Passing attack helps top Newburgh
BINGHAMTON -- Wayne Bonsell concluded the football season opener Friday night as any quarterback would script it-- on a knee with a smile as the board wound thankfully to 0:00.
A Binghamton High senior in his second year behind center, Bonsell produced in big-time fashion to direct a blunder-prone squad to a 26-21 victory over Newburgh Free Academy in a contest that featured sufficient drama to offset its three-hour drag.
The Patriots erased a one-point deficit with 5 minutes, 3 seconds to play when Anthony Penaherrera turned his lone rush of the night into an 8-yard touchdown for the game's final points, one down after J.J. Jones raced 75 yards on a first-down play from Binghamton's 17.
The sides exchanged punts thereafter, leaving Newburgh in a spot of desperation at its 20 with 48.7 seconds to play. The outcome was sealed two plays later when Clifford Harris intercepted a pass, leaving Bonsell that mere kneel-down.
Asked in the aftermath to estimate how many passes he'd thrown, Bonsell replied, "Twenty?"
Not close. In fact, shy of his completion total.
The young man went 22-for-39 for 306 yards and a couple touchdowns, collaborating with five receivers along the way. Clearly, however, he identified his main boys.
There was holdover favorite Tino Yevchinecz, whom the roster may or may not cheat up a hair to 5-foot-8. He bagged seven receptions good for a 136-yard total. Teammate Eric Cody grabbed eight more for 108 yards. Each was responsible for a touchdown that the Pats seriously needed.
Statistics might suggest that Binghamton shouldn't have had to anguish into the final minute before the win was official.
Total yardage favored the hosts by 541-208, and the Pats' 22 first downs were superior by nine.
However, those 11 penalties -- eight in a perfectly unsightly first half -- for 97 backward yards sure did amount to a heap of frustration for the hosts.
Ah, but there was Bonsell and his cast of catchers. And there was Jones, whose 22 carries went for 227 yards on a night he most certainly established himself as a between-the-tackles tough guy to go with the speed and elusiveness that had been amply established during his sophomore season.
The Patriots trailed by 14-12 at halftime, the margin that slim thanks to a six-play, 80-yard drive that consumed all of 35 or so seconds and ended with a Bonsell-to-Yevchinecz TD pass of 29 yards with 45 seconds remaining. Most of the work was done by Yevchinecz, meandering through substantial traffic after making the catch.
The Pats went ahead midway through the third quarter on a piece of what appeared improvisational brilliance by Bonsell.
He accepted the snap in shotgun formation -- as he does every down -- and drifted to his right ... and drifted ... and patiently drifted despite heavy pursuit. Then, he spotted a stationary Cody in the back-right corner of the end zone and delivered a pea for the TD. Jones tacked on the two-point conversion run or a 20-14 advantage.
Newburgh, however, jumped ahead one last time when, one play after blocking a punt by Bonsell, Dajon Scott rushed 2 yards up the gut for a TD and kicker supreme Jeremy Stinson added the PAT with 5:36 remaining.
Stinson was a night-long nemesis, delivering touchback after touchback as well as PATs that sent football fetchers on uncommonly lengthy paths.
The Pats' decisive "drive" began after Delroy Young brought the lone returnable kickoff to their 17-yard line. On first down, Jones bolted to his left, caught an angle and the sideline, and motored until being felled 8 yards shy of his mission. In came a fresh Penaherrera to follow a supremely blocked path over the left side and across the goal line.
When all was tallied, the stat sheet revealed 39 passes and 33 rushes for the Patriots. Surprised, Bonsell was asked?
"Somewhat, yes," he said. "I guess we try for an even run-pass split, but with all our returning receivers, we did kind of expect to throw the ball.
"They're all solid. Just too bad I couldn't get it to them more."
More? Than 22 times?
Not to be lost in it all was a Binghamton defense that limited Newburgh to a 208-yard total-- most satisfying, no doubt, against a team the Pats trailed by 38-6 at halftime last year.