Longwood 60, Whitman 14: No. 12 Whitman actually held a 14-6 lead before No. 9 Longwood scored 54 unanswered points. Darryl Scott caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Tom McCormick with 4:04 left in the first quarter, and Kevin Moore (107 yards, 11 carries) added the two-point conversion run to tie it at 14. Kevin Bennett, who gained 100 yards on nine carries, returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown as Longwood took a 34-14 halftime lead. Bernard Parker had two fourth-quarter touchdowns, including a 67-yard run, for Longwood.
After Moore opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run, Whitman’s Russell Hamilton returned the ensuing kickoff 72 yards for the tying score. Matt Howard scored on a 23-yard run as the Wildcats took a 14-6 lead. Sept. 22
W – Hamilton 72 kickoff return (Dallardes kick)
W – Howard 23 run (Dallardes kick)
L – Scott 5 pass from T. McCormick (Moore run)
L – Miller 1 run (Scott from T. McCormick)
L – Bullock 3 run (run failed)
L – Bennett 50 punt return (kick failed)
L – Miller 2 run (kick failed)
L – Elsalam 1 run (Moran kick)
L – Parker 5 run (Moran kick)
L – Parker 67 run (kick failed)
Longwood 28, Ward Melville 8: After winning only twice last year, Longwood begins this season 2-0. The Lions took the opening kickoff and drove 65 yards to score on Tom McCormick’s 1-yard run. Then Longwood blocked a punt and drove from midfield to score on Joe Paddeo’s 1-yard dive. WM is 0-2. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 29 Sep 2002:
Longwood 21, Central Islip 6: Defensive lineman Darrell Scott forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Kevin Moore in the end zone and Longwood (3-0) added the extra point for a 7-6 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.
On Longwood‘s next possession, Kevin Bennett ran a sweep 33 yards down the sideline for the 13-6 lead.
Quarterback Tom McCormick threw for 72 yards and a touchdown. Bennett had 57 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Scott finished with 10 tackles, two forced fumbles and two sacks as Central Islip (0-3) was shut out over the final three quarters. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 06 Oct 2002
Longwood 6, Smithtown 2: Linebacker Joe Taddeo recovered a fumble with less than three minutes for Longwood (4-0). Taison Miller caught a 72-yard pass to set up his 2-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter for a 6-0 lead. Miller rushed for 101 yards on 15 carries and had 214 all-purpose yards. Kevin Bennett intercepted a pass with 17 seconds left to secure the victory. Taddeo had nine tackles and safety Tom McCormick eight in the Division I game. Oct. 13
THIS WEEK A look at the Top Game and Players: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
Compiled by the Staff. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Oct 2002:
Patchogue-Medford at Longwood (Friday, 7 p.m.): Can ninth-seeded Longwood (4-0) continue to surprise in Division I? The Lions find out this week against injury-riddled Patchogue-Medford (3-1).
Monaco, Stephan Are Super Subs for PM: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 20 Oct 2002
What does a football coach do when his 1,000-yard rusher and leading tackler are sidelined? Go to the bench, of course.
And Patchogue-Medford coach James Chiarello found some capable understudies yesterday. The Raiders were without leading scorer Alex Baez and defensive leader Jesse Miller. With no room for error and a grueling upcoming schedule, Chiarello plugged in the right players and Patchogue-Medford fought off feisty Longwood.
Cornerback Chris Burke made a leaping deflection on a fourth-and- 15 pass to end Longwood’s final drive at its 35-yard line with 2:10 left to preserve Patchogue-Medford’s 26-20 victory in a Suffolk Division I game.
Patchogue-Medford (4-1) stymied an earlier fourth-quarter drive when defensive back Mike Smeja intercepted a pass in the end zone as the Raiders clung to the 26-20 lead.
Smeja hauled in an 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jay Pontieri to give the Raiders a 26-14 lead with 3:56 left in the third quarter. It was the first play from scrimmage after Longwood’s Taison Miller scored on a 1-yard run.
Pontieri completed 7 of 10 passes for 178 yards and three scores to Smeja. Halfback Anthony Monaco filled in for Baez (stomach virus), and rushed for 126 yards on 16 carries. Monaco rushed for a score and a two-point conversion with 5:58 left for a 20-8 lead. Linebacker Mike Stephan had 10 solo tackles and a sack, filling in for Miller (bruised right leg). Longwood is 4-1.
