Bruins leave Sailors in dark

Lights-out performances from senior running back Alonzo Holcombe and its defense propelled Baldwin to a convincing 34-0 Conference I victory over visiting Oceanside last Friday night before more than 1,000 spectators. 

The Bruins, who came off a shutout loss at Freeport, scored on the game’s opening possession and never let up. Holcombe rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and senior quarterback Nick LoBello passed for a score and ran for another. Baldwin’s defense, which has allowed 13 points in three games, intercepted Sailors junior quarterback Tyler Heuer three times and sacked him three times. Heuer entered the game with a county-leading nine touchdown passes.

“Heuer’s a very accurate passer and Gene Garay is a tremendous weapon,” Baldwin coach Steve Carroll said. “The way they moved the ball and put up points in the first two games, I didn’t feel comfortable with our lead until we scored just before the half to go up 27-0.”

Baldwin scored on four of its five possessions in the first half and the only time it failed to produce points it reached the Oceanside 16-yard line. Holcombe got the party started early, busting a 36-yard run on the second snap of the game and later capping a seven-play, 70-yard drive with a seven-yard touchdown burst.

Late in the second quarter, the game got away from the Sailors. Down 14-0 after junior Aaron Green’s eight-yard touchdown catch and Holcombe’s two-point conversion grab, Oceanside pulled out the bag of tricks on its ensuing possession and would’ve cut the margin in half if not for a questionable penalty for an illegal forward pass. A halfback option pass from Garay to Nick Pino worked like a charm and would’ve resulted in a 48-yard score had officials not ruled Garay crossed the line of scrimmage before releasing the ball. After the drive stalled at the Baldwin 39, the Bruins needed just two plays—both handoffs to Holcombe—to stretch the lead to 21-0 with 1:15 remaining in the half.

“Those couple of plays changed the tide for us,” Sailors coach Robert Blount said. 

As if the wind wasn’t already out of Oceanside’s sails, the Bruins struck again 24 seconds before intermission after an interception by senior Eddie Murer set up the offense inside enemy territory. LoBello hit Greene for gains of 19 and 15 yards and finished the drive with a one-yard scoring plunge.

Behind Heuer and Garay and an offensive line led by Joe Wetherell, Ryan Spencer and Angel Vasquez, Oceanside (1-2) totaled 79 points in its first two games—42 in a loss at Freeport and 37 in a home-opening win against Port Washington.

“We did a lot of nice things in the first two games and we probably had as tough a first three games as any team in the county,” Blount said. “Hopefully we can bounce right back against Plainview. The main thing we need to do is become better at stopping the run.”

Plainview visits Oceanside on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Hawks are coming off a loss at Syosset.

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