Baldwin return sinks Jets
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East Meadow quarterback Louis Buschi looks for running room during the first quarter of last Saturday's Conference I playoff loss to Baldwin.
Frank Koester/Herald
East Meadow withstood what seventh-seeded Baldwin hoped was an early knockout blow, rebounding from a 14-point second quarter deficit and forging a tie on senior quarterback Lou Buschi’s 33-yard touchdown pass to senior Jesse Callan with 3:31 remaining in the fourth quarter of last week’s Nassau Conference I playoff matchup last Saturday.
But the No. 2 Jets had their hearts broken and season cut short on the ensuing kickoff when Bruins senior Troy Dennis took it back 81 yards to propel Baldwin to a stunning 28-21 upset. Just two weeks earlier, East Meadow won on the Bruins’ home field, 28-0.
The touchdown pass from Buschi to Callan capped a six-play, 60-yard drive and took as much work by the wide receiver as the quarterback. Callan had to come back to the floating throw, pulling it down beyond the outstretched hand of Baldwin junior Aaron Greene and falling backwards into the end zone. The score came just one play after Bruins junior defensive end Eyituoyl Ofuya sacked Buschi for a 10-yard loss.
“It was a one-on-one and [Jesse] made a great play,” Jets coach Vin Mascia said. “It hung a little bit and [Greene] got there. The [quarterback] did a nice job, because they really plugged the box [to stop the run].”
In the earlier win over Baldwin, seniors Steven Katz and Robert Bright combined for 262 yards rushing. This time around, Katz did score a pair of touchdowns—on runs of five and 13 yards—but the Bruins limited the Jets to just 148 yards on the ground.
Offensively, Baldwin proved early on that the mistakes it made in the first meeting were all in the past. Holcombe, bottled up for 36 yards on 16 carries, rebounded with 196 on 19 attempts, including an 87-yarder up the gut from his own three yard line in the second quarter. That set up the first score of the game, on a fourth-down run by senior Femi Aliyu from the East Meadow 4.
“It was important to score an offensive touchdown,” Carroll said, noting several changes on offense, including some plays run out of the Wildcat formation and Straight-I. “We hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown in three games.”
Mascia agreed that the changes played a huge role in the reversal of fortune on the scoreboard. “It was a great job by [the Bruins coaching staff],” he said. “They knew the last time they couldn’t move the ball and made changes.”
The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak by the Jets, who moved the ball through the air, but couldn’t escape the turnover bug. East Meadow (7-2) committed four turnovers, yet still had a chance to tie after the Dennis kick return.
“I told the guys that they aren’t going to feel it now or appreciate it now but when [the loss] wears off, you’ll realize the year that we had,” Mascia said.
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