Bayport-Blue Point wins its first Long Island championship
Bayport-Blue Point quarterback Brady Clark scores the first touchdown of the game during the Long Island Class IV Championship against North Shore at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium on Friday, November 25, 2022. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Bayport-Blue Point quarterback Brady Clark played his last high school football game Friday afternoon and had a performance he will never forget.
Clark ran for two first-half touchdowns and threw two second-half touchdown passes as Bayport-Blue Point beat North Shore, 35-7, to claim the Long Island Class IV title before a crowd of more than 2,500 at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium. He engineered five straight scoring drives to lead the Phantoms to the first Long Island championship in program history.
Clark completed 10 of 14 passes for 166 yards and rushed 11 times for 85 yards to knock off the defending Class IV champions. Bayport-Blue Point finished with an 11-0 record and snapped North Shore’s 19-game winning streak.
“It’s just an indescribable feeling,” said Clark, who will attend St. John’s University on a baseball scholarship. “We played a complete game. Everyone contributed to this championship, from the coaches to the players. Our defense was phenomenal.”
The teams traded punts in the first quarter before each found the end zone in the second quarter.
Bayport-Blue Point opened the scoring with a nine-play, 89-yard drive. Clark followed a block from halfback Dan Aiello and went over left tackle for a 5-yard touchdown run. Sean Anglim converted the first of his five extra-point kicks to make it 7-0.
“We were concentrating on taking away Bayport’s passing game, and Clark broke a couple of big runs,” North Shore coach Dan Agovino said. “He was the difference.”
North Shore (11-1) responded with a nine-play, 80-yard march. On fourth-and-8, quarterback Peter Liotta scrambled away from heavy pressure and found Nicholas Livoti for a 39-yard touchdown pass. Michael Fleming’s kick made it 7-7 with 7:14 left in the half.
The Phantoms then went 80 yards in 10 plays, with Clark scoring on a 3-yard run up the middle for a 14-7 lead with 2:32 left in the half. Clark rushed for 16 yards and 22 yards on consecutive first-down runs to key the drive.
“We saw on film that their defensive backs would turn and run with our receivers,” Clark said. “As soon as they turned to follow the go routes, I found a lane and just took off.”
Bayport-Blue Point opened the third quarter with its third successive touchdown drive of at least 80 yards.
The Phantoms mixed in runs by Clark and Aiello, who had 107 yards on 14 carries, and advanced to the Vikings’ 21. On third-and-8, Clark fired into the flat to wide receiver Michael Luce, who shook a tackle and kept his balance as he tiptoed along the sideline for a 21-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead.
North Shore then drove to the Phantoms’ 31, but Bayport-Blue Point junior middle linebacker Sean Druckenmiller stopped halfback Nick LaRosa for a loss of four yards and Derek Varley sacked Liotta on third down. Liotta dropped back to pass again on a critical fourth-down play and was sacked by Varley and Dylan Spano.
“North Shore is a ball control team that likes to control the tempo,” Bayport-Blue Point defensive coordinator Mike Gentile said. “We kept mixing our fronts and knew their guards would take us to the play. We started blitzing and getting the big stops.”
“Coach Gentile changed the defensive mindset in Bayport as we’re much more aggressive,” said Druckenmiller, who had 13 tackles (seven solo). “He puts us in the right spots to make big plays. And we stopped a big and fast North Shore offense.”
Senior wide receiver JJ Aiello had his 17th touchdown reception of the season to open the fourth quarter. Aiello caught a 44-yard pass from Clark for a 28-7 lead with 10:19 left.
“I was covered, great coverage, and Brady threw the perfect pass,” JJ Aiello said. “If it was short, it would’ve been intercepted. We’ve had an awesome connection all season.”
Dan Aiello added a 41-yard touchdown run.
Said Clark: “We let a title slip away in the Suffolk championship last year. And it stayed with us as a motivator all season. There was no looking back, just moving forward with a focus. And this feels tremendous. We’re Long Island champions.”
LONG ISLAND CLASS IV
Championship, at Hofstra University
Bayport-Blue Point 0-14-7-14-35
North Shore 0-7-0-0-7
BBP – Clark 5 run (Anglim kick)
NS – Livoti 39 pass from Liotta (Fleming kick)
BBP – Clark 3 run (Anglim kick)
BBP – Luce 21 pass from Clark (Anglim kick)
BBP – JJ Aiello 44 pass from Clark (Anglim kick)
BBP – D. Aiello 41 run (Anglim kick)
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
