Waves fall to East Islip, 50-36

The Blue Waves put forth their best effort Saturday afternoon but it wasn’t enough to stop the high-powered East Islip Redmen from scoring as they ended up on the long end of a 50-36 defeat.

Though the loss could raise questions about Riverhead’s defense, head coach Leif Shay cited inexperience as the obvious answer.

“This is only the second varsity game for a lot of our guys,” he said. “But we’re going to get better. Our best game will be the last game of the season.”

Senior halfback Jeremiah Cheatom returned to the lineup for the first time this season after battling back from a nagging hamstring injury that kept him off the field until this week. He suffered no ill-effects from the return, flashing his speed and stiff-arming opponents when possible, rushing for more than 170 yards and two touchdowns.

“I’m just glad to be back on the field,” Cheatom said. “I felt great.”

Riverhead (1-1) held a 22-21 lead briefly in the second half, before East Islip (2-0) tacked on three consecutive scores, essentially putting the game out of reach.

A loss early in the season, against arguably the best team in Division II, is nothing to hang your head about, Shay said. It gives the Blue Waves a chance to learn what they can and cannot do at this point in the season.

“To play the best team in the division and to only lose by 14 is a great sign,” Shay said. “It’s a great lesson for our guys.”

The offense, despite scoring 36 points, could have scored much more. They turned the ball over on downs on multiple occasions, many of which were located in the red zone. East Islip fumbled the opening kickoff and Riverhead recovered on the 26 yard line. The Blue Waves were unable to capitalize. The following possession, Riverhead brought the ball to the 27 yard line and again, were unable to put one in the end zone, turning the ball over to the Redmen.

“There was some miscommunication between the quarterback and the signal caller,” Shay said. “And again, it’s because of the inexperience. That will get corrected over time.”

“We’re also starting a young offensive line,” he added. “There were times where we just allowed too much penetration and those things end up coming back to bite you. But as the kids keep learning their lessons, they’ll just continue to get better.”

The Blue Waves offensive line was only flagged once so that’s definitely a positive going forward.

Sophomore Ryun Moore put on a show again for the Blue Wave faithful. Even though Cheatom took more snaps, Moore found a way to make an impact. He brought four kickoff returns back to the East Islip side of the field, giving the Blue Waves instant field position.

“Moore’s a stud,” Shay said. “He’s only going to get better.”

As for the rest of the Blue Waves, Shay reiterates that no spot is safe. New faces were introduced in the defense toward the end of the game.

“This is a work in progress,” he said. “A couple guys are still battling for positions. The left guard spot, the quarterback spot, nobody is safe right now.”

“We’re going to play the best 11 and that will continue the rest of the year.”

The loss doesn’t worry Shay and he has no doubt that the Blue Waves will bounce right back.

“We’ll rebound,” he said. “Just watch.”

“We’re going to look at the film, find out where the breakdowns were fundamentally and get better as a team. That’s Blue Wave football. It’s been that way for the past 16 years.”

Cheatom wasn’t shy to remind the fans of what happened last year.

“We lost to East Islip last season too,” he said. “And we still made it to the Long Island Championship.”

The Blue Waves face Central Islip next Saturday at home. Game time: 2 p.m.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Peter Blasl
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