Turnovers fuel Jets victory
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Steven Katz, left, had three touchdowns for East Meadow.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
It didn’t take long for East Meadow to flex it muscle on both sides of the field in a 28-0 Conference I victory over Baldwin last Saturday.
The Jets (6-1) took advantage of three first half turnovers by the Bruins that led directly to three touchdowns, then let their defense and ground attack handle the rest. “The defense gave us three short fields to work with and fortunately our offense cashed in,” East Meadow coach Vin Mascia said.
The miscues started before the Bruins (4-3) even had their first possession. A muffed punt was recovered by East Meadow senior Brian Healy at the Baldwin 18, and three plays later senior Robert Bright rumbled into the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown. After junior Brandon Noblett recovered a fumbled snap on Baldwin’s next series, the Jets took over at the Bruins 23. Two plays later, senior quarterback Lou Buschi unleashed a perfect 21-yard pass to senior wingback Steven Katz just over the outstretched hands of a defender to open up a two-touchdown lead. Bright led the way with 163 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Katz added 99 on 10 attempts.
“Right now it’s a huge advantage because we have a tremendous inside-out game,” Mascia said of the potent ground attack.
Limited to just 112 yards of total offense, Baldwin didn’t cross midfield until the third quarter and never advanced beyond the East Meadow 38-yard line. “We did goofy things,” Baldwin coach Steve Carroll said. “I’ve been doing this 23 years and never seen it happen like this. Things went belly up badly. They outdid us in every area of the game today.”
The Jets, who have allowed the second-fewest points among the 14 Conference I teams, stacked the line and completely took the Bruins top offensive weapon, senior running back Alonzo Holcombe, out of the game. He managed just 36 yards on 16 carries, often seeing multiple defenders in his face even before getting back to the line of scrimmage. “Obviously we were keying on him, because he’s their guy,” Mascia said.
East Meadow also had answers for the Baldwin passing attack, which took center stage because the run game wasn’t moving the chains. Junior quarterback Nick LoBello completed just four of 16 passes and tossed a pair of interceptions. Junior nose guard Will Kaywood pulled the first interception down on the back end of a second-quarter sack by junior Shin Shun Kang, while junior Sean Hinchy grabbed the fourth and final turnover, an interception in the fourth quarter.
East Meadow closes the regular season at home Saturday when Hicksville visits for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. “Hicksville has had a great year,” Mascia said of the 5-2 Comets. “Their quarterback is a playmaker and they have a 6-2, 6-3 receiver out there with a big strong fullback.”
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