By Anthony Bosco
It was the first game of the season, yet the last for the Bayside Commodores on their home field two blocks from the school. And if last Thursday’s 24-0 loss non-league opener against the Curtis Warriors was any indication of things to come, then good riddance.
The Bayside Athletic Field, along the Clearview Expressway on 32nd Avenue, is being completely remodeled, with new FieldTurf being laid over the grass field. And somewhere under both is where Bayside coach Joe Capuana would like to bury last week’s game.
“No excuses. They outplayed us,” the coach said, though the score was hardly indicative of the competitive match-up. “We have a new team and they’re very young and inexperienced. You want to get them out there against this type of team and see how they held up. And we felt they did a pretty good job.”
For more than two quarters Bayside went punch-for-punch with the highly touted Staten Island club, but the breaks, and a few questionable calls went against Capuana’s club, which simply did not recover.
The Commodores marched straight down the field on their first possession, as Drew Williams and Richie Richards alternated running the ball and quarterback Zanu Simpson connected with Jarrett Perry for a 55-yard gain, bringing Bayside all the way to the Curtis 10-yard line.
But on first-and-goal, Richards ran up the gut and was stripped by Curtis’ Al Delgado inside the five-yard line. A penalty on the play, which appeared to be a false start on offense, was ruled as illegal motion, allowing the play to stand and giving the Warriors the ball on the Commodores’ 13.
Curtis gave the ball back four plays later when a fumbled snap was recovered by the Bayside defense. The team got as far as the Warriors’ 16 before turning the ball over on downs.
“They were a tough bunch in that first half,” said Curtis coach Fred Oliveri. “They had some opportunities in the first half, so I wouldn’t say that score was indicative. They were getting some enthusiasm.”
Another Bayside turnover — an interception by Delgado of an errant Simpson pass — set up the first score of the day, an 11-yard run by Damian McCraig around the left side to cap a short three-play 25-yard drive.
Sha Ron Gutter ran in the two-point conversion to give the Warriors an 8-0 lead with 3:18 left in the half.
The game completely changed in the second half, as Curtis began to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, running at will on the tired and undermanned Bayside defense, while limiting the Commodores’ offensive options.
“We had to get committed in the second half to controlling the game,” Oliveri said. “We wanted to keep them on their heels. The O-line took over and they were fantastic. The O-line was fabulous. I give Bayside credit. They were ready to go, but in the second half we just took over.”
Curtis opened the third quarter with a 14-play 62-yard drive that stalled on the Bayside 10. The Commodores then coughed the ball up again on their own 26-yard line, giving Curtis another easy opportunity.
Quarterback Ramone Chase scored on a four-yard run and McCraig ran in the extra point to make the score 16-0 with 1:55 left in the third.
Bayside went three-and-out on the next possession and Curtis, which started near midfield, again used good field position to its advantage. McCraig and Gutter ran the ball to the Bayside 21 before McCraig got the call again, taking the ball straight up the middle for the score. The senior again added the two-point conversion to close out the score with 8:24 remaining in regulation.
“I think they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” Capuana said. “They were able to get a push on us up front. They were killing us inside.
“I think our quarterback made some good plays and made some horrible plays,” he added. “I admire the kid for his effort. But when you get inside the red zone you can’t fall apart. I think we gave them opportunities in the first half and we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”
Capuana benched five starters before the game for missing practice on Labor Day, but the coach plans to have his full roster eligible for the team’s next game, Saturday when they travel to take on Tilden at noon.
Reach Sports Editor Anthony Bosco by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
