Northport Football Falls to Brentwood 31-14 [VIDEO]

When junior running back Jon Benitez limped off the field and promptly fell to the ground, it sent a chill through the sideline. Brentwood had already landed the knockout blow in its 31-14 win Saturday in the Suffolk Division I football opener for both teams.

But Benitez represented hope in a season that was all of 45 minutes old. If he suffered a serious setback, so too did the entire . After an anxious moment with the trainer and a close inspection of his right knee, Benitez was back on his feet and walking.

You could almost hear the capacity crowd of 1,000 let out a collective whew!

Just like Benitez, the fourth-seeded Tigers have plenty of positives to take from the season-opening loss. New quarterback Sean Gilroy (7-for-12, 108 yards, touchdown) proved he could lead the offense downfield while fullback Ryan Kokell (14 carries, 87 yards) showed off determined running between the tackles. Benitez (44 yards on 11 carries) also found the end zone before leaving the game due to injury.

No. 5 Brentwood rushed for 352 yards and scored 25 straight points after trailing 7-6. Northport took its only lead on Gilroy’s 39-yard touchdown strike to Brian Wallace, who broke free down the left sideline with 1:08 left in the first quarter.  

Hero: Brentwood senior running back Chris Green rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns, including a 74-yard breakaway with 2:18 left in the third. It was his final carry of the day and put the Indians ahead 31-7.

Turning Point: With the Northport offense in the shadow of its own end zone, Brentwood twice called time out in the final 1:10 of the opening half. It proved to be a very resourceful use of clock stoppage. The Tigers were forced to punt from their own 18 with 11 seconds left. Brentwood sent 10 players after the punt and 6-foot-3 defensive tackle Larenz Roberts extended his arms and blocked the kick. Speedy Dwayne Scott fell on the ball in the end zone for a back-breaking Indians touchdown. Instead of going into the half down 18-7, Northport trailed 24-7.

Quotable: "We’ll find the silver lining in this thing," Northport Coach Kip Lukralle said. "It’s way too early to wave any find of flag. What I saw in the second half – we’ll build on that Monday. It’s what we do.”

Bottom Line: While Northport considers its line a team strength, Brentwood was simply bigger and stronger at the point of attack. Two-way tackle David Rodriguez is listed as 6-foot-6, 305 pounds. And he proved every bit as disruptive as his size suggests.

That line held the Tigers’ ground game in check in the first half. That line paved the way to four Brentwood rushing touchdowns. 

But Northport did find a rhythm in the second half as Kokell rushed for 67 of his 87 yards and Gilroy connected on 6 of 8 passes. Considering it’s the opening week of a long season, establishing tempo is nearly as important as winning. The Tigers didn’t win, but they may have found their way in the second half. 

Key Stat: Brentwood used five different backs to rack up 214 rushing yards by halftime. 

Who’s Next: Northport @ Sachem North, Sept. 16, 7 p.m.

Suffolk Division I Football

Teams..............1.....2.....3.....4 -- F

Brentwood.......6...18.....7.....0 -- 31

Northport........7.....0.....0.....7  -- 14

B: Williams 1 run (kick failed)

N: Wallace 39 pass from Gilroy (Smith kick)

B: Green 2 run (pass failed)

B: Green 7 run (pass failed)

B: Scott punt block recovery (pass failed)

B: Green 74 run (Ayala kick)

N: Benitez 2 run (Smith kick)

Patch created a Facebook page where you can follow the Tigers this season as they push for another playoff run. Game photos and video coming Sunday.