SPORTS

Braves grab first championship title

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Thanks to a group of athletic 9-year-olds, the Bellmore Braves Football organization has captured its first title.

The 9U Bellmore Braves Football team, sponsored by the Bellmore-Merrick Youth Association, defeated the Long Beach Bulldogs in the Nassau County Youth Football League 9U Championship on Nov. 23. Head Coach Dennis Martinez noted that it’s the first Braves squad to win an NCYFL title.

The Bulldogs had the first possession of the game, played at the Mitchell Field Sports Complex in Uniondale, but key tackles by the Braves’ Gavin Martinez, Ryan Their and Conner Faughnan forced a punt. Then the Braves got out in front with an early score.

Bellmore advanced the ball down field with a balanced running attack by Gary Correa and Dominick Novello, said Martinez. The drive was capped by a touchdown run. Long Beach’s next possession was again halted by the Braves defense, with tackles by Aidan Higgins and Matteo Rincon, putting the Braves in a position to jump to a two-score lead.

Martinez said the following Braves possession might have been the turning point of the game. On the second play of the drive, quarterback Peter Mayo hit Gavin Martinez, who outran the defense for a 52-yard scoring reception. However, the Bulldogs managed to avoid a halftime shutout by scoring a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half.

The Braves, though, continued to dominate the game when play resumed, scoring another touchdown on their first possession. Martinez said hard running by Faughnan, timely blocking by Kevin Perry and Michael Platt, and a crucial third-down pass by Mayo to Martinez were key to the possession.

The Braves defense also kept pace, as Max Zaransky and Anthony Avicolli had crucial tackles that stifled the Bulldogs in their next possession. The game concluded with Elijah Sendrowitz batting a ball down and a tackle for a loss on the Long Beach goal line by a host of defensive players, including Jett McCullough, Matthew Hirschman and Michael McKeon.

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