Panthers Fall Short In County Championship

The John Glenn Knights never did figure out how to shut down Babylon Panther running back Trevor Fudim. But in the end, they didn’t need to.

In Saturday’s Suffolk County Division IV championship game, Fudim injured his groin diving for his third touchdown of the first half, and played only sparingly—if not gamely—in the second half. Playing without their star back, the Panthers (8-3) couldn’t generate second-half points and lost to the Knights 34 - 26 at Stony Brook University.

Just moments into the second quarter, with Babylon already up 14 – 7 thanks to two Fudim touchdowns, Sean Logan recovered Knight quarterback Ryan Rielly’s fumble at the John Glenn 25-yard line. Fudim took Sam Zamet’s pitch and raced 25 yards to the goal line, diving for the piling, giving his team a 20 - 7 lead.

“I felt it pull as I dove,” Fudim said. “Going into halftime, it was hurting a lot. It was the worst pain I’ve felt.”

Babylon’s game plan was to keep John Glenn’s offense off the field with ball control. But with Fudim out of the game, the Knights saw their opportunity and took it. On the next series, Rielly connected with Tom Forsberg on a 54-yard catch-and-run to close to within six at 20 - 14.

The Knights then took the lead with 1:14 left in the half when Rielly threw his second of three touchdown passes, an 11-yarder to Jonathan Mannix, who out-leaped the Babylon defense and lunged into the end zone. Greg Orkiszewski’s extra point put the Knights up 21 – 20.

On the ensuring kick off, Nahari Jenkins gave Babylon excellent field position, returning the ball to the Babylon 49.

Without Fudim out of the game, Babylon went to the air. Zamet connected with Andrew Hurst for a 7-yard gain, and followed that with a 41-yard completion to Stephen Loudon, setting up a first-and-goal at the 3. Grant Shannon capped the drive with a 3-yard burst into the end zone. Babylon’s 2-point conversion attempt was stopped and the Panthers took a slim 26 - 21 lead into the locker room at half.

“Grant ran real hard for us,” Zamet said.

Babylon coach Rick Punzone was hoping to “play keep away” with ball possession, limiting the time Rielly had to work with. When the two teams played during the regular season, Rielly rushed for four touchdowns and threw for one more in a 33 – 28 John Glenn win. So limiting the damage Suffolk County’s top passer and total rushing yardage leader could do was critical.

On this day, however, Rielly would not be denied. He threw for three touchdowns and rushed for two more, darting his way through, around and over Babylon defenders.

“Our line did a great job,” Rielly said. “They were physical, and they gave me a lot of time to throw.”

Down 27 – 26 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game, Babylon’s defense was looking for a stop on third-and-seven at its 22-yard line. Rielly’s pass into the end zone was broken up, and it appeared that the Panthers would have an opportunity. But Babylon was penalized for pass interference on a play that triggered loud protests from the Panther sideline, as both the receiver and defender made contact attempting to get to the ball. The 52-yard drive was capped two plays later when Rielly scored from the 7, ending Babylon’s hopes for a Suffolk County title.

“It’s a dream that comes to a quick end,” Zamet said of Babylon’s championship bid. “You have to credit [John Glenn]. They earned it.”

John Glenn coach Dave Shanahan knew his team caught a break when Fudim left the game. “That was a big deal, when they had to go to their second-team back,” Shanahan said. “We ended up shutting them down in the second half.”

With the win, John Glenn (11-0) earns a shot against Seaford for the Division IV Long Island championship, in a game to be played next Saturday at Stony Brook.

“We want to seal the deal this year,” John Glenn linebacker Joseph Giaramita said.

For the Babylon Panthers, their fate was sealed when Fudim’s goal-line dive resulted in much more than six points.

“This time of year, only one team is going to be happy,” Punzone said. “Unfortunately, it’s not us.”

                           1      2     3    4     F

Babylon        14   12    0   0    26

John Glenn   7   14    6   7    34