Injuries no issue as Bushmen stop Vikings 34-14

By Mike Zummo
Posted 10/2/24

The next man stepped up.

The Pine Bush Bushmen lost their top player, Plexico Brooks, on the seventh play of the game, forcing the

Bushmen to run the ball by committee and rely on the arm …

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Injuries no issue as Bushmen stop Vikings 34-14

Posted

The next man stepped up.

The Pine Bush Bushmen lost their top player, Plexico Brooks, on the seventh play of the game, forcing the

Bushmen to run the ball by committee and rely on the arm of Triston Santos.
Everyone delivered.

Santos threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns, two to Jaiden Sposito and another to Elon Zanetti to build a three-touchdown lead as the Bushmen opened Section 9 Class AA play with a 34-14 win over the Valley Central Vikings.

“It was tough (losing Brooks),” Santos said. “We’ve got guys to pick them up.”

Three running backs, to be specific, as Jemire Bey-Dominick carried the ball 10 times for 81 yards, Ruben Simpson ran for 57 yards on 16 carries, while Luke Broadbelt carried the ball eight times for 68 yards.
“We have a lot of guys that are dedicated,” Pine Bush coach Rich Ormsby said. “They’ve learned the offense. They can play multiple positions. We cross train everybody.”

Even with Brooks out of the lineup, the Bushmen didn’t miss a beat as Santos ran the offense in a 12-play drive that chewed nearly seven minutes off the game clock.

Facing a fourth down on the Valley Central 19-yard line, Santos connected for his first touchdown with Sposito. A two-point run by Broadbelt gave the Bushmen an 8-0 lead.

Santos hooked up with Sposito again on the first play of the second quarter, this time on a 53-yard touchdown pass to give the Bushmen a 14-0 lead.

“(Chemistry with Santos) is nothing but good,” Sposito said. “I just trust my guy to always get that ball there. We practice how we play.”

The Vikings couldn’t stop the Bushmen’s offense early in the game as three first-half drives produced three touchdowns. The third drive saw Santos hit Sposito with a 20-yard pass to the Vikings’ 2-yard line.

Then, Santos found Zanetti in the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Bushmen a 20-0 lead.

The Vikings put up their only score of the first half on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Orozco to Derek Vincent, cutting Pine Bush’s lead to 20-7.

Bey-Dominick’s eight-yard touchdown run gave the Bushmen a 26-6 lead with 7:47 left in the third quarter, and then he ran for a nine-yard run with 11:07 left in the fourth quarter.

Orozco also threw a late touchdown to Luke Watson, cutting the Bushmen’s lead to 34-14.

Julian Montrevil ran for 108 yards on 14 carries, while Orozco threw for 138 yards and was intercepted twice, once by Jayden Hogue and once by Sposito. Jare Hunter also recovered a fumble.

Both teams are now 2-1 after three games, but the Bushmen are one of three Class AA teams to start their league schedule 1-0. The Bushmen will move on to Monroe-Woodbury, who opened their league season with a 28-14 over the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks. The Vikings will host the Goldbacks next week.
There are six Class AA teams. Four will make the playoffs.

“Every win matters,” Sposito said. “But since it’s a league game, it’s very important to us. We worked hard for it and I’m very proud of my team.”