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Football: Riverhead’s scoreless streak extends to three games

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Another game. Another shutout. Another defeat.

The Riverhead High School football team’s struggles — offensively and otherwise — continued Saturday. Fresh off their bye week, the Blue Waves failed to score a point for the third straight game.

Smithtown East’s homecoming game, part of Spirit Week in St. James, didn’t do much for Riverhead’s spirits. Clearly improved from the 0-8 team it fielded last year, Smithtown East (3-1) scored on all three of its first-half possessions to take a 17-0 halftime lead en route to a 24-0 Suffolk County Division II victory at Nicholas Schroeder Field.

A two-yard quarterback sneak by Vin Guarino for a touchdown and another two-yard touchdown run by Mike Marino (10 carries, 84 yards) capped sustained drives as did Jackson McFadyen’s 27-yard field goal 24.5 seconds before halftime.

Guarino (9-for-12, 175 yards) sealed things with his 25-yard touchdown pass to Mike Latini with 2 minutes, 29 seconds left in the third quarter. Guarino, flushed out of the pocket, scrambled to his right before putting up a pass that resulted in an acrobatic catch by Latini in the end zone.

Guarino’s favorite target on the day was Anthony Voelker, who caught five passes for 101 yards.

Riverhead sophomore Lawrence Bishop had a busy afternoon, running 28 times for 85 yards before limping off the field with an injury in the fourth quarter. Bishop had come close to scoring Riverhead’s first points of the season moments before, breaking free for a 31-yard run before Marino caught up to him. Riverhead (0-3) had reached the Smithtown East 5-yard line on that drive, only to see it stall on a dropped pass.

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Photo caption: The Riverhead Blue Waves listen to instructions from one of the officials prior to their game against Smithtown East on Saturday. (Credit: Bob Liepa)