By STEVE SINISKI
In their season-ending 34-27 loss to Suffolk County's League I Champion Floyd (11-0), the Bruins fell behind by 14 points at halftime but refused to roll over, despite the continuous pounding from the Colonials' three-pronged rushing attack. As well as the Bruins (10-1) have played up front this season, their line ran into an opponent that had an advantage no coach can teach: size.
Of the Colonials' 59 offensive plays, just two were passes. "Their coach [is the type] that won't throw unless he has to throw," Baldwin coach Steve Carroll said. "He'll just keep plugging along."
Despite a ball-control attack that also generated big plays, Floyd struggled to put the game away. Three second-half fumbles by sophomore tailback Brock Jackolski, including two in the red zone, kept the Bruins' hopes alive. In fact, quarterback Joe Vanella (13 for 21, 198 yards passing, four touchdowns) proved again why he's the leader of the offense, calmly directing a 56-yard scoring drive in just 48 seconds to trim a 34-21 deficit to seven points with one minute left. His 6-yard scoring strike to Chris O'Donnell stunned the Floyd faithful, who had lost two of the previous four Long Island Championship games.
The ensuing onside kick, however, was snared on a hop by the front man of Floyd's kick-return team, and the Colonials captured their first Long Island title by running out the final 60 seconds.
"The guys have a lot to be proud of, because they played a great game," said Carroll. "We almost had visions of the East Meadow game" - a first-round matchup won by Baldwin on a touchdown pass with four seconds to play - "and kept everyone sitting on the edge until the onside kick.
"The whole year, they were never flustered about anything. We still had guys coming off the field [after the late score] saying, 'We're going to get this, coach.' The fact that they kept their heads about them is huge."
Stealing a page out of the Bruins playbook of just two weeks ago, Floyd refused to throw the ball until its running game was stopped. With 57 runs for 435 yards and five scores, the Colonials proved they could run at will. Whether it was big plays from Jackolski, who had scoring runs of 72 and 64 yards among his four touchdowns, tough yards from Anthony Minerva (13 carries for 49 yards) or simply ball control with Casey Terruso (21 for 128), Floyd kept the Baldwin defense on its heels.
The two teams fought to an offensive standstill in the opening quarter, with each scoring a pair of touchdowns and Floyd ending the period with a 14-13 lead. Aaron Weaver put the Baldwin offense in excellent field position on the first two scoring drives, returning the opening kickoff 38 yards and nearly breaking loose on his second return. He was tackled at the Floyd 36 after a 58-yard runback. Vanella found him at the end of each drive with a pair of scoring throws from the Colonials' 8.
Baldwin didn't find the end zone again until the fourth quarter, however, when Brendan Murphy turned in yet another highlight-reel play. He snatched a tipped pass off the hands of teammate Kevin Pate at the Floyd 40 and raced to the end zone with 7:45 to play. "He's been making heads-up plays all year long," Carroll said of Murphy, who also plays cornerback. "People can say it's lucky, but he still had to catch it. He had five interceptions and was in the right place at the right time."
The Colonials put the game out of reach on the next possession, a 12-play, 66-yard drive that took 5:45 off the clock. It ended on quarterback Terry Stoner's 20-yard scoring run on fourth-and-3 with 1:55 remaining.
"The fact that we didn't win doesn't diminish anything we did all year," Carroll said. "They made this a fun year to be a part of. We learned as much from the [guys] as they learned football. This was the greatest group I've ever coached."
Comments on this story? MSeaman@ LIherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
Photos by Rebecca Lopatin
