Hills West Falls Short to East Islip

The Hills West Colts football team battled through the rain Wednesday afternoon, but the game slipped into the hands of the East Islip Redmen and Hills was defeated 28-7. Both teams are now 2-2 in Division II.

The game began with receiving the ball and driving it to East Islip's 39 yard line. The Redmen intercepted the ball at the 6:00 mark and made it back to their own 46 yard line.

The first quarter was scoreless, however the Redmen began the second quarter strong with Tyler Rigo getting the first touchdown of the game at the 9:12 mark.  After a successful one-point conversion by Matthew Walter, the score stood at 7-0 Redmen.

Hills West received the kickoff at their 38 yard line.  On fourth down, they punted to East Islip where there was no return.  The Redmen made their way slowly but surely down the field, and at 1st and goal, Pete Hanabergh scored East Islip's second touchdown.  Walter completed the one-point conversion again, bringing the score to 14-0 Redmen with 4:00 remaining.

On the ensuing drive, Hills West made it to East Islip's 20 yard line, but due to a penalty, they were forced with a 1st and 13. On third down, Hills West called a time out with less than a minute to go. Unfortunately for the Colts, the Redmen intercepted the ball before they could make anything happen. Now 1st and 10 from on their own 34 yard line, the Redmen ran the clock down and the game went into halftime.

The third quarter, The Colts started from their own 44 yard line, where Jaquese Jones made an impressive 34 yard run, bringing them to a 1st and 10 on the on Redmen 22 yard line.  On first and goal, Hills West star quarterback got his team's first touchdown on a 10 yard run.  With a one-point conversion by Kevin Stanis, they now trailed the Redmen 14-7.

The ensuing kickoff by the Colts resulted in a touchback, bringing the ball to the East Islip 20 yard line. They advanced the ball to their own 31 yard line, but on third down, a penalty was called against the Redmen, costing them 5 yards. On a first down play, the Redmen fumbled, and Hills West recovered the ball. The crowd cheered loudly, but the celebration didn't last long as the Redmen intercepted the ball soon after.

In the fourth quarter, East Islip had the ball at first and goal. Joe Modica then scored East Islip's third touchdown on a 6 yard run, now making the score 21-7 with a one-point convert. At this point, Hills West was in deep trouble. With less than 6 minutes remaining in the game, Tyler Rigo scored East Islip's fourth and final touchdown on a 30 yard run, ending the game at 28-7.

Distraught after their tough loss, head coach for Colts, Kyle Madden rounded up his team for a huddle.  "We have to find a way to win, we have to get better, that's the bottom line," said Madden to his team.  The Colts will play against West Babylon on Thursday, Oct. 6th.

"I'm very happy with how we played today, especially since we've had a short week of practice," said Sal Ciampi, head coach for the Redmen. "Our main focus was to stop Devante McFarlane, who is one of the best players in the county."  The Redmen did so by intercepting McFarlane three times, and holding him back to 37 yards on 11 carries, which was his lowest in the season so far.