By STEVE SINISKI
The Bruins, who took advantage of the muddy conditions and Farmingdale turnovers during the regular season to run away with a 35-6 win over the Dalers, were offered no such "free" chances in the Nassau County Championship Game last Friday night at Hofstra. Backed by its punishing ground attack which racked up 356 yards, it was Farmingdale that literally ran away with a 26-0 win and a second consecutive Nassau County title.
That the Bruins had a good idea what the Dalers' gameplan would be didn't help matters much, and neither did Baldwin's inability to take advantage of several drives deep into Farmingdale territory that ended without any points on the board. The Dalers struck first with a five-play, 84-yard opening drive punctuated by a 45-yard run over the left side of the line by Steve Panarelli and his 17-yard touchdown scamper over the right side.
"Their line did a better job [of blocking]," Baldwin coach Steve Carroll said. "They changed their offense [from the first meeting] and spread everyone out. That made it tough for us to get blitzes and stunts going. The last time we played, they ran a tight Power-I. This time they were able to space it out."
Late in the first quarter, Baldwin defensive end Andrew Pryce recovered a fumble at the Farmingdale 41 and the Bruins drove down to the Dalers' 11 thanks to a 32-yard run by Ronnie Thomas. But that's where the drive ended as the Bruins turned over the ball on downs after consecutive incompletions on third and fourth down.
"It was frustrating to get down there three times and not get in. They did a better job in the red zone than we did. We did what got us to 8-1 and threw in a few wrinkles but they didn't work," said Carroll.
What did work for the Bruins was the running of Thomas, who took advantage of his cutback ability to lead the team with 105 yards rushing on 17 carries.
"We went in with mostly counter plays because No. 8 [Matt Albanese] always went to the ball.," said Carroll.
The Bruins, who had more than a handful of big plays up their sleeves in their first-round playoff win against Farmingdale, could muster only five plays of 15 yards or more in the championship game. Wide receiver Will Barrow, a catalyst on offense and the return teams, didn't even get his hands on the ball until just 10:57 remained in the fourth quarter. And by that time, the Dalers were already ahead 26-0. And when he did return his first kickoff back across midfield, it was negated by a Baldwin penalty and the Bruins found themselves backed up to their own 10-yard line.
The Dalers' strategy for defending Barrow, who returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a score and also caught the game-winning touchdown against Freeport, was simple yet effective. On special teams, Farmingdale avoided Barrow completely, often ignoring him along the backline and preferring to kick it short. And on defense, the Dalers would man him straight up with some secondary help on double teams.
Despite the loss, Baldwin's coach had nothing but praise for his team.
"What we accomplished was huge," Carroll said of the Bruins 2002 campaign. "We beat the teams seeded one, two and four, beating both Farmingdale and Freeport. "Winning once against each was huge. Looking back over at least the last five years, there isn't any team that can say they've beaten both in the same year."
