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Sports

Riverhead Blue Waves Score Last-Second Victory Over the Colts

With no time left on the clock, the Blue Waves shocked the Half Hollow Hills West team with a late touchdown to win the game.

The clock read zero, but that didn't stop the Blue Waves.

Just as the clock ran its final second, Riverhead quarterback Ryan Bitzer handed the ball to senior halfback Charles Bartlett for a four-yard run into the end zone, capping a thrilling 43-42 win over the Half Hollow Hills West Colts.

The Homecoming Day crowd erupted in cheers after the stunning victory saw Riverhead improve to 3-0 on the season.

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“I told them today that I was proud of them, not just because we won, but because of their heart and spirit,” said Coach Leif Shay. “They refused to give up until the final blow of the whistle.”

This same heart and spirit poured over the crowd, as jubilant fans with painted blue-and-white faces — and stomachs, too — cheered and encouraged the Blue Waves, even when the Colts took the lead in the fourth.

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That faith helped the Blue Waves, who got the ball with just one minute and 11 seconds left, drive on a 10-yard catch by Quinn Funn, followed by Bartlett’s running plays and touchdown.

“I was so confident that no one was stopping me,” said Bartlett, who scored four touchdowns in the game. "I was playing my all for my team."

Regarding Bartlett’s plays, Shay said that the senior is emerging as the “hard-fighting running back” that the coaching staff have groomed him to be.

“He’s doing more of what we want him to do at every part of the game,” Shay added.

By half-time the Blue Waves and Colts had fired back-to-back touchdowns, ending the second quarter tied at 21-21. As soon as the second half started, Bitzer connected with Reggie Moore for a long run close to the end zone. Bartlett scored his second touchdown of the game in the next running play, making the score 27-21, but the Colts blocked Jeffrey Pittman’s kick, costing the Blue Waves the extra point.

After a fumble, Half Hollow recovered the ball on the nine yard line, and quickly scored a touchdown and an extra point, leading 28-27.

Riverhead’s Pittman scored a field goal in the third quarter, bringing their lead to 30-28. But Half Hallows quarterback Devante McFarlane scored another touchdown by running the ball in to the end zone himself and secured a two-point conversion for the Colts’ lead at 36-30.

With less than five minutes left in the game, Bitzer and Bartlett teamed up again for a third touchdown, and this time Pittman’s kick cleared the goal posts. Riverhead’s 37-36 lead was short-lived, however, as the Colts drove the ball down to the fifth yard line on a long pass, and, in the next play, scored with one minute and 11 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Blue Waves then used every second remaining to take the 43-42 victory.

“We have to take it week by week,” said Shay, when asked whether a playoff berth was on his mind. “There’s still a lot we have to work on, but this team’s got heart.”

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