Nunns' fake punt scamper sets up Robinson TD for West Babylon
West Babylon High School running back #32 Reggie Robinson, left, gets congratulated by teammates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter. (Oct. 8, 2010) Credit: James Escher
The pipsqueak punter took the snap and ran for the first down, turning the tide of the game, and also the early playoff picture in Suffolk Division II.
James Nunns, a 5-9 (in high heels, maybe), 155-pound (soaking wet) punter/defensive back took a fake punt 22 yards around left end on fourth-and-3 with 5:12 left in the third quarter. Three plays later, Alex Hennessy hit Unique Ford for 21 yards over the middle. On the following snap, Reggie Robinson burst in from 9 yards, and West Babylon never trailed again on its way to a 25-14 victory over visiting Half Hollow Hills West on Friday night.
"I just followed my blockers and I had a big smile on my face once I got there," said Nunns, a senior whose braces make him look even younger. "I saw an opening around the left side and I went for it."
Robinson's touchdown run, his second of the night, gave West Babylon (3-2) a 19-14 lead with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
Michael Richardson pulled the Eagles within a point at 14-13 6:36 earlier on a dazzling 82-yard reception from Hennessy, spinning off would-be tacklers and turning on the jets to the end zone. The snap on the point after went awry. But the play changed the momentum of the game.
"Our team's mostly Mikey," Nunns said of the playmaker who caught six passes for 165 yards. "Mikey's the hero, I just try to come out and have fun out there."
Nunns had a great time in the first half, as his fumble recovery and interception were two of five turnovers forced by West Babylon. But the Eagles punted on each of the ensuing possessions.
The only points they scored off a turnover were on Robinson's 4-yard, first-quarter TD run to cap a four-play, 55-yard drive after Charles Doherty's fumble recovery.
Not capitalizing on Hills West's mistakes look like it would come back to bite West Babylon after Devante McFarlane's 76 yard touchdown scamper tied the game at 7 6:31 before halftime.
Dan McCord continued to make the Eagles pay on the first play of the second half, taking the opening kickoff 90 yards untouched for the score to give Hills West (2-3) a 14-7 lead.
But the Eagles answered with Richardson's and Robinson's touchdowns, and on the first play of the fourth quarter, Hennessey took a keeper down the right sideline 45 yards to provide the final margin.
"Our team just didn't quit," West Babylon coach Al Ritacco said. "We had the straight desire to excel."
And the secret weapon who helped place them back among Division II's elite.
