NB Football Team Wins Suffolk Championship
Playing old fashioned smash mouth, ground and pound football just the way Coach Terry Manning likes it, the North Babylon Football Team wore their opponents down all season long and won the Suffolk Division II County Championship. They were finally defeated 9-6 by Garden City in the Class I Long Island Championship in a defensive struggle between two closely matched teams.
The North Babylon Bulldogs had a 11-1 record and were rated first in Suffolk County in defense in points allowed and second in the County in offense. They were spearheaded by three super backs: Preshod McCoy, Ryan Crawley, and Adam Amin. Coach Manning describes McCoy as a "slippery and slick jagging and slicing running back" who was hard to bring down. He gained 1,759 yards and made 26 TD's. Even on defense he averaged 6 interceptions and 4 tackles per game. Adam Amin, dubbed "the nightmare," was the opposite of McCoy because he exploded into his run and used his arms as a weapon. As Manning said, "He was a hammer back who exploded and just ran opponents over." Then there was Ryan Crawley who was the heart of the team with his strong work ethic and leadership. He had 1,122 yards and 15 TD's and was the Suffolk County Coaches' Division II Player of the year. He was also formidable on defense.
The Bulldogs' success was a team effort as evident by the number of players who won awards. Preshod McCoy won the Joe Cipp Award as the Best Running Back in Suffolk. He also was named to the All Long Island Team. The players who made the Second All Long Island Team are Ryan Crawley, Mark Mazur, and Golden Ukonu. Players who made All County and All Division are McCoy, Crawley, Mazur, Ukonu, C.J. Ugalde and Mike Morton. Also making All Division were Adam Amin, Ian Perez, and Abraham Ahmad. The All Division 2nd Team members were Dontae Caldwell, Joe Martin, and Brian Puglisi. Abraham Ahmad was a Scholar Athlete and was named to the "Golden Fifty in NYS."
