By Steven Zaitz
Fortune really does favor the bold.
Clinging to a 14-10 lead with less than five minutes to go in its first-round playoff game against perennial powerhouse Lindenhurst on Nov. 3, the Ward Melville football Patriots were desperately trying to run out the clock.
But after two unsuccessful running plays and facing 3rd and 12 from their own 15-yard line, the very real possibility of punting the ball back to the Bulldogs with plenty of clock and likely a short field stared Patriot head coach Chris Boltrek directly in the face. He took a timeout to discuss his options with his staff and senior quarterback Ethan Burgos.
Conventional and conservative football wisdom would be to run the ball, melt the clock as much as possible, and let your defense — which had shut the Bulldogs out in the second half — seal the victory.
So much for conventional wisdom.
With a stacked box, Burgos took the snap on this fateful third down play, wheeled around and handed it to senior wideout Jackson Weber on a jet sweep option pass. Weber sprinted to the far sideline, stopped, and threw the ball to a crossing WR Brody Morgan, who caught the ball and was knocked out of bounds at the Patriot 38-yard line. It was plenty good enough for a first down, with the clock now whittled down to three minutes.
“It’s a play we practice every week,” said Boltrek. “If it’s not set up perfectly, then Jackson simply runs the ball and we punt it back to them. If the defense attacks the run, it opens things up for our receivers behind them.”
Coach Boltrek makes it sound logical and easy, but there is still a matter of risk and execution, especially at such a critical juncture of the game.
“When the play was first called after the timeout, I was nervous because I knew no matter what, I couldn’t throw an interception in that spot,” said Weber. “But I knew I had to come up big to make the play for my team. Brody did a great job of getting open, and I’m happy my coach had confidence in me to make a big play.”
Burgos, who threw for a touchdown in the first quarter and ran for the game-winner to start the fourth, managed the game like an old pro, mixing up runs, passes and the occasional trickeration to confuse and surprise the Lindenhurst defense.
“They were a tough and physical opponent, and guys on both sides were willing to give it their all,” said Burgos. “But many people still don’t give the Ward Melville football program the respect that it deserves. I hope this win changes that somewhat, and our goal for the rest of the playoffs is to earn even more respect.”
One player who earned the respect of everyone who watched this particular game was RB/LB Griffin Kramer, who seemingly never came off the field for Ward Melville. He had 60 yards rushing as a punishing fullback and made 12 tackles on defense — three of which were behind the line of scrimmage. He also had a sack of Bulldog QB Christian Capogna.
“After that first drive, our defense got after it,” Kramer, a senior, said. “We didn’t want to let the team down and as a unit, we started playing with the mindset that there was no way our season was going to end on this night.”
The evening started in easy breezy fashion for the defending Suffolk County Division I champions, as Burgos led a seven-play, 70-yard march that ended with a leaping catch in the end zone by Senior WR Sebastian Jolly for a 7-0 Ward Melville lead.
But Lindy held serve on its opening possession by virtue of a 27-yard TD pass from Capogna to Christian Aquino, who led the Bulldogs with 105 yards receiving on eight receptions. Bulldog kicker Ben Choden would connect on a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter to give his team a 10-7 lead that they would carry into halftime. That would be the only scoring in the game until Burgos scrambled up the left sideline for a 17-yard score with ten minutes left in the game.
“Ethan is a special athlete and a very smart football player,” said Kramer. “He stayed calm tonight and did whatever we needed from him to win this game. He’s an elusive runner and threw the ball really well when he was called upon to do that.”
Burgos was 10 for 17 for 86 yards in the air, and he ran for another 92 yards. That is good for a 91.8 passer rating. He had mutual admiration for his teammate Kramer.
“Kramer is the toughest kid I know, and the entire defense runs through him,” said Burgos. “His ability to read what the opposing offense id trying to do is unmatched and he is the energy of the team – on both sides of the ball.”
They will need a large energy reserve for their next task — a semifinal match on the road against arch enemy and Suffolk Division I’s second seed Sachem North, who easily dispatched Walt Whitman over the weekend, 42-10.
Both teams are 7-2 entering the game, but the Patriots beat the Flaming Arrows 29-7 in the regular season, rolling up 250 yards on the ground. Burgos had 107 of those yards and is assuming Sachem hasn’t forgotten that late September beatdown.
“We’ll be ready for them,” he said. “I expect us to play our brand of football, assert ourselves over them and walk into another county championship.”
A bold statement from the Ward Melville signal caller – a trait that seems to run deep with this Ward Melville football team.
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