Riverhead smacks up Bellport, 28-8 at homecoming

Whenever Bellport comes to town, everyone comes out.

It’s a long-time rivalry that just gets better every year. It’s Bellport vs. Riverhead. Blue vs. Red. And to top it all off, it was homecoming weekend at Coach Mike Mckillop Field.

Riverhead, after losing back-to-back games 45-7, came back this week and delivered a final blow to Bellport’s season with a 28-8 victory Saturday afternoon.

The home crowd sung their praises as the seconds ticked off with: “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, good bye!”

“It doesn’t matter what kind of year you have,” head coach Leif Shay said after the game. “If you beat Bellport, it’s a great year.”

For the first time all year, the Blue Wave offense worked. Things they tried to do earlier in the year finally gelled together.

Marcus Reid, a Bellport native, had two big explosive touchdown runs of which he looked to be down in the backfield only to keep his feet moving before breaking the tackle and sprinting away in the distance. It’s something that you haven’t seen all year from him.

“Well Marcus being from Bellport, he really wanted this game,” Shay said.

Tristan Falisi finally connected with Sharron Trent on a screen pass that the Blue Waves coaching staff have been trying to do for quite awhile since Trent moved to wide receiver. He broke free after breaking the first tackle and was off to the races, scoring his first receiving touchdown of the season.

“Shame on us for not getting him involved like this in the offense earlier,” Shay said. “That kid is some athlete.”

The defense, however was the real story. After giving up a combined 90 points in two games, it was great to see the group come together as a unit and contain Bellport throughout the game. Tyrese Kerr registered three sacks and Ryun Moore was all over the place, coming up with huge tackles and bringing down an interception late in the game.

The win should keep the Blue Waves (3-4) in the No. 5 position in Division II. They’ll travel to Smithtown East (0-6) for the last game of the regular season next Saturday.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Michael Hejmej.