33. But Babylon suffered a major penalty after the play taking it back to the 48. They took six plays to score. Mohammed ran for 44 yards on four carries and capped the drive with a 6-yard blast off the left side between Lauria and Parker. Glenn scored twice more to eat into Babylon's 35- 19 lead. They went 65 yards on eight plays. The key play on the drive was a lateral to wideout Gannon who then fired down the right side to Momah. The play went 27 yards to the Bab 8. Coston's pass to Jordan Ioviero in the deep left corner of the end zone from the 5 went for the TD. The pass attempt at a 2- pointer was incomplete. Their last possession was temporarily stalled when Deesing moved in for his second sack forcing a fumble. The ball was recovered by Glenn, but resulted in a 17-yard loss. But Coston patiently guided the Knights the distance, running and passing them to the Panther 7. He ran it in from there and then passed to James Gross for two. With 14 ticks to go, the onside kick attempt failed to reach the 50 and King ate the remaining clock with a pair of genuflects. Other stuff: Both marks of 17 first downs and 420 yards were over twice the numbers yielded by the excellent Black D in any game this year. Glenn receivers Gross and Gannon combined for 134 yards on 9 catches. The flawless play of Babylon center Jim Mahr has anchored that super offensive line all year. The silent salute to our military was a touching note before the Panther band's excellent rendition of the National Anthem on Veterans Day. A note of thanks is surely in order to Plessers, who donated the BBQ grill for each of the home games.
The next playoff game will be at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium, scheduled for this Saturday at 4 p.m. First seed Babylon (9-0) will face the second seed Mount Sinai Mustangs (8-1). Mount beat the third seed Shoreham Wildcats 27-3 in their playoff opener last Saturday. Babylon won their encounter with Mount, 45-18 two weeks ago. The Mustangs will be rearing and the Panthers roaring. Should be a good one.
|
for larger version       |
|||||||||||||||||
