East Coast Prep lost a heartbreaker when the University of New Haven scored the go ahead touchdown on a kickoff return with 44 seconds remaining in the game. UNH converted the two point conversion, with the final score 29-28. The Firebirds are 2-1-1.
The Firebirds led by QB Chase Vaughn (Milton, Milton, MA) scored on the opening drive. Passes from Vaughn to Luke Jones (Deerfield, Deerfield,IL), Peter Bibby (Bishop Hendricken, Johnston, RI), and Elijah Smalls (Cedar Creek, Egg Harbor City, NJ) put ECP in excellent field position. Kam Robbins (Holy Trinity, Long Island, NY) took two handoffs from Vaughn to continue the drive.Vaughn scored the touchdown with a QB sneak. The PAT was blocked.
In the second quarter, QB Jay Kastanin (Needham, Needham, MA) guided the Firebirds to their second score. Kastanin passed to Smalls, Bibby, Drew Danson (King Philllip, Wrentham, NH) and Robbins to drive the Firebirds down the field. The touchdown pass was from Vaughn to Smalls. A pass to Danson completed the two point conversion putting the score at 21-14 with UNH leading.
The Firebirds would tie the score at 21-21 late in the third quarter. Vaughn passed to Jones. The touchdown pass was from Vaughn to Smalls, who ran 20 yards to score. Josh Bertrand (Fayetteville Manlius, Syracuse, NY) kicked the PAT.
Vaughn had a long run late in the game. His subsequent play was a pass to Jones who managed to stay in bounds to earn a first down. An 18 yard pass to Danson resulted in a touchdown. Matt Whitney (North Kingston, North Kingston, RI) kicked the PAT giving the Firebirds a 28-21 lead.
The defense was led by Sean Riley (Aquinas Institute of Rochester, Rochester, NY) and Emeril Mitchell (Winslow Township, Sicklerville, NJ) who both had interceptions. Numerous times, the defensive line, Will Marble (Holy Spirit, Galloway, NJ), Derek Burkes (Middletown, Townsend, DE), Zach Jones (Springfield Central, Springfield, MA), Erik Brown (Bellaire, Houston, TX), and Marcello Gomes (Taylor, Taylor, TX) had multiple pressures and QB sacks.
The Firebirds play Thursday, September 29, against Salve Regina in Newport, RI, at 6:00 PM.
