By Zach Smart
From the second quarter on, Mahopac became victim to the same
mistakes that derailed them in the season-opening loss to Northport.
Joel Barlow High’s dominance of possession, fluid ball movement and relentless
firing from mid-yardage overwhelmed Mahopac. Barlow outshot the Indians, 30-18, en route to a wire to wire15-4 drubbing at Mahopac High on Saturday.
A barrage of late penalties, which drew the ire of an amped up Mahopac fan base, made for a stagnant second half.
A barrage of late penalties, which drew the ire of an amped up Mahopac fan base, made for a stagnant second half.
The game was about as easy on the eyes as Michael
Moore giving Rosie O’Donnell a scintillating massage. It was not pretty for
Mahopac.
Barlow sniped willingly, fighting for shooting space
in the half-field set.
The Connecticut power, which took a commanding 8-2
into the half, engineered an 11-1 power surge
following Nick Oliver’s cut and pop with 10:37 remaining in the second quarter.
“We knew, coming in here that they were a great
team,” explained Mahopac senior Brendan Hynes, masking his frustration.
“They were the state champions last year. That’s why we play them every year, just to get better. We just weren’t able to maintain (our first quarter play). We’re going to have a lot of motivation from back-to-back losses. We just have to push each other a lot more”
“They were the state champions last year. That’s why we play them every year, just to get better. We just weren’t able to maintain (our first quarter play). We’re going to have a lot of motivation from back-to-back losses. We just have to push each other a lot more”
Traditionally packed with snipers, Barlow
utilized a methodical inside-outside game and valued the ball.
Ty Weisberg and Nick Oliver were blanketed
thoroughly in the second half. Oliver, Eric Donahue, Brendan Donahue, and Glenn
Janik each scored for the Indians. Keeper Brendan Crecco collected 15 saves.
The lone bright spot of the afternoon was Janik’s
pop.
On a fast break, Janik plucked a high-arching pass from
Crecco and fired in a blood-stopping goal.
“We came out flat,” Oliver said.
“We weren’t running our sets well, we were throwing
the ball away. I think we played sloppy from the second quarter on. We need to
eliminate that from our game and play all four quarters. We’re not doing that
right now."
It was clearly a frustrating moment for Oliver and
the Indians. For Mahopac, there have been highs and lows thus far.
The Indians were incensed following a 16-3 walloping
at the hands of Long Island power Northport at the start of the season.
The Indians then earned a measure of revenge against reigning section I champ Mamaroneck, avenging the 2012 title game with a pulsating 8-7 win. Ross Thompson drilled the game-winner in that one.
The Indians then earned a measure of revenge against reigning section I champ Mamaroneck, avenging the 2012 title game with a pulsating 8-7 win. Ross Thompson drilled the game-winner in that one.
A loss to much-improved Arlington on Thursday
allowed a feeling of numbness to hover over the team bus as it chugged back to
Mahopac.
Nobody is hitting the panic button. The season is
still very much in the spring chicken stage. Last season, Mahopac endured a rare
five game losing streak. Through an engine of resilience, however, the Indians snapped the slide and earned a berth in the Section I championship.
“We’ve shown that we can bounce back before,” Oliver
said.
“We just need to come out for all four quarters and
play our game. Because when we play our game, there’s not many teams that can
beat us. But we’re not doing that right now.”