Miller Place - Southampton Coach Darren Phillips had to marvel at the magnificence of the October day – temps. in the mid 60s, a bright sun, a slight breeze. It was darn near perfect. As for the football game that transpired, perfection was a fleeting notion, leaving Coach Phillips with nary an encouraging word.

And it's no wonder why. In a game that his Mariners needed to stay in playoff contention, they got chased off the field. On Senior Day at Miller Place, the Panthers racked up more than 600 yards of offense en route to a 55-22 romp.

"It's embarrassing," Phillips said. "It's probably the worst we've played all year."
Coming in, a victory in its final three games likely would fetch Southampton (3-3) a post-season berth. But it was clear from the start that it wasn't the Mariners' day.

Their first snap sailed 20 yards over the head of quarterback Brandon Alvarado, and they were climbing uphill ever since. Miller Place (3-3), on the other hand, could do no wrong. The Panthers averaged better than 10 yards a carry in piling up 417 rushing yards. Meanwhile, quarterback Dean Haussel was hitting his targets, throwing for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

"We got outplayed," Phillips said. "It was their senior day, they played with a lot of emotion, and they were just grinding and falling forward, and I feel like we were catching all day. A couple of their guys ran hard, their quarterback made some great throws, he put them right on the money, and their kids made plays."

Better Never Than Late
The Mariners fell down 15-0 in the first quarter, but their offense began showing signs of life late in the second while their defense held. But with 44 seconds left, Miller Place receiver Chris Zangara broke a long one, and in doing so, broke the Mariners' will. Haussel took a quick drop and fired a short pass to his right, where Zangara broke one tackle and took off down the right sideline for an 82-yard touchdown pass.

"That's just a dagger in the heart at that point," Phillips said. "If we could go in [to halftime] two touchdowns down, we felt like we were all right. We'd made a couple of adjustments and seemed to hold them a little bit, but to give up that -- that's a huge momentum shift for them going into the half and a huge downer for us. But the kid made the play and we didn't."

One Mariner did, though. Southampton's sparkplug all season long, Troy Pender, once again tried to put Southampton on his back. With his team down 28 points midway through the third quarter, Pender spun out of a tackle and was off to the races, bolting 72 yards to put Southampton on the board. Later in the half, he took two more trips to the end zone – a 25-yard swing pass from Alvarado and finally a 62-yard dash to pay dirt. Pender finished the day with 175 yards from scrimmage and three scores.

However, Miller Place always had an answer. Their three-back battalion of Tyler DeRosa (121 yards), Alex Santos (87 yards) and Joe Mancini (62 yards) wore down Southampton's front seven early, and Vinny Rienzie (133 yards) spelled them late and ended up leading the Panthers in rushing.

"For a team to hang 50 points on us, I feel like character-wise our guys just quit," Phillips said. "There was no pride out there."

Needing scores quickly, Southampton had to throw the ball on nearly every down late. Alvarado finished the day 9-for-24 for 124 yards and the touchdown to Pender. For the most part, though, the Mariners were held in check. The visitors started the afternoon with five three-and-outs before Noonie Williams' 10-yard run gave them a first down with four minutes left in the opening half.

The Mariners will try to get back in the win column on Saturday when they visit Center Moriches. Although the Red Devils are still searching for their first win, Phillips will nonetheless expect a dogfight.

"Whether you lose by one or 30, it's still a loss," Phillips said. "Next week, we have a winnable game against a first-year team, but if we're not prepared, then anything can happen."


MILLER PLACE 55, SOUTHAMPTON 22
Southampton 0 0 8 14 22
Miller Place 15 7 13 20 55
FIRST QUARTER
MP – Joe Mancini 1-yard run (Tyler DeRosa kick), 7:19 left
MP – DeRosa 12-yard run (DeRosa run), 3:52
SECOND QUARTER
MP – Chris Zangara 82-yard pass from Dean Haussel (DeRosa kick), :44
THIRD QUARTER
MP – Zangara 26-yard pass from Haussel (kick failed), 7:38
S – Troy Pender 72-yard run (Naill Wood pass from Alvarado), 7:00
MP – Zangara 16-yard pass from Haussel (DeRosa kick), 1:54
FOURTH QUARTER
MP – Mancini 10-yard run (DeRosa kick), 9:47
S – Pender 25-yard pass from Alvarado (pass failed), 7:52
MP – Vinny Rienzie 66-yard run (DeRosa kick), 7:35
MP – Tommy Moore 10-yard run (rush failed), 2:46
S – Pender 62-yard run (Williams pass from Alvarado), 1:45
Records: Southampton 3-3; Miller Place 3-3