Walking hand-in-hand out onto the field a Newfield football player shouted “Whose got my back?” To which his teammates answered in unison: “I’ve got your back.”
It’s a sentiment that couldn’t be truer as almost every starter had a heavy hand in the Wolverines’ 42-18 win over Bellport on the road Sept. 21, which saw six different Newfield scorers.
“We wanted to play confident,” said senior quarterback Maxwell Martin, who rushed for 127 yards on 15 carries and threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns. “The goal was to not be afraid, and do your job.”
This comes after Newfield’s overtime win to Smithtown East in the team’s home opener last Friday. The Wolverines were down 16-0 in the third quarter and scored two touchdowns, an extra-point kick and a two-point conversion to send the game into overtime.
Saturday afternoon proved to be a much different game. But some players did have their hands going a little deeper than others.
Deferring after winning the coin toss, the Wolverines were quick to work when senior slot receiver and cornerback Hunter Hughes (had three tackles, broke up four passes and had 82 yards on six catches) nabbed one of three interceptions in the game. While his team ended up turning the ball over on downs, an interception by his teammate proved all Newfield needed to capitalize this time. Hughes connected with Martin and dashed 48 yards into the end zone for the first of many Wolverine scores with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Senior kicker Antonio Oliveri, who was perfect on the afternoon, split the uprights for a 7-0 lead.
While Bellport had an answer for all three of Newfield’s first-half scores with different players of their own — Ka’Shaun Parrish, Esmond Oldums and Jhamari Bell crossing the pylons — what the Clippers failed to do was convert all three of their two-point attempts.
Martin, who made several crucial keeper players on third and fourth downs, showed Bellport how it’s done when he scampered into the open left size of the end zone with 2:12 remaining in the first half following an Elijah Hanif score to put Newfield out front 22-12.
“I’m comfortable and confident in any situation you put me in,” Martin said. “I will do my job.”
Hughes’ other two interceptions came at the 6:02 mark of the third and 9:08 mark of the fourth, each after Newfield touchdowns.
“I felt great,” Hughes said, saying he wasn’t looking for anything in particular when making his moves. “I’m just playing my position like coach told me to.”
While none of his defensive plays led to scores, Martin said the added time of possession was critical.
“He made plays when we needed him to,” Martin said. “That builds momentum for our team.”
Kyle Meidarios made six tackles and a sack for Newfield. Other scorers were E.J. Dougherty, Devin Aviles, Angelo Franzese and Jayden Hayes.
Martin said he sees his team’s bond growing stronger every day. Hughes said while that’s true, he hopes his team can limit its penalties to push the Wolverines forward into the postseason.
“The little mistakes go a long way,” he said. “We’ll work on this, because we’re hoping for big things.”
For now, Martin is already looking to Newfield’s home game against Lindenhurst Sept. 27 at 6 p.m.
“We’re going to celebrate tonight, but we’re going to get back to work tomorrow,” Martin said. “We’re hungry for the next game and the next win.”
