Colts Come Home Strong Against Defending Class II Champs
After the last time these two teams played, it seemed fitting that another impressive, one-sided game was in store. The only difference was, it was the Colts who proved their dominance this time around, defeating Newfield this past Saturday 49-33 at their Homecoming game. Coming off their demoralizing 54-38 loss in the Long Island Class II Championship Game to Newfield last season, winning this game became a huge confidence boost for this young Colts team.
Sophomores Gerald Filardi and Deyvon Wright led the offense, with Filardi completing 5 of 8 passes for 168 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Wright rushing 24 times for an unbelievable 215 yards from scrimmage. Of course, you couldn’t miss the contribution from senior Cameron Jordan, who scored touchdowns on both sides of the ball, catching a 32 yard pass from Filardi in the second quarter, as well as intercepting Newfield Quarterback Justin Ottenwalder and returning it 5o yards the other way.
With all this early excitement, the Colts led 42-13 by the time the halftime whistle blew. When team Captain, Ahmaad Crowell, was asked how the defense was able to hold Newfield to thirteen points at the half he responded, “That was a direct result of the coaches and scout team preparing a game plan that anticipated exactly what they were trying to do”. Despite being outscored 20-7 in the second half, they never looked back. Newfield was able to score on big plays found few and far between,including a 90 yard kickoff return in the second quarter and a 65 yard tossup down field just before halftime. Even though he would’ve liked a better second half performance, Coach Madden was satisfied with the win. He told Newsday,
“The goal is for the sophomores and the juniors to grow up and the seniors to grow into the leadership we expect,” continuing with the evaluation of his team and their hopes of going deep into the playoffs.
Deyvon Wright couldn’t thank his offensive line enough for their performance on Saturday, contributing his success running the football to the way they were able to hold up the line and create incredible gaps for him to punch through.
Despite senior Alexander Filacouris being sidelined Saturday, the team showed their resilience and ability to play together, putting up 49 points and forcing 3 turnovers on Newfield’s first 4 possessions. Defensive contributors such as Ahmaad Crowell and Jimmy Regaterio helped hold the Colts together leading them to a decisive 13 point win, and a 2-1 record this season.
The Colts’ next game comes against district rival Half Hollow Hills East(2-2) this Saturday, as they hope to get their third win of the season and second in a row. Coming off their huge win over Smithtown West last weekend, Hills East won’t be as easy to beat as Newfield was for the Colts, and this game down the road should be an intriguing one.
