11-21-2004, 09:16 AM
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Head Coach
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 10,857
Points: 500,361.38
Bank: 0.00
Total Points: 500,361.38
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Quote:
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Jason Gwaltney scores on a 2-point conversion in the fourth quarter giving his team their first lead and the game winning score.
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http://www.newsday.com/sports/highsc...orts-headlines
Quote:
Gwaltney realizes vision quest
BY GREGG SARRA
Staff Writer
They say football is not a one-man show and that it takes more than one player to win. But Jason Gwaltney came as close as you can to disproving that theory yesterday.
Obviously, the 6-2, 230-pound senior had help from his North Babylon teammates. But on both sides of the ball, one face kept showing up.
Gwaltney's.
He rushed for 268 yards on 54 carries and scored three touchdowns as No. 2 North Babylon came back for a thrilling 23-22 victory over top-seeded West Babylon in a Suffolk Division II final before about 5,000 at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium. Gwaltney added two two-point conversions and broke his Long Island record for rushing yards in a season. He has a total of 2,645 yards and 40 touchdowns in 10 games. His 54 carries tied the Long Island record for rushing attempts in a game.
North Babylon (9-1) will meet Garden City for the Class II Long Island title at noon Saturday at LaValle Stadium. Surprisingly, Gwaltney, who holds every rushing and scoring record on Long Island, has never played in a Long Island title game.
"This was my personal goal, my quest," said Gwaltney, who also had eight tackles and a sack on defense. "The records are great but the only thing that mattered to me as a senior was getting a shot at a Long Island championship."
And North Babylon has him to thank for that opportunity. Despite Gwaltney's offensive prowess, it was his singular defensive play that saved the game and prolonged the season.
With West Babylon (9-1) leading 22-15 with 1.3 seconds left in the first half, Eagles coach Al Ritacco passed on a field-goal attempt and went for the touchdown on a first-and-goal situation at the Bulldogs' 2-yard line.
Halfback Alton Lucas went over right tackle and was met head on by Gwaltney for no gain as time expired. The crushing hit ended a high-scoring first half.
"They were looking for the knockout punch and they got knocked out," Gwaltney said. "That was a huge stop."
Ultimately, it was the play that undid West Babylon's marvelous season. North Babylon punished the Eagles throughout the second half. The Bulldogs opened with a five-play, 51-yard touchdown drive, capped by Gwaltney's 25-yard scoring run. His two-point conversion run gave the Bulldogs a 23-22 lead.
"Our line has a lot of pride and we knew the game would be won up front," North Babylon center Steve Phillips said. "This was the true test for the ground-and-pound unit."
In the second half, the best defense for North Babylon was its ball-control offense. The Bulldogs ran 37 plays to the Eagles' 10 and consumed 18:39 to West Babylon's 5:21.
"They kept the offense off the field in the second half," said West Babylon quarterback Kevin Hennessy, who ran for a 77-yard touchdown and passed for two more scores. "It was hard to believe."
Lucas, who rushed for 135 yards on 10 carries and a TD in the first half, was held to 20 second-half yards. He finished with 155 yards on 14 carries. His 2-yard scoring run and Hennessy's two-point conversion run gave the Eagles a 15-7 lead with 4:48 left in the first half.
But the Bulldogs wouldn't go away. Gwaltney hand-bounced through three tacklers at the point of attack and somehow stayed on his feet for a spectacular 45-yard touchdown run. His two-point conversion run tied it at 15 with 2:54 left in the half.
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