Richardson, Melhado lift W. Babylon
West Babylon's Michael Richardson leaves the game in the second half. (Oct. 29, 2011) Credit: Kevin P. Coughlin
Neither sleet, nor rain, nor gloom of day . . .
The weather outside was frightful but it couldn't stop West Babylon Saturday, especially since the Eagles were buoyed by the return of wide receiver Michael Richardson and quarterback Clifton Melhado.
Melhado hit Richardson with an 81-yard touchdown pass on West Babylon's first play from scrimmage and the Eagles rolled to a 35-0 victory over host Whitman in Suffolk II. West Babylon is 7-1. Whitman is 4-4. Both teams are in the playoffs.
"Coach said we might go deep on the first play and I was ready for it," said Richardson, sporting a lengthy white adhesive bandage on the right side of his face, that protected what he said were 40 stitches he received after being involved in a car accident Oct. 19. That injury kept him out of last week's loss to Smithtown West. "There's no better feeling than getting a touchdown on your first play back."
Melhado had missed the previous two games because of what he said was nerve damage and a contusion in his left leg. "I had to come back. I didn't like watching. I needed my team," said Melhado, who also ran for a 4-yard touchdown.
He surely enjoyed watching Richardson run under his long pass down the left sideline. "We were excited [about the play call]. We knew it would work. They weren't expecting it. We call it 'quads five' in the huddle. But I call it spectacular."
That word would also describe a couple of other plays in Saturday's relentless sideways rain, sleet and bone-chilling conditions. Richardson, who also started at free safety, returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown with 48 seconds left before halftime that made it 28-0.
"This is my first punt return for a touchdown on varsity. At first I wasn't going to pick it up," said Richardson, as several teammates laughed at his indecisiveness. "But then I just decided to do it and I kept running. I feel great."
Coach Al Ritacco felt the same way about the return of his star player. "He's the heart and soul of this team," Ritacco said. "That punt return, it was vintage Michael. He's back and we're ready to go."
The elements didn't seem to bother powerful fullback Reggie Robinson, either. He bounced off and ran over numerous tacklers en route to touchdown runs of 44 and 28 yards. He gained 84 yards on just six carries. "That's the best I've seen him run in a while," the coach said.
Robinson said every yard was painful. "It was pretty hard out there. It hurt," Robinson said. "The hail definitely hurt. In my mind, I was thinking, 'I know this hurts right now, but I have to hurt them in order to score.' This is definitely the worst I've ever played in. It was crazy."
Because the Eagles had a commanding lead at the half, Wildcats coach Robin Rosa agreed to shut off the scoreboard clock in the second half and have the official time be kept on the field. That meant the clock ran continually and the half ended quickly, with Robinson scoring from 28 yards on the first drive and both teams emptying their bench thereafter.
"It's definitely easier to play in conditions like this when you're way ahead," Robinson said. "You can sort of relax a little."
And shiver with a smile.
