Tradition Continues - Bellport Football Blows Out Centereach on the Road

Another year of football is upon us and it appears that the Bellport Clippers are more than just hype on paper as they flexed their muscle against Centereach under the lights on Friday Night.

After the Clippers forced a turnover on downs, they would immediately score on a long touchdown run by #33 Jahden Oldums to give Bellport a 8-0 lead following the touchdown and 2-point conversion. The senior running back looked like he was ex-Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch as his physical, downhill style of running made him hard to bring down in the open field. Oldums would only have six carries in the game but he made the most of them as he had 125 yards on the ground. “He’s a tough kid,” said Coach Jamie Fabian when discussing the impact Oldums had on the Friday night victory. “He’s really hard to bring down and he’s always been capable of being a great running back but unfortunately he had to sit the last few years due to having some great backs ahead of him. I’m really happy for him as he is making the most of this opportunity.”

Bellport would jump out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a blocked punt setting up the offense in quality field position and a Caleb White touchdown pass to Arthur Henry. White would add another touchdown, this time with his feet, to make it a 21-0 Bellport lead. “(I’m) very proud of him (Caleb White),” said Fabian. “He’s been a kid who's played multiple positions for us on offense the last few years. Anytime you ask a kid to step into that quarterback position, it's a lot of responsibility. There's a lot that he still has to learn. He made some mistakes but also made enough plays for us and led the offense for us and led us to a win. So I'm very proud of what he was able to bring and how he was managing the offense. Something as little as that is important as well.” Bellport would face a bit of a late rally as Centereach would put up 14 unanswered points to make it a 21-13 game at halftime, but the momentum shift was very shortlived for Centereach. Bellport would receive the second half kickoff and a somewhat unlikely and unknown character made a big contribution that would swing the momentum back into the favor of the Clippers.

Sophomore Kingston John made his varsity debut on Friday night and he left his mark, taking the second half kickoff all the way to the endzone for his first touchdown of his varsity career, giving Bellport a 28-13 lead. “They go in the half coming back from down 21 to scoring 14 unanswered,” said Fabian.” They get a stop on us right out of halftime and then score there, it's a completely different game. It would swing the momentum. But fortunately that kid (Kingston John) was able to make a heck of a play for a sophomore kid in his first varsity game. He’s only a sophomore too. That kick return was huge.”

The defense also had a huge game on Friday as they forced four turnovers in this contest, including a stripped ball that was returned for a long touchdown towards the end of the game. “Trayvon Holland is someone that really stood out defensively,” said Coach Fabian. “He was flying around making a ton of plays. Kevin Hall even made a huge play as he had a strip return for a touchdown. So, just a lot of different guys contributing to our success.” The scoring did not stop as the Clippers would run up the score until the final seconds ticked off the clock to give the Clippers a 40-13 victory on the road. “One thing we try to preach in our program is approach, we try to approach every game the same,” said Coach Fabian. “Centereach has given us a lot of problems in the past when we've played them, they are a well-coached team and they have a lot of good athletes over there. We never take anybody lightly. It's definitely nice to get out there and get that first one, especially Friday night on the road. We don't play a whole lot of night games because we play all our home games on Saturdays, so it's a little out of routine for us. Going on the road, especially during a night game, is always a tough environment to go into. I’m very proud of the kids for overcoming that.”

The Clippers next play on Thursday as they welcome in recent rival West Islip in a rematch of the 2021 Covid Season County Championship at Bellport High School. The game will start a bit earlier than usual due to the Jewish Holiday as kickoff is expected to be at 3:30 pm. “They are the number one seeded team in our division this year,” said Fabian. “We have beat them every year since the Covid season. They are a long-time rival of ours and they are a well-coached team with very tough kids. It’s always a battle and it’s going to be a good game this week.”