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Will Barrow |
All the images on this web page are copyrighted
2002 by Robert Swanson
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Barrow's 2 TDs Lead Baldwin
By Jason Molinet - NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER
(Click on thumbnails below to view enlargements)
Will Barrow
November 15, 2002
Casey Carroll was bleary-eyed. His head hurt, he said. Yet he kept getting up
after each play to work his way back to the huddle.
Never mind that Carroll, Baldwin's strapping, strong-armed quarterback, wasn't
at his best. His team needed him and his tight spiral. That much he knew.
Carroll took the field with crosstown rival Freeport holding a 13-7 lead and
5:23 left in last night's Nassau Conference I football semifinal.
Baldwin had to drive 59 yards, and time was a factor. The Bruins needed
Carroll to pass, even if he wasn't quite focused enough to find the open
target. So senior fullback Joe Esposito remained in the backfield with Carroll
and directed the offense as though it were a video game.
Esposito told Carroll where to throw, and the quarterback delivered crisp
passes. His second completion of the series - a screen pass to junior Will
Barrow - went for 39 yards to the Freeport 11-yard line. Carroll hit Barrow in
the flat on the next play, and Barrow spun outside and jetted to the end zone.
Then Andrew Kroell's extra point with 3:11 left
capped a courageous comeback as No. 2 Baldwin edged No. 3
Freeport, 14-13, before a crowd of 800 at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium.
"I put my trust in my teammates," said Carroll, who completed 6 of
14 passes for 118 yards and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after
the game.
Carroll had been cleared by the Baldwin trainer to return to action, according
to Baldwin athletic director Andy Herman.
"This is big," said Baldwin coach Steve Carroll (no relation), whose
team dropped a 35-28 decision to Freeport in Week 6. "Forget the
playoffs. Just beating Freeport is the biggest thing we've done in a long
time."
Baldwin (8-1) will face No. 1 Farmingdale (8-1) in the conference final at 7
p.m. next Friday at Shuart Stadium. Freeport (7-2) can only reflect on a
season that went terribly wrong the final two weeks, beginning with a 27-7
loss to Farmingdale that cost Freeport the top seed.
"At this point, there's nothing I could tell the guys," Freeport
coach Russ Cellan said. That's because Cellan knew what to expect. And nothing
could deny the dynamic play of Barrow, an elusive 6-foot, 155-pound wideout/cornerback.
Will Barrow returns
opening kick-off for TD
Barrow scored on a pair of kickoff returns and added two interceptions in the
first meeting. He continued to torment Freeport from the opening kickoff last
night.
Barrow took a short bounce at the Baldwin 14, charged up the middle and didn't stop until he reached the end zone.
Freeport tied it at 7 with 4:47 left in the first quarter on quarterback Randy
Mills' 1-yard dive. Mills, who ran for 94 yards on 17 carries and threw for 87
more on 11-for-23 passing, put Freeport in front 13-7 with a 17-yard touchdown
pass to Javien Eason with 5:25 left in the fourth quarter. The kick failed.
"It's never over till it's over," said Barrow, who had four catches
for 94 yards, added 126 yards on special teams and intercepted Mills in the
end zone. After his second touchdown, he ended Freeport's season by breaking
up a fourth-down pass to Eason at midfield with 1:55 to go.
"He's the best player I've ever seen," Esposito said. "I'm glad
I don't play against him. I wouldn't know what to do."
