Hauppauge Football Blows By East Hampton, 41-21

Hauppauge varsity football claimed victory over East Hampton, 41-21. The Eagles defense stepped up their blocks, causing East Hampton to give up multiple turnover which gave opportunities to Hauppauge's offense. What Eagles' coach Joseph Patrovich said he expected to be a close match turned into a runaway victory.

Score: Hauppauge 41, East Hampton 21

Records: Hauppauge 3-3, East Hampton 2-4 in Division III

The Hero:  East Hampton's Steven Bahns scored on a 56-yard pass, putting the Bonackers in the lead 7-6 briefly in the first quarter. The Bonackers would score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it was not nearly enough to close the more than 30-point gap.

Hauppauge senior quarterback Mike Ortolani scored 4 touchdowns to lead the Eagles to victory. Ortolani scored on a 15-yard run on Hauppauge's first possession to put the Eagles on the scoreboard.

The Turning Point: Hauppauge Eagles took full control of the game in the second quarter. Ortolani scored on a 7-yard run just 9 second into the half, then completed the 2-point conversion to put Hauppauge up 14-7. 

After only 5 plays, Ortolani intercepted an East Hampton pass and scored on a 52-yard return. Thomas O'Brien kicked the extra point. This blew the game open, extending the Eagles lead to 21-7.

Once again, East Hampton received the kickoff but could not make another first down. Sophomore Dominic Confredo scored on a 7-yard pass from Ortolani, and O'Brien made the extra point. 

Hauppauge scored 22 points in the second quarter to have a comfortable 28-7 lead at the half. Ortolani scored a 36-yard run touchdown less than 3 minutes into the second half, squashing East Hampton's chance of making a comeback.

The Quote: "Defensively as a team we really stepped it up," Patrovich said.

The Bottom Line: Hauppauge's strong defensive line forced East Hampton to turn over the ball numberous times, eventually leading to their downfall. Senior Anthony Martello returned to the field with 7 tackles and one sack. He led defense alongside Ortolani, who made 6 tackles. The Eagles took full advantage of these opportunities, scoring on six out of eight of their possessions. 

Key Stat: Ortolani scored 4 touchdowns, made a 7-yard pass to  Confredo for a touchdown, and had 139 yards rushing.