Sports

Babylon Kicks Off Football Season with 44-7 Win

The Babylon Panthers started the game with 3 touchdowns before allowing a first down to East Hampton.

The Babylon High School Panthers are off to a great start to the 2012 season after a 44-7 win over the East Hampton Bonackers on Friday night.

"It was a good start," said Babylon Head Coach Rick Punzone, who notched his 76th career win Friday night. "We went to a spread offense for the first time and it was good to see it work... the kids look good. We dominated them up front."

The defense held East Hampton back all game long, allowing only one completed pass all game and 71 yards of total offense.

Find out what's happening in Babylon Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New starting quarterback Nick Santorelli, a junior, looked solid in his career varsity start, completing 7 of 11 passes with one touchdown. He also had two interceptions, one of which led to the Bonackers' only scoring on the evening. Santorelli also rushed for 80 yards, pushing the ball down the field during several key points.

"I thought [Santorelli] played very well," said Punzone. "In just his first quarter, he went 6-for-7 and had a touchdown called back. He'll learn from this."

Find out what's happening in Babylon Villagewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone everyday with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-up here.

 

Junior wide receiver Jake Carlock had the biggest evening, catching a 45 yard touchdown pass from Santorelli and later intercepting and returning a pass while on defense for another touchdown.

Junior runningback Eric Schweitzer had a great night, rushing 46 yards for two touchdowns and receiving almost 60 yards. Junior runningback Luke Zappia ran for 32 yards on the evening, also running in two touchdowns.

The Panthers took off running in the first quarter, turning in two touchdowns and two two-point conversions before the Bonackers could mount a first down on their own possessions. The Panthers eventually led 23-0 at one point before East Hampton scored their only touchdown on the evening.

"That's the type of team we have this year," said Punzone. "We're going to score touchdowns fast. The kids running were just fired up."

It was all Babylon from there on. The Panthers scored a total of 21 points in the second quarter and went into halftime up 37-7. The crowd of about 300 hung into the very end, with bench players coming on for the Panthers in the end.

Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final East Hampton 0 7 0 0 7 Babylon 16 21 7 0 44

The Panthers will play their next game on September 14th away at Glenn High School.

Check back Monday morning for a gallery from Friday's game!


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here