Hurricanes Come Up Short at Home Against East Islip

No varsity football coach will look at an eight-game schedule and automatically pencil in a win before stepping on the field. But for traditionally strong programs, a season-long slate typically includes at least one or two contests where it’s reasonable to feel very confident about coming out on top.

That’s not the case in Division III football this season, and it’s something the Westhampton Beach football team learned in its home opener on Friday night.

The Hurricanes moved to 2-1 on the season, falling just short in a 23-20 loss against East Islip.

A 25-yard field goal conversion by East Islip provided the final margin of victory with 9:15 left in the game. The Hurricanes had chances to tie or go ahead late in the game, but could not convert. With less than four minutes remaining, Westhampton Beach missed a 26-yard field goal, and with just seconds left, starting quarterback Will Gambino got off a pass from around midfield, but it was intercepted to officially end the game.

Westhampton Beach held the lead at 20-14, with just 5:35 left in the third quarter, but East Islip’s offense took control after that, and its defense held strong to take the win.

Westhampton Beach head coach Bryan Schaumloffel said he was not surprised by what his team faced on Friday night, and said he expects more of the same as the season goes on.

“East Islip is a rival of ours, and we expect a tough game every single time we play them,” he said. “We knew going in that it wasn’t going to be easy; every game we play this year is not going to be an easy game. The conference is really tough, and we have our work cut out for us every single week.”

Friday night’s game came down to a classic story of unsecured opportunities.

“We had our opportunities, we just didn’t capitalize on them,” Schaumloffel said. “The kids played hard and played tough, but we have some things we have to clean up.

“East Islip did a pretty good job,” he added. “They made plays when they had to. When your margin of error is so short against these good teams, you need to come through when you have to.”

Gambino finished the game 19 for 34 passing for 217 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Running back Nolan Michalowski had 60 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, and Kevin Smith had nine receptions for 159 yards. Heath Sumwalt had six receptions for 76 yards. On defense, Brody Schaffer led the way with 8 tackles, while Sumwalt had 7.

The hits — and opportunities — will keep on coming this weekend, as the Hurricanes are home again to host Smithtown West (1-2) in another “Friday Night Lights” home game on September 29, with kickoff at 6 p.m. Schaumloffel said he was confident his team would rise to the occasion in what promises to be another hard-fought contest.

“This is a huge game for us and for them,” he said. “They’re a really good team, and they’re coming down from Conference II this season. They felt like they would have a successful year, and they lost to Sayville and Comsewogue so far. How we respond and rebound from this game will show us a lot about the type of team we have. I’m confident that we’re going to rebound from this loss and learn from the loss and come out a better team.”