Baldwin braces for Massapequa visit

Baldwin’s 28-7 home loss to Massapequa in the first round of last year’s Nassau Conference I playoffs left a bad taste in the mouths of Bruins players and coaches, and this Saturday they’ll get a chance to avenge the 2011 season-ending defeat when the Chiefs visit for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

“Every year when practice starts, one of the first things the kids ask is `when’s the Freeport game,’” Baldwin coach Steve Carroll said after last Saturday’s 35-7 home victory over Hempstead. “When I told them Freeport wasn’t on the schedule, they wanted to know about Massapequa. So they’ve been thinking about this one. It’s a huge game.”

The Chiefs, who also beat the Bruins during the regular season last fall, 28-14, outscored their first three opponents this year— Hicksville, Freeport and Uniondale — by a combined margin of 121-20. “They’ve got a lot of good coaches and players,” Carroll said. “We believe we can do some things against them, but we’ll have to play a very strong game to win.”

Eight days after two critical turnovers spelled doom in a 21-6 loss to Farmingdale, the Bruins were clicking on all cylinders. They mixed things up on offense and scored three times through the air and twice on the ground.

“Hempstead loaded the line of scrimmage and dared us to throw,” Carroll said. “It was like an all-out blitz every down.”

Junior quarterback Tyler Warner was sharp for the most part, going 13 of 19 for 152 yards and three touchdowns — all to senior Travais Hylton in the second quarter. Hylton had scoring grabs of 19, 23 and 26 yards, and Warner capped two of the three with a successful two-point conversion pass.

“He’s a bright kid and a great athlete, and he’s getting better,” Carroll said of Warner. “He led the Travais nicely on a few of the touchdowns.”

Senior tailback Jovaun Tomlinson was a force out of the backfield again, rushing for 144 yards and two touchdowns. His 17-yard touchdown run staked Baldwin to a 6-0 lead after the opening quarter. In three games, Tomlinson has 450 yards rushing and six scores. “He’s getting 60-65 percent of the carries,” said Carroll, who also counts on senior Treyvon Mask to help keep the chains
moving.

Mask got 2012 off in style when he returned the season-opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to set the tone in the Bruins’ 40-0 win over Uniondale on Sept. 8. Tomlinson had three touchdowns that day and busted a 79-yard score against Farmingdale.

Defensively, Carroll said he’s “ecstatic” with the linebacker corps. Seniors Johnathon Robinson, Ryan Mahoney, Michael Abrahams and Lucas Krucher are making tough tackles look routine. Mahoney had six tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery against Hempstead, and in the opener Krucher had three sacks and Robinson two fumble recoveries.

Win or lose against Massapequa, things won’t get easier for the Bruins as they travel to face defending county champion East Meadow on Oct. 6.