Baldwin clings to playoff hopes

It took four games, but Baldwin’s finally in the win column.
The Bruins put on a show for their homecoming crowd Oct. 5, defeating Hicksville, 33-7, in a Conference I football matchup to snap a season-opening, three-game slide. Senior Isaiah Place hauled in touchdown passes from both Baldwin quarterbacks — junior Joe Wright and senior Ronnie Marchese-Silano — and junior Trey Parkin made the most of his 12 carries, scoring twice and racking up 148 yards, to highlight the victory.
“We’ve got a really good group of kids and they’re working hard,” head coach Steve Carroll said. “It was nice to see them execute some things we went over on film. Where we’re hurting the most is experience. It’s been a long time since I realized how important experience is. Hopefully this win gives them some confidence and we’ll see if we can sneak into the playoffs.”
With a roster about 10 bodies shy of their norm, the Bruins (1-4 after last Saturday’s loss at defending champion Freeport) will need to stay healthy down the stretch and take care of business in must-win games against Hempstead in Week 6 and Westbury in Week 8 to have any chance to play a ninth game. “It’ll be close if we can win two of the last three,” Carroll said. “It’s coming down to the wire for a bunch of us.”
Junior Sage Burke sparked the homecoming victory early in the first quarter, blocking a Hicksville punt after the defense forced a three-and-out. Two plays later, Wright connected with junior Kenneth Ojeikere on a 30-yard touchdown pass and it was quickly 7-0 after senior Matteo Valenti’s first of three successful extra-point kicks.

It stayed that way until the second quarter when Place, a 6-foot-4 wideout, caught a 60-yard touchdown from Wright to make it 14-0. “He’s a talented receiver,” Carroll said of Place. “He’s a big target and he seems to always get large gains. He’s a tall kid who might not look like he’s running fast, but in reality he is.”
Parkin, who’s absence due to an ankle injury was felt in Week 2 when the Bruins suffered a 35-25 loss to Plainview after leading by 18, broke out with his best performance of 2019. His 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter helped Baldwin hold a 21-7 halftime lead. “He got into stride,” Carroll said. “He’s still not 100 percent, but he ran tough.”
Place had a 15-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, and Parkin capped the victory with a 3-yard score in the fourth. Junior linebacker Kenyon Wingate led the defense with 11 tackles.
Wright and Marchese-Silano will continue to share quarterback duties moving forward, Carroll noted. Wright went 5-for-9 for 95 yards and two touchdowns against Hicksville, while Marchese-Silano completed 3 of 5 attempts for 45 yards and a score. Neither turned the ball over. “We’ve been looking for one of them to take control, but it hasn’t happened so we’ll continue to split series’,” he said. “They both do different things well.”