QB Aidan Ierardi, East Islip defense put it all together to defeat Northport in Suffolk Division II football semifinal
Niko Meyers of East Islip cruises in for a second-quarter touchdown in a Suffolk Division II semifinal playoff matchup against Northport on Friday in Islip Terrace. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
The East Islip football team is heading back to the Suffolk II championship game, thanks to Friday night’s 28-0 victory over visiting Northport — and a two-minute burst before halftime is the reason why.
East Islip led 7-0 with just over two minutes left in the half and had the ball at its own 20 before Jake Simmons (181 yards, 30 carries) ripped off two runs totaling 31 yards. On the next snap, Aidan Ierardi hit Niko Meyers in stride for a 49-yard touchdown.
EI’s defense then delivered. On Northport’s second play of the ensuing drive, Dylan Bayer pressured quarterback Simon Blissett and defensive back PJ Gannon intercepted his pass. Four plays later, Ierardi found Eddie Simonetti for an 18-yard touchdown.
All of a sudden, EI had a 21-point halftime lead after two touchdowns in 2:05.
Ierardi went 5-for-8 for 148 yards and three touchdowns overall.
“My guys, Eddie Simonetti, PJ Gannon, Niko Meyers, made my job easy,” he said. “They did a great job getting open and running free. My receivers, offensive line, running backs are just all great.”
The first quarter was scoreless and highlighted by defense. Neither team reached the red zone until East Islip’s first drive of the second quarter.
Simmons carried four times for 28 yards and Meyers capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 6:06 left in the half.
Linebacker Jovan Bonilla was in the backfield repeatedly and deflected two of Blissett’s passes.
“It’s a great defense, and I’m just feeling great,” Bonilla said. “Me, Niko Meyers, Dylan Bayer — just everyone was getting after it tonight. Defense wins games. We’re trying to hold teams to zero.”
Northport’s Greyson Cabrera had a forced fumble and fumble recovery in the first half, but East Islip kept Northport scoreless on all six first-half drives.
East Islip opened the second half with an 11-play, 7:21 drive capped by Ierardi’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Simonetti for a 28-0 lead with 4:33 left in the third quarter.
East Islip’s offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, and Bayer helped open holes for Simmons.
“I’ve been close with Dylan forever,” Simmons said. “We have trust in each other. I’ll tell them when they need to fix things and they’ll tell me when they see opportunities. We’ve been playing together a long time, and it’s just all about trust.”
East Islip advanced to its third straight Suffolk championship game and the 26th in program history. It will face the Half Hollow Hills East- Huntington winner on Nov. 22 at 6 p.m.
“Early in the year, we weren’t sure what we had,” coach Sal J. Ciampi said. “But they got every ounce out of their ability, and they deserve to be playing in that game next week.”
