Phantoms Dominate Port Jeff In Season Opener

The Bayport- Blue Point Phantoms varsity football team defeated the Port Jefferson Royals Saturday 48-0, starting its season with a 1-0 record. The Royals fell to 0-1.

The Phantoms were on fire early in the first half.  Senior fullback Ryan McCoy scored three touchdowns before the second offensive unit came out in the third quarter. McCoy was the lone scorer in the first quarter. He scored a 42-yard touchdown after a fumble by the Royals, giving the Phantoms a lead score of 14-0.

The touchdowns in the second quarter were rapid-fire. Ian Bateman caught a 27-yard pass from quarterback Corey Picone for a touchdown during the first play of the second quarter. Zach Flood, Josh Shaw and McCoy all scored to make the score 41-0 going into halftime.

Bayport used Port Jeff's turnovers in the first half to its advantage and set the stage for Bayport's landslide win. Defensive lineman Frank Gluchowski intercepted a pass by the Royals with a gain of 18 yards only a few minutes into the first quarter. Zach Flood intercepted the ball again to end the second quarter. The Royals fumbled the ball twice in the first half.

McCoy, who scored three touchdowns in the first half, sat out last season due to a torn ligament in his foot."In my varsity career thats the most I've ever scored," he said. 

The action subsided in the third quarter when the Royals held off the Phantoms at the 1-yard line, pausing the rampant scoring. Bayport sent out its second offensive unit, but Port Jeff's defense tightened and the Phantoms were at 4th down for the first time in the game.

Coach Eric Iberger was not concerned with the lull in scoring. "The entire 3rd quarter and even into the 4th quarter we were just making sure our offense was doing their assignments and doing their technique," he said. "We were trying to score obviously, but we were really just trying to run the clock off as much as possible considering the score at the time."

The fourth quarter went by fast with the Phantoms solidifying the win with a single touchdown from Joseph Malia, making the final score 48-0.

McCoy was happy with the teams performance. "I think our team played great, our quarterback (Corey Picone) had great judgement, and our lineman really stuck it to the other team and made it real easy for all our backs," he said. McCoy noted he hopes that the team can continue to listen and follow all the rules, limit the mistakes they make, and play hard every game this season. "I also hope that we can all go out there every game as a family and have fun while we're getting the wins. "

Iberger's aspirations for the team are similar. "Our goal, our M-O, for this season is to play consistent football," he said. "So we wanted to make sure we came out. We didn't take anybody lightly, we continued to execute, we continued to put a good effort out of the field and we continued to play four quarter football."

Even with the shutout, no team is perfect. Iberger said both the offense and defense need some work before the game next Thursday against Mt. Sinai. Though the score does not reflect the mistakes made, Iberger said the film will show what the team needs to fix, "There are some mistakes that were made that we're gonna need to correct, and correct them quickly, in order to beat Mt. Sinai on Thursday."

The Phantoms travel next Thursday to take on the Mt. Sinai Mustangs at 6 p.m.

Box:                    1                  2                   3               4               F

BBP                  14                 27                 0                7              48

Port Jeff          0                    0                  0                0               0