Bayport-Blue Point repeats as Suffolk IV champs with eyes on another LI title
Bayport-Blue Point's Daniel Aiello celebrates his touchdown in the Suffolk Division IV final at LaValle Stadium in Stony Brook. Credit: George A Faella
All season long, the Bayport-Blue Point football team has been out to prove it’s worthy of a chance to win back-to-back Long Island championships.
And if it hadn’t done so already, the defending Class IV champion couldn’t have done it any better Saturday night.
Behind an overwhelming offensive line that cleared the way for an unstoppable running game, the top-seeded Phantoms beat Shoreham-Wading River, 49-14, for their second straight Suffolk Division IV title and fourth county title in school history.
“It’s a huge win,” senior Dan Aiello said. “This is everything we’ve dreamed of. It was a perfect game.”
Bayport-Blue Point (11-0) will meet Seaford (10-1) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the Long Island Class IV championship game at Stony Brook University.
The offensive line of left tackle Christian Sauer, left guard Dylan Spano, center Jeremiah Lee, right guard Ryan Bachmore and right tackle Sam DeVore allowed Aiello and senior quarterback Maclin Keyser to dominate on the ground.
Aiello, who had 10 carries for 143 yards, capped a four-play, 53-yard drive when he broke away for a 23-yard touchdown run on the Phantoms’ first possession. BBP then forced a three-and-out, and immediately after his punt return, Aiello carried up the middle for a 52-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
“It really all starts with our defense,” Aiello said. “Our big guys up front block hard for us and never let up. They make our plays happen.”
Aiello scored on an 8-yard run and Keyser threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Michael Luce to make it 28-0 at the half.
“Our run game is really strong,” said Keyser, who had 14 carries for 86 yards and was 3-for-3 passing for 35 yards. “We believe we can run the ball on any team. We’re very strong on the ground, but we can throw the ball if we need to. Our playbook is wide open.”
The Phantoms forced the Wildcats to punt on their first five possessions, and BBP’s ground control would only get stronger in the second half.
Junior tight end Sean Coffey scored on a 62-yard run on the first play. Brendan Waters kicked the extra point to make it 35-0 less than 15 seconds into the third quarter.
“We were waiting to call that play the whole game,” coach Mike Zafonte said. “Coffey can score anywhere on the field, but I didn’t expect a touchdown out of it. That was just a welcome surprise.”
SWR was held to another three-and-out and Keyser added a 4-yard run to make it 42-0 with 7:49 left in the third.
And then came another surprise.
Wildcats quarterback Kieran Clifford connected with Liam Kershis for an impressive 60-yard strike to set up first-and-goal, but on third-and-goal, Aiello intercepted Clifford’s pass at the 1-yard line and returned the ball 99 yards for a 49-0 lead.
Clifford threw touchdown passes of 27 and 21 yards to Kershis and a two-point conversion pass to Brendan Meskill in the fourth quarter.
Said Zafonte: “I can’t say I’m surprised at the score because I knew they had it in them and I know they’re ready for next week.”
