Slane lifts North Babylon past Newfield

Ryan Slane stood gashed and bruised, remnants of the physical battle that had taken place against a swarming Newfield defense. The senior did it all: He placekicked, he played defensive back and quarterback. He also engineered North Babylon's 10-7 comeback victory over Newfield Thursday in a pivotal Suffolk II football game.

Slane drilled a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the first half and then led the Bulldogs on a 12-play, 69-yard winning touchdown drive with 10:13 left in the fourth quarter capped by his 4-yard scoring run. His 22-yard pass to his brother Connor, on a fourth-and-15 play, to the Newfield 5-yard line, keyed the march.

"That was the hardest hitting game of the season," said Ryan, who rushed for 42 yards on 14 carries, mainly on quarterback draws. "It was a very physical game."

Slane sealed the win with the Bulldogs' third interception of Newfield quarterback Mike Silva at the Bulldogs' 40 just before time ran out.

"He's a pure athlete," North Babylon coach Terry Manning said. "We had some guys out of the lineup on offense and we put the ball in his hands on the final drive and let him get it done."

Slane shook off some big hits from Newfield linebackers Ron Denig and Julian Santiago. He bounced back from a huge Denig hit and a sack by Santiago in the second quarter to line up and kick a 40-yard field goal for the 3-0 lead.

"He's a playmaker," said North Babylon defensive back Eric Marzocca, who recovered a fumble and had an interception. "He's as tough as they come."

SEE PHOTOSNorth Babylon 10, Newfield 7

Newfield grabbed a short-lived lead after a nine-play, 70-yard scoring drive with 5:10 left in the third quarter. Denig burst up the middle for a 31-yard touchdown run and Tom Keute added the point for a 7-3 lead. It was Newfield's only sustained drive of the game.

"We turned the ball over too many times and made too many mistakes," Newfield coach Joe Piccinnini said. "We'll get this thing turned around."