Baldwin rallies past Oceanside

Javaun Tomlinson did everything but drive Baldwin’s bus Saturday, but that’s only because the Bruins were already home.

Though Tomlinson’s fumble on the first snap of the second half led to a quick Oceanside touchdown, he more than made up for it in the fourth quarter. The two-way starting junior blocked a punt, ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 1:31 remaining, and sealed Baldwin’s thrilling come-from-behind 19-18 Conference I victory with an interception.

“We had a great week of practice,” said Tomlinson, who rushed for 152 yards on 24 carries. “Today was a little shaky in the beginning, but we never stopped and made a lot of big plays at the end.”

The Bruins (3-1) fell behind 18-7 with 3:27 left in the third quarter after Oceanside (2-2) got a 26-yard field goal from Travis Feinberg, but they owned the fourth. Their defense forced three turnovers, and Tomlinson’s special play on special teams with 7:27 left gave them momentum for good.

“He was the main reason why our JV team finished 7-1 last year,” Baldwin head coach Steve Carroll said of Tomlinson, who has at least 120 yards on the ground in each of his first four varsity games. “We did today what we didn’t do last week at Massapequa,” he added. “We fell behind, but the players hung in there and we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

Four snaps after his punt block at the Sailors’ 28-yard-line, Tomlinson kept his legs moving and broke two tackles on the way to scoring from 16 yards out to cut the deficit to 18-13 with 5:48 to go. Junior Treyvon Mask picked off John Grassi on Oceanside’s ensuing possession, setting up a nine-play, 58-yard game-winning touchdown drive capped by Tomlinson’s plunge from a yard out.

“We’re not sustaining as many drives as we should, and the turnovers and blocked punt killed us,” Sailors head coach Rob Blount said. “It’s not going to get easier for us, so we have to regroup fast.”