There Was Joy In Bonac On Monday

A fan seeking solace from an 0-5 varsity season attended the East Hampton-Westhampton High School junior varsity football game Monday, and rediscovered joy as Ed McGintee's charges handed the jayvee Hurricanes a 38-22 defeat.

McGintee had not wanted the visitors to get into East Hampton's end zone once that morning, though they managed to do so three times. No matter. The game was never really in question. But once the young Bonackers went up 30-8 in the fourth quarter, they got a little sloppy.

In the final minutes, a Bonac defender tipped a pass into the hands of an alert Westhampton receiver, who ran with the ball into the end zone, and the touchdown was followed by a two-point run. A subsequent bobbled onside kick led to another Hurricane drive, capped by an 11-yard scoring pass that brought the insurgents to 30-22. The point-after kick, happily, was off the mark, and a few moments later, a 35-yard touchdown scamper by Jesse Shapiro, the third TD for him that morning, nailed down the lid.

Knows When To Cut

Shapiro, a back who knows when to cut, got East Hampton off on the right foot with a 41-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The point-after attempt by Kyle Russell, about whom more later, did not lack for distance, but was wide right.

The teams traded interceptions when the second quarter began, causing McGintee to remonstrate with his quarterback, David Rattiner: "David, get some air, plant your feet and throw the ball. We're keeping 'em in the football game."

Not long after, a Westhampton receiver pulled down a long, arcing pass in a crowd, and ran to the East Hampton four before he was brought down. With a third-and-goal at the six-inch line, the visitors managed to get on the scoreboard. A two-point run put them up 8-6.

But not to worry. Shapiro gave the lead back to the Bonackers with about two-and-a-half minutes remaining until the halftime break by way of an explosive 70-yard touchdown run that Steve Scholl assured with a fine block of the last defender.

Second Of Five Sacks

This time, East Hampton got its extra points as Scholl bulled his way into the end zone for 14-8. Brian Noble, a defensive end from Bridgehampton, recorded the second of his game-high five sacks at the East Hampton 30 just before halftime.

Russell, a tackle on defense and tight end on offense, proved himself to be practically unstoppable as, after catching the kickoff that opened the second half, he shrugged off a gang of tacklers at around the 30, and fought his way for 10 more yards before being brought down.

Following an exchange of punts, East Hampton launched its third touchdown march from its 32. Shapiro began it with back-to-back carries of 13 and 19 yards, after which Rattiner kept for 12, and combined with Russell on a 13-yard pass play. As the fourth quarter began, Nick Dombkowski, the fullback, ran the ball in from the 11, and Shapiro added two more points for 22-8.

"This is more fun," a Bonac football fan said to McGintee as he paced the sidelines. "I'm a little animated myself," came the reply.

Dashiell Marder's interception set up the jayvee's fourth score, a 30-yard strike from Rattiner to Russell that Shapiro followed up with a two-point run. It was at that point that the home team, whose record improved that day to 2-3, became a little too loosey-goosey for its coach's liking.