Bonackers Run Through Rocky Point To Win Home Opener

“One hundred years of Bonac football,” East Hampton head football coach Joey McKee said to his players before kickoff of the team’s 2023 home opener against Rocky Point on Saturday. “Do it for all the guys that came before you.”

Playing in hot and humid conditions, the Bonackers responded with 297 yards rushing and a dominant 32-8 victory over the visiting Eagles. The rushing attack, which followed 285 yards on the ground in a week-one loss at Half Hollow Hills West, is led by a rebuilt offensive line ahead of senior quarterback Charlie Corwin and the dynamic backfield duo of Eddie Cobb and Alex Davis.

Cobb, a senior fullback, finished with 93 rushing yards up the middle of the Rocky Point (0-2) defense, and scored two touchdowns, while also anchoring Bonac’s defense from his position at middle linebacker.

Davis, a sophomore who has already shown flashes of brilliance, finished with 85 yards on the ground, including a 30-yard touchdown scamper halfway through the third quarter.

Corwin, now a three-year starter at quarterback, rushed for 120 yards on just 12 carries and scored from six yards out to give Bonac a 14-0 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the first quarter. The first score of the game was a 35-yard passing strike from Corwin to Jai Feaster, who, like Davis, is only a sophomore, and both are from Bridgehampton High School.

With the victory, the Bonackers improved to 1-1 this season and will have a short turnaround before their game at Hauppauge this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday this weekend.

Since their first football season in 1923, the Bonackers have had ups and downs, some significant triumphs and plenty of setbacks, and McKee is hoping to instill a sense of historic pride in playing for a program that he helped lead to a Suffolk County Championship in 1981. There were also some down years, like from 2017 to 2019, when East Hampton was unable to field a varsity team. So, McKee doesn’t take wins like Saturday’s lightly.

“They’re really buying into the fact that there’s a lot of history here,” he said. “They see it and they hear it and it’s good to see their response. Two games in a row, that’s all we’ve done — inside running, outside option, it’s been pretty nice. Charlie is a weapon, Eddie Cobb as a fullback is a weapon, and Alex Davis is an inside and outside weapon. It’s a nice little three-headed monster.”

McKee also credited the improvement of his offensive line, now under the leadership of assistant coach Jason Menu, who returned to the sidelines this year after coaching last in 2012.

Following Saturday’s game, Corwin also praised the offensive line, which includes Adam Beckwith and Thinley Edwards at tackle, Mike Mejia Coronel and Vincent Franzone at guard and Nick Ward at center, along with reserve Jahvon Gant, who filled in during critical moments against Rocky Point.

“All the credit goes to the offensive line,” Corwin said. “They’re firing off the line every play, giving us some good looks and open holes to get through, and once we’re outside, we do the rest. Alex and I have a good option relationship and we can make guys miss.”

“We have so many pieces,” Davis added. “We’re just going to keep running the ball.”

Following Wednesday’s game at Hauppauge, the Bonackers will have an extended week to prepare for their homecoming game against Harborfields on Saturday, September 23, at 1 p.m. Following the game will be a party at The Clubhouse in Wainscott at 5 p.m., where McKee and other legends from the past century will celebrate 100 years of East Hampton football.

Meanwhile, McKee and his senior leaders hope this current cast of Bonackers will have a homecoming celebration of their own next Saturday.

“For me, and this whole senior group, a lot of us have been playing together since kindergarten,” Corwin said. “So, for our last year together to be the 100th year really means a lot.”