Longwood 14, Connetquot 7: Defensive back Kevin Bennett stopped Rich DeJesus at the 3-yard line on fourth- and-goal with four minutes left for Longwood (5-1). Anthony Salzano intercepted a pass on a third-and-five play and returned it 25 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown to give Longwood a 13-7 lead with nine minutes left in the third quarter. Salzano caught a 19-yard pass from Tom McCormick that tied the score at 7 with 42 seconds left in the first half. Connetquot is 2-4. Oct. 27
Longwood 50, Commack 0: Four first-half turnovers limited Longwood to a 12-0 lead at halftime yesterday. The third quarter was an offensive explosion, though, as quarterback Tom McCormick ran for a 15-yard touchdown, then threw scoring passes to Kristian Roberts and Darrell Scott.
Commack (2-5) suffered from turnovers, as well. It allowed three interceptions and two fumbles. Kevin Moore had two of the interceptions for Longwood (6-1), each leading directly to a touchdown. Nov. 3
L – Miller 1 run (kick failed)
L – Taddeo 20 run (run failed)
L – McCormick 15 run (Salzano pass from McCormick)
L – Roberts 12 pass from McCormick (McCormick run)
L – Scott 5 pass from McCormick (Shackles kick)
L – Parker 60 run (Shackles kick)
L – Bennett 70 punt return (Shackles run)
THIS WEEK A Look at the Top Games and Players: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 05 Nov 2002:
Longwood at Lindenhurst (Saturday, 2 p.m.): Longwood (6-1) controls its own destiny with a win. A loss to the Dawgs (6-1) could send the Lions packing, if Sachem (5-2) beats Smithtown Friday night.
Longwood’s Run Is Over / Playoff bid fails with loss to Lindenhurst: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 10 Nov 2002
The No. 9 seed. It stuck in the craw of the Longwood football team. Not even six wins in the first seven games guaranteed a playoff berth. The Lions needed a seventh.
“The playoffs started for us in Week 1,” Longwood coach John Murphy said. “And we knew that. We had to win almost every week to qualify for the postseason.”
They almost did. Longwood’s season ended yesterday with a 14-7 loss at Lindenhurst in a Suffolk Division I game before an estimated crowd of 800. Lindy grabbed the second seed in the playoffs and will host No. 3 Sachem at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Longwood’s final pass of the season fell incomplete at the Lions’ 40-yard line as time expired. “To take a quality team like Lindenhurst to the gun and come up short is hard to take,” said Longwood linebacker John Moran, a three-year starter. “We finally turned the program back around and sent it in the right direction.”
Moran was one of the defensive standouts who almost sent the Lions back to the playoffs. He finished with seven tackles, had two sacks and led a defense that shut down Lindy throughout the second half.
“That was a good, strong football team,” Lindenhurst tackle Michael Gervasio said. “They ran the ball down our throat in the second half. But our guys really hung tough when Longwood threatened to tie the score.”
Longwood (6-2) drove 42 yards to the Lindy 30 before facing a fourth-and-15 with 1:36 remaining. Tom McCormick eluded Gervasio’s headlong dive in the backfield and rolled to his left. With no open receiver and Longwood’s playoff hopes hinging on the last-minute march, McCormick tried to run. He was nailed by defensive end Teddy Sutcliffe at the 35.
“We needed our defense to stiffen and pull this one out,” Lindenhurst quarterback Matt Quigley said. “We weren’t able to do much on offense this time. And the defense came through.”
Lindenhurst (7-1) scored just enough in the first half to win this one. Halfback John Glynn (81 yards, eight carries) capped a 13- play, 68-yard drive with a 3-yard scoring run midway through the first quarter. Chris Lynch’s extra-point kick made it 7-0. Quigley completed 5 of 7 passes for 40 yards on the drive.
“After that drive they stopped us,” said Quigley, who finished 9- for-16 for 78 yards. “They were sending seven, eight guys on every play.”
Lindy added to its lead with 7:21 left in the half. Halfback Eddie Stellato took a wingback reverse around right end and went 80 yards for what proved to be the deciding touchdown.
“I knew our kids wouldn’t quit,” Murphy said. “We needed to make a play.”
The defense turned the momentum Longwood’s way just before the half ended. Sophomore defensive back Brett Wilsonintercepted a pass along the sideline and returned it to the 20 before being tackled by Glynn with 32 seconds left.
McCormick scrambled for 15 yards, then hit tight end Darrell Scott in the end zone with a 5-yard pass with 15 seconds left. Chris Shackles added the point-after kick to make it 14-7. McCormick completed 6 of 14 passes for 58 yards in the game.
The second half featured two of Long Island’s best defensive units. Longwood, which allowed a county-low six points in the second half of games this season, limited Lindy to 26 yards.
Lindenhurst countered with linebacker John Buddenhagen, who had seven tackles and forced a fumble to lead a swarming defense that kept the Lions off the board.
“This season we put Longwood football back on the radar,” Murphy said. “And there’s a lot to be proud of. We were very good.”
Lindy would agree.
LINDENHURST 14
LONGWOOD 7