Bulldogs Fall to Defending County Gridiron Champs

Lindenhurst got thrown into the thick of it in game one of their 2011 , walking into the den of the defending Suffolk County Champions and paying dearly for the experience.

The Bulldogs (0-1) were stymied from the get-go by the potent offense of (1-0), giving up long yardage to the talented Colonials backfield, and 41 unanswered points before halftime provided a chance to regroup.

Things quieted down in the second half - and Lindenhurst was able to muster a successful drive of its own to finish things at 41-7 - but the experience had Bulldogs Head Coach Nick Lombardo heading for the game tapes.

Lindenhurst split quarterback duties between Keith Meisner in the first half and Ken Skon in the second. At times the Bulldog offense showed signs of life, set up by decent field position after strong kick-off returns from Nicholas Franco and Alec Wrieth.

In fact, during the first half, fullback David Fuller rushed for 53 yards on eight carries, and Meisner went 7 for 9 passing and 82 yards.

“We moved the ball well at times - in particular, our tailbacks had some good moments,” said Lombardo. “I was happy with Fowler’s running.”

But the Bulldogs were unable to put the ball in the end zone - in part because of a key penalty or two, a ball thrown under the defense for an interception and a missed field goal.

Meanwhile, was on fire, seemingly able to score from anywhere on the field on the strength of QB A.J. Otranto’s arm, and the superlative performance of running back Stacey Bedell.

In the second half Skon took over QB and the offense began to show some pop. After an initial drive by Floyd to open the quarter sputtered at the six yard line, Skon engineered a seven-minute drive on short passes to Wrieth, not to mention a good deal of bullish running on his own.

That drive failed, but the Bulldogs scored on the second drive, on scrambling runs out of the pocket for Skon and a pair of tosses to Carlos Argüello - the first a screen for 13, followed by a reception in the flat and a 27-yard scamper into the end zone.

In all Argüello finished the day with 68 yds, on five receptions. Skon had 56 yards on the ground and 76 yards in the air on 8-11 completions - and was the recipient of two passes from Meisner, for an additional 49 yards.

Meanwhile, in defense, Fuller and Josh Stewart led the way with five tackles each; also contributing were Matt Colton (four solo tackles) and Joe Morhart (three solo tackles).

While Lombardo anticipated that going into a game that was also an opener away against would be challenging, he noted that his team didn’t play up to its potential.

“We missed that field goal,” he said. “Those holding penalties hurt us. If you want to compete, then you can’t have that. I was disappointed.”

But it was a learning experience, too. “We’ll regroup,” said Lombardo. “This is a good football team, and we’ll be ready for the next game.”

Next up for Lindy is an away game , , 6 p.m., at -.