Baldwin stays hot, beats East Meadow

Baldwin’s Cedric Jean-Pierre made his presence felt on offense, defense and special teams in the Bruins’ convincing win in a Conference I football showdown at East Meadow last Saturday.

The senior playmaker’s historic day included rushing, interception return and punt return touchdown. Reaching the end zone in all three phases of the game proved monumental in a 34-0 victory in East Meadow’s Homecoming game that gave Baldwin (5-1) its fifth straight win after dropping its season opener.

East Meadow dropped to 3-3.

“He comes out every day and tries to perfect his craft,” said Baldwin assistant coach Mike McQueen of the versatile Jean-Pierre, who plays wide receiver as his primary position but also is very involved in the rushing attack. “He’s amazing.”

Jean-Pierre’s 5-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter gave Baldwin a 12-0 lead. Then on defense he made what proved to be the game’s most decisive play with a 98-yard interception return when Baldwin was on the verge of a touchdown to make it 18-0.

“They were right on the doorstep of a touchdown and him stepping up like that just ignited the whole team,” McQueen said. “From that point on we kicked it into gear.”

The magic continued for Jean-Pierre later in the second quarter when took a punt near midfield 57 yards for a touchdown that gave the Bruins a commanding 26-0 halftime advantage.

Senior running back Anthony Byron also had a big game with 104 yards rushing on just 10 carries. Byron got the scoring started with a 15-yard touchdown run. He capped off the day with a third quarter two-point conversion run following a five-yard touchdown from senior quarterback Vaughdrea Johnson.

McQueen credits the offensive line nicknamed “The Trench” of Rodney Mills, Moise Ambroise, Darien Ward, Jack Pace and Jack Davison with driving the success.

The Baldwin defense has also stepped up since a season-opening 32-20 defeat to Massapequa, holding opponents to 14 points or less in the five-game winning streak. Junior defensive lineman Rodney Mills helped produce the shutout with five tackles including two for a loss.

“They were clearly better than us in every facet of the game,” East Meadow head coach Vin Mascia said. “I personally think they are the second-best team in the league.”

Senior fullback Joe Festa was the brought spot for the Jets rushing for 98 yards on 15 carries. He had a 43 yard run in the third quarter.

East Meadow, which was coming off a 27-20 loss at Syosset on Oct. 8, returns home Saturday to face Uniondale for a 2 p.m. kickoff before closing the regular season with a Friday night game at Port Washington on Oct,. 28 at 6 p.m. The Jets will need to win their last two games to have any chance at reaching the eight-team Conference I playoffs.

Baldwin will look to make it six straight wins at home against neighboring rival Freeport at 2 p.m. and will close the regular season at Westbury on Oct. 29.