Smithtown West Football Falls to Bellport 21-14

After a gutsy first half performance both offensively and defensively by Smithtown West's Zack Naja, scoring two touchdowns to put the Bulls up 14-7, Bellport running back Travis Houpe exploded offensively, scoring a pair of touchdowns to give the Clippers the lead and ultimately the win, 21-14.

"They've been playing great all year, overachieving all year," said Smithtown West coach Pete Cerullo. "They went toe-to-toe with Bellport, a great team, a lot of athletes out there. I'm not disappointed in them, they did what they could do."

"The first half we came out fired up, we knew this was our time to show the whole tri-state area what Smithtown West is about," Naja said. "I honestly think we got too excited that we were up. Obviously they wanted it more, it's football, it happens on any given Saturday."

After going down by a touchdown in the first quarter, Smithtown West tied it up early in the second quarter when quarterback Kyle Keenan dumped a short pass to Naja who found a gap in Bellport's defense and ran 85 yards for the score.

"We went wide with one receiver on the play, just one-on-one on the corner and nine guys in the box, I knew it would be one-on-one on a passing play so we ran a play and I said to coach, 'throw me a slant, it's one-on-one on the corner,'" Naja said. "I got right past them and from there I saw daylight I just ran my heart out."

"Zack is an excellent player, he's a playmaker, he shows up on big games," Cerullo said.

On the ensuing Bellport possession, Smithtown West outside linebacker Anthony Gatto applied drilled Bellport quarterback Justin Honce to force a fumble recovered by Naja and brought back for a touchdown.

After a scoreless third quarter, Houpe put the first second half touchdown on the scoreboard with a 40-yard touchdown run to cut the Smithtown West lead to one, 14-13. The Clippers went with a running play on the legs of Houpe for a two-point conversion instead of the extra point, but failed to convert as the running back fell to the ground at the one-yard line.

"We were thinking we were going to make it and the running back fell down," said Bellport coach Joe Cipp Jr. "If he didn't fall down he would have walked into the end zone. I guess he was gassed and tripped over his own feet."

On the next Bellport drive, Houpe gave the Clippers the 19-14 lead with a 12-yard touchdown run. Again, Bellport went for the two-point conversion and failed to convert as running back Nate Chavious was stopped by the Smithtown West defensive line.

Smithtown West's ensuing drive was ended abruptly as Keenan was sacked in the end zone by Bellport defensive end Dykeman Mosely for a safety, which gave the Clippers a 21-14 lead.

With Smithtown West driving downfield with more than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Bellport's Mike Burton intercepted a pass from Keenan to solidify the win for the Clippers.

In the end it was Houpe's second half rushing for Bellport that was too much for the Bulls. On the game, Houpe had three touchdowns and 172 yards of rushing on 32 carries.

"He's been our mainstay, he runs hard," Cipp Jr. said. "It took him a little while to get warmed up I think in the beginning of the game but at the end of the game he seemed to get a little bit stronger, we put the ball in his hands and he as able to make plays."

"I knew I had to step it up offensively, I messed up early on defense giving up a big touchdown so I had to bounce back," Houpe said. "I knew the team was depending on me to make plays so I just made plays, the line stepped it up in the second half, moved their feet, I had good blocking, they gave me lanes and I just took what they gave me."

Despite the loss, Cerullo said he was proud of the effort displayed by his team Saturday afternoon.

"I know they tried their hardest and played their hearts out and that's all I could ask from them," he said.