Phantoms Kick Off Gridiron Playoffs Saturday

When your goal is to win a Long Island football championship, the past eight regular-season games were simply a tune up for the “real” season—the playoffs.    

“It’s finally here. It’s a new season,” said tight end/defensive lineman Gary Farley. “We look to just win the first game. And then the next game. We want to get [to the championship].”            

The Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms (6-2 in Division IV), will host this Saturday’s 2 p.m. first-round game against the 4-4 Port Jefferson Royals, It’s not the first time these teams have faced each other: during the opening week of the season, the Phantoms dominated both sides of the ball and came away with a lopsided 48-0 victory. So if coach Eric Iberger is confident, he is saying what one might expect the coach of the favored team to say this time of the season.

“It’s been a long time since week one,” he said. “I anticipate Port Jefferson coming out and playing four quarters of hard-fought football. Our focus is on getting better with each rep. If we don’t get better, we’re not going to beat them.”            

Iberger may be sounding a false alarm, but he’s quick to recall a similar scenario that his team faced last season. After a regular-season thumping at the hands of Babylon, Iberger’s seventh-seeded Phantoms defeated second-seed Babylon 26-19 in the first round of the 2009 playoffs. Fast forward to Saturday, and Iberger finds his team a second seed, squaring off against a seventh seed. “Anything can happen,” he said.            

On opening day, the Phantoms had their way with the Royals, rushing for more than 300 yards in a game that was, in reality, over by halftime with Bayport leading 41-0. Ryan McCoy had 100 of those yards, and three touchdowns, on just five carries. McCoy, who injured his ribs during an October 15 loss to Babylon and missed the following game—an unimpressive 13-7 win over Greenport, played sparingly in last week’s 35-0 route of Center Moriches. Iberger said he’ll watch his senior back in practice this week before determining how much time he’ll see on Saturday, but McCoy is anticipating significant playing time.

“I’m feeling good, I’m back to normal,” McCoy said. For quarterback Corey Picone, seeing McCoy in his backfield gives Bayport the edge. “Without him, we’re good enough to get by,” Picone said. “But with him, we can go far. He’s dominant.”

Adding McCoy to a backfield mix that already features Picone and running back Jack Sheehan opens up Iberger’s offense. “It’s nice to have offensive weapons and distribute the ball,” Iberger said. But the coach knows that his defense will have to play its part. “Port Jefferson will run a spread offense, and throw the ball around. We have to make sure we stay focused, be disciplined and play sound defense.”

Port Jefferson’s four victories came against teams that finished with a losing record: Mercy (2-6), Wyandanch (1-7), Stony Brook (0-8) and Southampton (3-5). In eight games, they’ve been outscored by an average score of 28-18, having been shut out three times. Conversely, Bayport has outscored its opponents 25-11.

“We gave up 89 points this year, with 45 (against Babylon) in one game. That’s about one touchdown a game. I’ll take that,” Iberger said. “The kids [on defense] have brought it.”