By STEVE SINISKI
Few expected the Bruins to come away with one, let alone a pair of victories in their first two games against top-seeded Massapequa and No. 2 Farmingdale. But David managed to slay Goliath twice, including last Saturday's 48-14 knockout of the Dalers. Baldwin opened the season with a 13-7 win over the Chiefs, limiting them to just 81 yards rushing.
"I've been playing Farmingdale for 18 years and won once," Bruins coach Steve Carroll said. "We have nothing but the utmost respect [for Farmingdale] because we know they can come back on you."
Leading 27-14, Baldwin pulled away with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, highlighted by Aaron Weaver's 45-yard interception return. He jumped in front of a Dalers' receiver running a square out, and scored the Bruins first defensive touchdown of the season. Choosing one, two, or even three heroes from last Saturday's win would be a difficult task, because Carroll's crew laid down the law on both ends of the field.
"[Last Saturday] once we started to take control we couldn't do anything wrong," Carroll said of his team, which reeled off 27 consecutive points after falling behind 7-0. "When we needed to pass we did, and very well. We weren't doing anything unusual. We added a couple of new pass wrinkles and they worked."
Ricky Manigat's 5-yard scoring run in the second quarter was the first snowflake in what became a scoring blizzard for Baldwin. Dakota Lupo followed with a 3-yard scamper of his own before Kevin Pate grabbed a 20-yard scoring pass from quarterback Joey Vanella to give Baldwin a 21-7 edge at the break. Manigat's second touchdown run, from 16 yards, opened the scoring on the first possession after halftime.
"[It's] two weeks in a row where [the wins] have been a total team effort," Carroll said. "Not one player dominated on the field."
Lost in the shuffle of the 48 points in Week 2 and the upset of No. 1 Massapequa (13-7 on September 17) is the play of an offensive line that has four new starters, and a defense with several new linebackers. Mike Bryant, who played sparingly last season, has developed rapidly at linebacker, to the point that Carroll already feels comfortable lining him up at any of the three slots. Pate, a former soccer player, has converted 7 of 9 extra-point attempts in two games to go along with the touchdown reception, and the offensive line continues to push forward like a storm front.
"Dakota [Lupo] had some great blocks [at fullback]," Carroll said. "And [offensive guard] Cody Soto may only be 180 pounds, but he's tough as nails. He just goes out and gets after people. You don't just go out and handle Farmingdale and Massapequa, but we did. It was just Power-I football straight ahead.
"The offensive line has impressed us the most the last two weeks. Normally you have a few times where the surge [from the defense] is backward, but [for us] everything is [moving] forward."
The Bruins hit the road this Saturday to take on Hicksville, which has opened up the year at 0-2. The Comets dropped a 27-14 decision to Port Washington on Sept. 24.
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