It took four games, but Baldwin’s finally in the win column.
The Bruins put on a show for their homecoming crowd Oct. 5, defeating Hicksville, 33-7, in a Conference I football matchup to snap a season-opening, three-game slide. Senior Isaiah Place hauled in touchdown passes from both Baldwin quarterbacks — junior Joe Wright and senior Ronnie Marchese-Silano — and junior Trey Parkin made the most of his 12 carries, scoring twice and racking up 148 yards, to highlight the victory.
“We’ve got a really good group of kids and they’re working hard,” head coach Steve Carroll said. “It was nice to see them execute some things we went over on film. Where we’re hurting the most is experience. It’s been a long time since I realized how important experience is. Hopefully this win gives them some confidence and we’ll see if we can sneak into the playoffs.”
With a roster about 10 bodies shy of their norm, the Bruins (1-4 after last Saturday’s loss at defending champion Freeport) will need to stay healthy down the stretch and take care of business in must-win games against Hempstead in Week 6 and Westbury in Week 8 to have any chance to play a ninth game. “It’ll be close if we can win two of the last three,” Carroll said. “It’s coming down to the wire for a bunch of us.”
Junior Sage Burke sparked the homecoming victory early in the first quarter, blocking a Hicksville punt after the defense forced a three-and-out. Two plays later, Wright connected with junior Kenneth Ojeikere on a 30-yard touchdown pass and it was quickly 7-0 after senior Matteo Valenti’s first of three successful extra-point kicks.