On yet another rainy weekend on Long Island, Bellport High School Football looked to continue their success from the previous week against in league rival Northport.
This game wasn’t just a regular Saturday matchup, Bellport was honoring some of their alumni in attendance for their annual alumni day and Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
During halftime the Clippers inducted Norman Dillion (‘80), Mike Pepe (‘06), Jack Nickla (‘08), Jimmy Morrell (‘16) and DJ Trent (‘18) into their programs Hall of Fame.
After forcing a Northport 3 and out on the opening drive, Bellport looked to get their run game going as the rain was not going to be the passing game’s best friend. Jahden Oldums and Caleb White both used their legs to pick up first downs on the opening drive.
Their opening drive would eventually stall out on Northport’s 46 yard line as they would go 3 and out, punting the ball on fourth and long
Northport moved the chains for the first time on a Greyson Cabrera 10 yard rush on the Tiger’s second drive of the game. Unfortunately for them, the bellport defense locked in and forced a 3 and out
Bellport would once again 3 and out as Northports defense didn’t give up an inch on the clippers drive, resulting the end of the first quarter to end at a 0-0 score
The Tigers offense also looked stagnant until Cabrera and Michael Campoli were able to break off a pair of outside runs for first downs, putting the tigers offense inside the bellport 25 with a chance to score at the beginning of the second quarter
On a crucial 4th and short situation, Northport decided to go for it and the decision paid off as they picked up a first down on a six yard run thanks to a gritty run by Campoil, setting up a goal to go scenario.
On third and goal from the 3 yard line, Giancarlo Valenti got the ball on a fullback dive and he muscled his way in for the score to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead in the second quarter
Bellport got the ball back and they looked to respond to the Northport score. Jahden Oldums got the drive going as he ran for a huge gain on a 4th and short to finally put the Clippers into Northport territory.
The Clippers once more faced a 4th and short situation on the Northport 37 and they would pick it up as Caleb White found a receiver wide open at the first down marker to keep the drive going. Oldums rumbled his way down to the 12 to put Bellport into prime scoring position. Oldums would end up finding the end zone as he scored on a 2 yard touchdown to make it a 7-7 game.
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After both teams traded three and outs to start the second half, Northport decided to break the ice as they got a drive up substance together as Simon Blissett (who has been playing for the injured Enrique Hernandez) connected with Campoli on a long catch and run to put the tigers inside the Clippers 30 right before the end of the third quarter.
The Clippers defense would keep the Tigers out of the end zone, however Northport would connect on 31 yard field goal by Zac Loh to give themselves a 12-7 lead with 10 minutes ago in the fourth quarter
Bellport’s offense looked like they were finally showing life again as White would break off a long run that put the Clippers all the way down to Northport 35.
Unfortunately for the clippers, they were unable to score any points as Cameron Foley picked off a White pass to give the Tigers the ball back.
After forcing a Northport Punt, the Clippers turned around and put the game in the hands of star running back Jahden Oldums.
Oldums came up big for the clippers as a long run shut them up inside the Tigers 10 yard line with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
A Caleb White scramble on third down left the clippers inside the 1 yard line to set up a fourth down and goal to go. White would finish off the job on fourth down as Bellport emulated the Philadelphia Eagles by pushing the quarterback over the goal line in a short yardage situation to give the Clippers the lead. A two point conversion gave Bellport a 15-12 lead with 3:37 to go in the fourth quarter.
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Greyson Cabrera (#21) Breaks up a Caleb White Pass to Michael Frankie
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Bellport got the ball back and they immediately faced fourth down and five to go inside their own territory with 2:43 to go. They needed the first down in order to continue the game.
A costly false start penalty would push them back 5 yards making the fourth and five now a fourth and 10. A broken pass play would lead to Caleb White running towards the first down sticks. He was forced out of bounds just short of the first down, giving the ball back to Northport due to a turnover on downs.
Bellport got the ball back with 39 seconds left as Northport would go three and out on their final possession in an attempt to eat all the time off the clock.
After moving down the field with limited time, the Northport Defense would ultimately keep White and the Clippers out of the end zone, resulting in a Northport victory that spoiled the festivities.
Bellport now drops to 3-3 on the season and they hope to get back on the right track as they will take on North Babylon in their Penultimate game of the 2023 season at 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 21st.