Waves douse Wolverines, 20-15

If winning a football game were based on scoring opportunities, Newfield would have easily beat Riverhead. But unfortunately for the Wolverines, who were playing before their homecoming crowd, points are only registered when the ball crosses the goal line. Newfield was in the red zone five separate times but could only muster one touchdown, coming up empty on the other four possessions. Had they scored on just one of those chances, the game would have played out differently but as the final ticks came off the game clock, Riverhead had been deemed victorious by the score of 20-15.

After Denzel Williams got the party started with a 70-yard kickoff return touchdown to begin the game for Newfield, a defensive battle ensued, under gloomy skies and teeth-chattering temperatures.

Kenny Simco connected with Dylan Pace on a 8-yard touchdown pass on the following drive and that was the end of the scoring for the first half.

Riverhead (4-1) which was missing six starters because of injuries, SATs and disciplinary issues, proved over and over again that their defense was up for the challenge as they came up huge when their backs were up against a wall; the wall being the end zone. And it wasn’t just one player coming up and making a play, everyone had a chance to shine.

On fourth down and goal on the 6-yard line in the first quarter, Newfield attempted to pass the into the end zone on a slant route but it tipped away by Steven Reid. Later in the quarter, after the Wolverines took over at the Riverhead 24-yard line, they tried another pass play on fourth down only to meet Raheem Brown in the backfield where he capitalized on a sack, turning the ball over on downs. In the second quarter, Garrick Lynch, a sub for the injured Roger Foster, came up with an interception in the end zone after multiple tips. Eddie Wills had a very timely sack deep in the third quarter to stall another Wolverine push for points.

“This was a statement game,” senior middle linebacker Raheem Brown said. “Coming off a loss, we had to get it done today.”

Ryun Moore found the end zone two times in the second half, first on a 29-yard run and then on a 9-yard run. He finished with 18 carries and 120 yards. After a slow first half for Moore, the sun finally peeked through the clouds in the third quarter and warmed up his legs.

“I felt that sun when it came out,” Moore said. “I told my boys that the sun was coming out for us and we were going to pull this one out.”

Denzel Williams scored a 9-yard touchdown from the backfield to make it 15-14 in favor of the Wolverines before Moore gave the Blue Waves the lead in the fourth quarter.

Newfield (1-4) had one last possession to win the game and guess where they had the ball?

That’s right, the place where they failed over and over again: the red zone.

It was fourth-and-three on the 10-yard line with a little over a minute left in the game. There was no panic by the Blue Wave defense. They weren’t going to walk off the field without the victory.

“I got great defensive coaches, great players, like anyone can go down and the next one is ready to play and to be the captain of this defense is ridiculous,” Brown said. “We all have each other’s back. We were all ready to make the big play.”

This time, Tyrese Kerr made his presence known. Kerr, who was playing outside linebacker for the first time this season to fill a void left by injuries, burst through the offensive line as he read run and wrapped up Williams before he was able to make it the first down marker despite a second effort to reach the ball over the line before hitting the ground.

“It was either we bounce back after a loss or roll over,” Kerr said. “They were only down by five points, we needed to make a stop. There is nothing but heart on this team. We are all passionate about what we do.”

Asked whether he enjoyed his first time playing linebacker after lining up as a defensive end for every snap in his career to this point, Kerr answered: “I was getting a bunch of sacks at end but I will always do what’s best for the team and if that means me playing linebacker, I’m all for it.”

Kerr finished with six tackles, two of which were for losses. Troy Trent made a significant impact on defense with six tackles and a fumble recovery. Kyle Pipczynski chipped in six tackles filling in at middle linebacker.

“There were a lot of guys on the team that were waiting to play and with so many starters missing, they were able to play,” Coach Leif Shay said. “And not only did they play, they played well and I’m happy they got their opportunity to play.”

“This team can scrap and fight no matter who is in the game,” Shay continued. “To have guys step up when key players are missing is big for us going forward as we reboot and get everyone back for the playoff run.”

Riverhead will face East Islip next Saturday at 2 p.m. in Riverhead for homecoming.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.