Royals Fall in Playoff Opener

The last time the Port Jefferson Royals lined up against the Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms, the Royals committed four turnovers in the first half en route to a 48-0 loss. On that afternoon, eight starters were missing from the Port Jefferson lineup.

So when the two teams faced each in Saturday's opening-round, Royals fans were hoping for a better outcome. But not on this day. Capitalizing on two Port Jefferson interceptions less than two minutes apart in the second quarter, the second-ranked Bayport-Blue Point Phantoms easily handled the seventh-ranked Royals 58-12.

"We can't have the turnovers," Royal coach Jim Mimnaugh said. "We played a good first quarter, but we're a young team, making the kind of mistakes young teams make."

It certainly appeared that the Royals were ready to turn the tables on their opponent. On Bayport' first series, Dan Serignese intercepted a Corey Picone pass, setting up Port Jefferson's offense inside the Bayport 36. Serignese, whose main responsibility is leading the Royal offense, followed up the interception by connecting with Philip Lanieri on a 9-yard touchdown strike and any thought Bayport had of another shutout were erased less than four minutes into the contest.

"Coming out of the first game, we felt … Port Jefferson was going to be much more improved," Phantom coach Eric Iberger said.

Picone made up for his errant throw on the next series, however, avoiding a sack and a big loss and scrambling for 19 yards down to the Port Jefferson 33. Later in the drive, Jack Sheehan burst through the Royal line and ran 15 yards for the score, giving Bayport a 8-6 lead.

Bayport added to their lead moments later, when Serignese was intercepted by Frank Gluchowski, who returned the ball down to the Royal 6-yard line. On third down, Sheehan went in from four yards out and a two-point conversion upped the Phantom lead to 16-6. But just as quickly as Bayport looked as if it would take command of the game, Serignese and Lanieri hooked up again, this time from 35 yards, and the quarter ended with Bayport holding a slim 16-12 lead.

"I saw [my coverage] biting on my move," Lanieri said. "Dan threw a perfect ball."

Midway through the second quarter, Sheehan tallied his third touchdown of the day, running up the middle from the 12 for the score. Picone's quarterback keeper increased the Phantom lead to 24-12. Bayport moved the ball with a mix of passing and runs, most of which resulted in up-the-middle gains. Bayport's running game was beginning to take a toll on the middle of the Royal's defense.

"It was obvious that physically, our guys were getting worn down," Mimnaugh said.

If the Bayport offense took control of the game, it was the Phantom defense that would quickly put the game out of reach. On Port Jefferson's next series, Mike DeBlasio returned a Serignese pass 20 yards for a touchdown. Now down 32-12 and abandoning the running game, Serignese was intercepted for the third time, this time by McCoy, who set up his offense at the Royal 16. The senior, who recently returned to full action following an injury, then had runs of nine and seven yards and Bayport finished the half up 38-12. With only five seniors, the Royals clearly lacked the experience that the Phantoms, with 21 seniors, have.

"Their quarterback is young, and just trying to make plays,' Iberger said. "This is what we went through last year."

Royal mistakes continued in the second half, as Bayport pulled away. After Picone's quarterback keeper extended the lead to 44-12, Picone intercepted Serignese. That set up a 53-yard run by McCoy, who ran wide off right tackle and sprinted down the sidelines. Bayport added one final score late in the fourth quarer.

"We knew they were a young team, but they're improved," Sheehan said of the Royals.

"The energy we had [for this game] was incredible," Lanieri said. "We're a bunch of juniors. Turnovers are huge. They can bring your team way up, or way down. As coach always tells us, we make young-team mistakes."

So the Royals end their season as they started it, losing big to Bayport. But with only five players graduating, there's a lot of promise for this team, which will return backfield starters Serignese, Zach Powell and Dylan Ernst.