Nassau flag football powers Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK and Bellmore-Merrick tie in Nassau I opener
Christina Eromon of Bellmore-Merrick evades Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK defenders during a Nassau flag football game on Monday in Plainview. Credit: Kelvin Loarca
The Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK flag football team built a dynasty predicated on stingy defense. Even with a largely inexperienced team, the Hawks’ defense stepped up when it mattered most.
Bellmore-Merrick made two trips inside the Hawks’ 20-yard line in the final four minutes of Monday’s Nassau Conference I opener. Yael Plotkin and Ava LeRea led the charge in keeping the Chargers out of the end zone, preserving a 7-7 tie in Plainview.
Overtime is not played until the postseason.
Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK (0-1-1) has won three straight Nassau championships. Most of the Hawks’ impact players from their extraordinary run have graduated.
“They’re still the team to beat as far as I’m concerned,” Bellmore-Merrick coach Matthew Moody said. “That’s a phenomenal team and defense. They stopped some of the stuff that we had success with in the first two games.”
Bellmore-Merrick quarterback Erini Ballis completed passes of 23 and 25 yards to Kylie McKeon and Christina Eromon, respectively, to reach the Hawks’ 10-yard line. But Plotkin picked up two sacks, leading to a turnover on downs with 3:40 left.
Bellmore-Merrick forced a punt with 1:22 left and Lillianna Piscitelli had a 34-yard catch-and-run to the Hawks’ 18-yard line with about 40 seconds left. Plotkin recorded another sack to disrupt the Chargers’ momentum. Ballis completed a pass to Eromon on the final play of the game, but her flag was pulled short of the end zone.
Plotkin had six sacks and LeRea had a sack and two pass deflections at the line of scrimmage. Leah Menendez added an interception in the third quarter.
“Stepping up in those big moments is all about focus and doing what our coaches teach us, whether it’s to go for the flag or block the pass,” LeRea said. “When those big moments come, the entire team is ready to play and step up.”
“We were really happy with how resilient they were in those moments,” Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK coach Alec Abramowitz said. “We had our backs against the wall late in the game and the defense got some huge stops. We would’ve loved a win, but this is a really good Bellmore team and we found a way to tie.”
Katelyn Kuhl caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ballis with 7:01 left in the first quarter to give Bellmore-Merrick a 7-0 lead.
Plotkin evaded several defenders on a 30-yard TD from Jadyn Barnhill to tie the score at 7 with 1:47 left in the first half.
Victoria Olson had three sacks and McKeon had two interceptions, marking the seventh and eighth interceptions for Bellmore-Merrick (2-0-1) in its first three games.
“Through the first two games, I felt that we had a very strong defense and I think today kind of proved that idea,” Moody said.
“We know how to communicate and work the ball around each other,” McKeon said. “I’m really excited to see how far we can go later in the season.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
