By Benito Vila
It was November cold last Saturday, the East Hampton High School marching band making up about a third of the home crowd on Long Lane. While those that stayed away may have been warm, they missed the East Hampton-Pierson-Bridgehampton “Bonac” football varsity stoke up its potent offense in a 35-14 win over Deer Park.
The outcome improved the team’s mark to 5-1 with games remaining at Rocky Point tomorrow and home against Hauppauge on Halloween. When Hauppauge was upset by Westhampton Saturday, the Bonackers moved into second place in the Division III power rankings, ahead of every team except 6-0 Half Hallow Hills West.
Their mark and their ranking makes the Bonac team one to beat, with the 1-5 Rocky Point Eagles and the 4-2 Hauppauge Eagles both eager to tear away a win. Meanwhile, there are 13 seniors from East Hampton and Pierson working together to get their team into the post-season for the first time since 2004.
That leadership was key Saturday in overcoming the visiting Falcons. Senior quarterback Austin Heneveld rushed for 112 yards on 11 carries, scoring two touchdowns, while tossing for 125 yards in completing 8 out of 13 passes.
One of those completions came with the score tied at 7-7 in the second quarter, senior Brendan Mott taking in a 20-yard pass and racing 44 yards after the catch to give the Bonackers a lead they never relinquished.
The Bonac defense denied the Falcon attack to start the third and a pair of Heneveld runs, a penalty and a 16-yard reverse by Mott made the score 21-7 with 8:45 remaining. The Falcons started to drive up-field but a Mott sack on third-and-seven sent them back to their own 48 to punt.
That punt never came off, the Bonac special team blocking their third punt of the game. After taking possession at the Deer Park 30, the Bonackers drove in to score, senior Nick Jarboe running the ball in from the four.
Even the Band Left
That touchdown and the 28-7 score left little doubt to the outcome. Even the band packed up after Pierson senior Joe Dowling sacked the Falcon QB on third-and-long with eleven minutes remaining in the game.
Deer Park did not quit though, using a 42-yard halfback option pass to close to 28-14 halfway through the quarter. After his teammates recovered an on-side kick at mid-field, Heneveld led another drive, closing out the scoring with a 31-yard run.
With Bonac cornerbacks Steven Bahns and Jake Beyer cutting off the Falcons’ passing game and Dowling making another timely stop on a desperate fourth down play, the Bonac offense regained possession at the 2:20 mark and ran out the clock.
With 41 seconds left Bonac coach Bill Barbour found himself doused with Gatorade, and he had little to complain about later, saying, “I liked the fact that it wasn’t a nail biter. Close games make for good theater but they take a lot out of a coach. The turning points were the blocked punts. We were able to capitalize on them.”
Looking ahead to Rocky Point, Coach Barbour added, “This week we will be working on staying focused and improving on some of the mistakes we made. We will be sure to stress that this is not a team to be taken lightly. We know that they are tough kids having a rough year and they will be hungry. We had some battles with them over the summer and we know that we have a bull’s eye on our backs now and we have to be prepared.”
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