Greg Meyer found a hole up the middle for a 56-yard run and his fifth touchdown of the season on the game's second play from scrimmage. That play, and Mario Carrerra's extra point, stood as Riverhead's only points in a 7-6 victory over the Smithtown West Bulls on Saturday.
The Suffolk County Division II game at Coach Mike McKillop Memorial Field in Riverhead had an exciting ending. Jake Smith's attempt to win the game on the final play with a 22-yard field goal was blocked by Riverhead defensive tackle Demitrius Brown. Meyer then scooped up the ball and ran it all the way to the end zone for an apparent touchdown. But the touchdown was not allowed because an official had whistled the play dead after the block. The score stood at 7-6.
Asked for his recollection of what happened after the blocked kick, Brown said: "Actually, I didn't know what was going on. It was a shocker."
Riverhead Coach Leif Shay could feel relieved to walk away with a 5-2 record. "It was one of those days, but weird things happen on our field," he said. "We like to make things interesting."
The first point of interest was the fact that Cater, a senior running back/inside linebacker, didn't dress for the Senior Day game, the final home regular-season contest for third-place Riverhead. Riverhead's senior players and cheerleaders, along with their parents, were introduced to the crowd before the game. Cater, wearing his No. 4 jersey and street clothes and accompanied by his father, Rocky, was the last of the seniors to be announced.
Shay shed little light on the mystery of why Cater didn't play. "I'm not going to comment on that," he told a reporter. "That's a decision that was beyond my control that I'm not going to comment on."
Will Cater be in uniform for the team's final regular-season game tomorrow at Newfield High School?
"Again, I have no comment," Shay said. "That's not my call."
Smithtown West Coach Peter Cerullo said he was surprised not to see Cater on the field.
"He's a great player," Cerullo said. "[He] makes a big difference, both sides of the ball."
With Cater watching from the sideline, Kevin Klerk made his first varsity start. The junior inside linebacker had a major impact on the game.
After Dan Ciocia scored on a two-yard run for Smithtown West (3-4, 3-4) with 3 minutes 49 seconds left in the first half, Klerk made what proved to be a decisive block of the extra-point attempt, preserving his team's one-point lead.
"I knew I had to do something," said Klerk, who was involved in seven tackles. "I had the right mindset, and I prepared for this game the best I could."
Meyer picked up the burden on the offensive end. The senior carried the ball 36 times for 192 yards.
Aside from that, there was little else of offensive significance in a game that was largely pedestrian. In a similar defensive battle, Riverhead held off the Bellport Clippers, 6-3, in its previous game.
Riverhead had no turnovers on Saturday while it took the ball from Smithtown West four times -- twice on interceptions by Joe Maglione and Meyer, and twice on fumble recoveries by Edwin Perry and Maglione.
"You can't make those kind of mistakes in this game," said Cerullo.
Perry also had a hand in nine tackles, tying him with Smithtown West's Nick Naja for the most in the game.
Maglione, one of Riverhead's 25 seniors, seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the game.
"It was awesome, probably one of the best games that I ever had the privilege to play in," he said. "Of course you want to win big, but hey, man, a win's a win."
bliepa@timesreview.com