25 Years Ago in Bonac Sports: 09.28.17

October 8, 1992

There’s no doubt now that the East Hampton High School football team can play.

The Bonackers proved it with a stunning 26-6 win over Bayport-Blue Point in the home opener Saturday. East Hampton’s coach, David MacGarva, had been hopeful going in, though not overly optimistic given Bayport’s 35-0 whitewashing of Mercy. But after his team dominated the first half, tallying three touchdowns and obstructing the opponent’s offense, the coach had to be a believer.

Perhaps there is something, after all, to the magic rock that Pat Bistrian Jr. donated last summer. “I picked out the biggest boulder in the yard,” said MacGarva. “I wanted to start a tradition, like they do at Clemson, where they touch the rock before they take the field. . . . Kids need something like that. It helps give them confidence.”

While making no particular claims for the massive boulder’s strength-imparting qualities, MacGarva was pleased with his players’ “intensity” throughout Saturday’s game.

The popular Shelter Island women’s 5-kilometer road race and racewalk has a men’s division this year, for the first time. 

Costa Rica, behind balanced scoring and superb goaltending by Ramon Valverde, rolled to an easy 5-0 victory over Colombia-America Sunday, a win that enabled it to capture the Montauk Friendship Soccer League’s round-robin playoff tournament.

. . . Following the icebreaker, by Marco Flores, Costa Rica’s backers launched into a cheer that would be echoed four more times: “Chiquitibun, a le bin bon ba, Costa Rica! Costa Rica! Rah, rah, rah!” A spectator loosely translated the cheer as, “Go for it, Costa Rica!”

. . . Two Costa Rica players, Carlos Vargas, who led the league in scoring with 13 goals, and Valverde, who allowed only 9 goals all season, received awards.

The excitement of the competition had been overshadowed in weeks leading up to the playoffs by neighbors complaining that the Sunday afternoon matches monopolized Lions Field and attracted a sometimes rowdy crowd that drank alcohol, played loud music, blocked traffic, and caused other problems. A petition sent to the East Hampton Town Board has asked that the games be moved elsewhere. Just a week ago, there was a confrontation between baseball and soccer players who wanted to use the field at the same time.

That Sunday’s matches would be played without trouble was assured Friday when the Town Board granted the league the necessary permit to reserve the field. The town also assigned at least six police officers to the match, who directed traffic and watched the contests. The crowd policed itself as well, with no music, barbecues, or alcohol in sight. 

Jose Bolivar, a Montauk landscaper who organized the tournament, said, “Now it’s better. There are plenty of kids, and families are bringing their picnics. . . . Montauk doesn’t have a lot of places for playing sports. We need a field.”

Bolivar was given a plaque by members of the Costa Rican team for his work on the tourney. With his son, Edison, a fifth grader at the Montauk School, translating, Bolivar thanked Robert Cooper and Jobette Edwards, the Town Board members who helped the league get its permit, Town Police Chief Thomas Scott and members of the force, and “the players who participated and made these games the best of the season.”