Greenport JV football shuts out Hampton Bays
It started like any other football game at Dorrie Jackson Memorial Field.
“Here come the Porters,” the public announcer said.
Running back Zyaire Terry led the charge, bursting through the purple Greenport football banner. Some 22 teammates followed suit.
Three members of the Greenport High A Cappella Group sang the national anthem. A squad of 10 purple-clad cheerleaders spurred on the crowd. They chanted, “Fight! Fight! Fight like Porters! Fight!”
This Greenport/Southold/Mattituck game against Hampton Bays, however, wasn’t under the lights of an autumn Friday night. It was under the lights of an autumn Wednesday night.
And it wasn’t a varsity football game. It was JV football after high school officials decided last month that there were not enough players to field a competitive team.
The Porters are trying to resuscitate the varsity program.
There were plenty of cheers from the 50 supporters who braved a cold and blustery Oct. 15 night as Greenport (4-1) secured a comprehensive 22-0 victory.
Head coach Tim McArdle, who along with his varsity staff coaches the JV, said the environment was “very different.”
“Usually, we play Friday nights, and we have the weekend to recoup,” he said. “It is hard playing on a late Wednesday night and practicing again Thursday. They lost out on the varsity season, some of these juniors, so we want to give them these night game feels.”
Especially for four juniors on the team: quarterback Brayden Kruk, running back Zyaire Terry, defensive end-tight end Emmett Tramontana and guard-defensive end Jacob Secadia.
“When I came to the varsity games [as a spectator] last year, it was a different atmosphere with the amount of people that were here,” Kruk said. “But I have the same mindset. It’s the same atmosphere, even though there’s less noise.”
But there was a vital trade-off between varsity and JV. For the most part, older varsity players are bigger and stronger than their younger counterparts.
“I knew that if I played, the kids would have been much bigger than me,” Kruk said.
When he heard that the varsity program was on hiatus, Terry said that, “Honestly, I was pretty mad about it, but I just want to play football … I’m actually having a lot of fun.”
He certainly did, carrying the ball for a game-high of 106 yards and two touchdowns.
“I want to see what I can do at a varsity level,” Terry said.
The Porters scored on their first possession on Terry’s 6-yard run and the first of a pair of Kruk’s two-point conversions. Kruk added a 10-yard run for a 14-0 halftime lead. Terry bolted 36 yards down the left side for a third-quarter TD.
Freshman running back Owen Edgett, who has scored nine touchdowns, ran eight times for 58 yards.
“Tonight’s a highlight for us,” McArdle said. “The highlights really have the young guys banding together and following the tutelage of a handful of our juniors. They’re really starting to get a little bit of that varsity experience, which is going to pay dividends moving forward.”
McArdle is treating the team as if it was varsity, breaking down film and video.
“They’re learning what happens in the varsity process,” he said. “They’re learning from varsity coaches who are running varsity-style systems. It is giving us a big jump forward. We’re seeing the abilities of certain guys.”
McArdle singled out sophomore running back Markus Kruszeski, Tramontana, freshman corner back Harry Chen, Edgett and Terry.
“He’s got a lot of ability,” he said of Terry. “Tough to take down … Emmett played a very strong game. He had a sack and was really close a bunch of times. Owen Edgett had a phenomenal game. He can run that ball really well. Harry Chen played a very strong game.
“I thought that the whole offensive line played really well. For the most part, both sides the lines played very well,” McArdle added.
After Wednesday’s game against Center Moriches, the Porters will host Elwood/John Glenn in their season finale Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 5:45 p.m.
Regardless of the score, a decision will be made about the program’s future probably next year.
“The goal is to bring the varsity back in the future,” McArdle said. “I don’t want to make any decisions on what happens in the future. Our guys are playing strong. They’re dedicated to football. We brought a lot of young guys back in the fold that will be returning next year. I don’t want to make any optimistic decisions right now. But that’s the goal we’re working on.”
