One snap.
That’s all it took for Baldwin to set the tone for the 2025 football season.
And that snap didn’t come from senior center Ryan Healey, but he had plenty to do with the Bruins’ jumping on visiting Glen Cove early in Saturday’s convincing 42-0 victory in a rematch of last year’s Nassau Conference II first-round playoff matchup.
A blitzing Healey sacked Knights quarterback Dylan DiMaggio as he was dropping back to pass, forcing to ball to pop into the air and into the waiting arms of junior Adam Hilburger, who took it 40 yards to the house for a touchdown.
“It was wild to see because the same thing happened in last week’s scrimmage against Uniondale,” Baldwin head coach Mike Robinson said. “Healey forced a turnover and Hilburger returned it for a touchdown. I really can’t believe it happened again and this time it counted. Glen Cove beat us twice last year and our guys were fired up for this one. It’s a great way to start.”
Hilburger said he “froze for a split second” after securing the interception and then saw a clear path to the end zone.
“It was my first-ever touchdown and I was really excited to help get the win for my team,” Hilburger said. “We played a great game on defense, offense and special teams.”
The defensive score that got the crowd rocking was short compared to most of Baldwin’s touchdowns, five of which covered more than 50 yards. Senior Kymani Heaven, a third-year defensive starter getting his first taste of offense as a running back/tight end, had an explosive 53-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and added a 58-yard scoring run in the third. He also had a sack on defense.
“Those are the first two touchdowns I’ve ever scored,” Heaven said. “It was a lot of running, but felt amazing. A few years ago I never would’ve thought about carrying the ball. Now I’m being counted on both ways. The guys we’ve got on the offensive line are strong and when I get my feet going, I know they’re going to do the job.”
Senior tailback Aiden Johnson, the lightning to Heaven’s thunder, also had a pair of touchdown runs. Johnson’s first score, from 53 yards out, came on Baldwin’s third offensive’s snap of the game. Johnson added a 2-yard touchdown run just before halftime following a Hilburger fumble recovery as the lead swelled to 35-0.
“We are a very young team that needed to replace 20 starters,” Glen Cove first-year head coach Brett Rubin said. “We will continue to improve as a team and a staff. Baldwin deserves all the credit they did a tremendous job.”
The Bruins also scored through the air with senior quarterback Michael Jordan connecting with sophomore Michael Mitchell for a 52-yard touchdown. Junior kicker Gavin McGinley went 6-for-6 on extra points and booted multiple kickoffs into the end zone.
“Gavin’s a weapon,” Robinson said. “He was good for us last year and he’s improved even more.”
Glen Cove, which defeated Baldwin 34-21 in last year’s playoff meeting following a 40-20 regular-season victory, was held to fewer than 50 total yards. Senior Mark Reeves had an interception for the Knights. Senior Jonathan Malcolm added a fumble recovery for the Bruins.
“We take a lot of pride in defense and have been putting in a ton of work, so it was great to get the shutout,” Heaven said.
The Bruins travel to Garden City next Saturday at 2 p.m. Glen Cove hosts Long Beach under the Friday night lights at 7 p.m.
