All the bumps and bruises, all the sweat and tears, all the preparation and execution has readied the stage for the Blue Waves to hoist their rag.
Facing the only team that beat them during the season, Riverhead will seek revenge against No. 3 East Islip tomorrow night at Stony Brook University to try to be the first team to win back-to-back Division II Suffolk County championships since Bellport in ’05-06.
After the Blue Waves’ 34-20 victory over Newfield Saturday, head coach Leif Shay said that he’s looking forward to a rematch against the Redmen.
“We were a young team then (when we lost to East Islip),” Shay said after the game. “But now we have a full season under our belt and it’s hard to beat a team twice.”
The Blue Waves are a different team this time around. Breakdowns in defense against the Redmen in their 50-36 week two loss, have since been corrected and the Blue Wave defense has matured and grown. They haven’t given up more than 21 points in a game since.
Riverhead starting quarterback Cody Smith will be back on the field tomorrow night. Smith has missed the last three games with an eye injury. Since backup Kenny Simco produced wins to keep the Blue Waves rolling, Smith now gets the chance to win the most important game of the season thus far.
“Cody is fired up,” halfback Jeremiah Cheatom said. “The whole team is ready to go.”
East Islip has been on a tear as of late. The Redmen have won five consecutive games behind a powerful offensive line and tough downhill running. East Islip’s halfback Erik Adon has averaged 158.66 yards rushing over the past three games. Jack Hannigan, the Redmen quarterback has also proved that he too can run the ball, as seen in the Blue Waves loss, where he ran for over 100 yards.
Because they played a Friday night game last week, defeating Smithtown West 22-16 in overtime, the Redmen were able to attend the Blue Waves game Saturday. Their head coach and a handful of players watched Riverhead eliminate Newfield — and recorded each Blue Wave snap.
Walking out of the tunnel at Stony Brook University and looking up to a packed stadium is one of “the greatest feelings ever,” Cheatom said as he reminisced on last year’s playoff run. But all that gets swept away come game time. Your surroundings become irrelevant and soon enough, your play will do all the talking.
“They beat us the first time,” Cheatom said. “But this is the game that counts.”
Come down and support the Blue Waves for a 7:30 p.m start tomorrow night at Stony Brook University’s LaValle Stadium. Admission is $6.00. Follow the game with RiverheadLOCAL on Facebook or Twitter.
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