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Look up the definition of panther and you’ll find words like “powerful,” “elusive,” and “highly skilled.”
On Friday night, the Babylon Panthers lived up to every one of them.
Behind the electric duo of Aiden Winter and Kai Jankow, Babylon piled up nearly 500 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a 49-20 win over Miller Place in the Suffolk Division IV semifinals.
[Keep scrolling for game photos.]
“We wanted to write a new story, a different story from last year,” Jankow said. “Last year we beat them during the regular season but then they broke our hearts in the playoffs. We couldn’t let that happen again.”
Jankow opened the scoring midway through the first quarter, capping an 85-yard drive with a 1-yard keeper — the first of his two touchdowns. The senior quarterback finished with 238 yards on 18 carries.
Miller Place answered on the next possession behind one of Long Island’s top quarterbacks. Shane Kiernan — who threw for a LI-best 2,400 yards and 25 touchdowns this season — hit AJ Rudolph for a 17-yard score. After a missed two-point try, Babylon still led 7-6 with a minute left in the quarter.
That’s when everything changed.
Winter broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown to make it 14-6. Just 15 seconds later, Jaden Milner read a screen, stepped in front of it, and took the interception 36 yards to the house. The Panthers’ lead ballooned to 15, and Miller Place never recovered.
“I saw the running back trying to block so I knew what the play was going to be,” Milner said. “I knew it was mine the whole time. I just knew. It’s such an indescribable feeling to score like that.”
Milner had been moved to the defensive line for the playoff rematch after Babylon’s wild 49-48 win on Halloween — a thriller decided by a go-ahead score with five seconds left. The coaches made adjustments. And this time, it showed.
“We knew from the first snap things were going to be different,” Winter said. “Our mentality, our preparation. We just followed the game plan our coaches gave us.”
Winter delivered a monster two-way performance: a game-high 14 tackles, plus 178 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Still, the senior said the night carried mixed emotions.
“I grew up playing on this field, since I was 5 years old and it was dirt, not turf,” he said with a smile. “My dad played on this field too, so it’s kind of sad that this was my last time on this field, but I’m just happy it ended with a win.”
Next up: a trip to the county championship. Babylon faces defending champ Bayport-Blue Point next Friday at Stony Brook University — the program’s first title-game appearance since 2017.
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