SUFFOLK DIVISION I: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition – Preview
REPORTED BY GREGG SARRA. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 Sep 2003
3. LONGWOOD (6-2)
Coach: John Murphy (fourth year).
Key Players: Sr. QB/SS Tom McCormick (6-1, 196), Sr. TE/DE Darrell Scott (6-0, 260), Sr. FB/LB Taison Miller (6-0, 260), Jr. OG/ NG Peter Taddeo (6-1, 285), Sr. OG/LB Matt McMahon (6-1, 203), Jr. RB/DB Kevin Bennett (5-11, 170).
Top Newcomers: Jr. WR/SS Kevin Watkins (6-2, 165), Jr. FB/MLB Derek Candiotti (5-11, 198), Jr. TB/DB Brett Wilson (5-7, 160).
On the Lions: Longwood will rely on the strong arm of quarterback Tom McCormick. The offense has a host of speed and a bullish fullback in Taison Miller. They missed the postseason last year by a mere 2 1/2 power points after a 6-2 finish. The offensive line is huge.
Lindy Holds On for Win: 17 – 12
Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 13 Sep 2003
Tom O’Hanlon charged from the field with the prize. He held aloft the ball, which seconds earlier had been jarred from the grip of Longwood senior fullback Taison Miller.
O’Hanlon recovered the fumble at the Lindenhurst 44-yard line with 24 seconds remaining to halt Longwood’s final drive and secure a 17-12 victory in a Suffolk League I opener for both teams Friday night.
“It’s my ball, it’s my ball,” Hanlon, a junior defensive back, screamed as he ran past jubiliant teammates. “It’s definitely the biggest play of my life,” he said after running the sideline.
He pointed to the game ball and asked anyone who’d listen what it read. The letters spelled “Longwood.”
“They gave it up,” he said. “Now it’s mine.”
It was that way all night for Longwood, which turned the ball over five times, including four fumbles, in the first night game ever in Lindenhurst.
The Bulldogs made it memorable when halfback John Glynn capped the opening drive of the season with a 19-yard touchdown run and Chris Lynch added the kick with 6:35 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Lynch nailed a 32-yard field goal in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead before Longwood’s Kevin Bennett returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown.
Lindy’s Eddie Stellato scored on a 2-yard run with 4:26 left in the half, and Lynch’s kick made it 17-6.
The Longwood offense got in sync in the second half. The Lions drew within 17-12 when quarterback Tom McCormick lofted a 21-yard touchdown pass to wideout Darrell Scott with 3:16 left in the third quarter. Scott caught the fourth-and-14 pass that McCormick tossed into excellent coverage. The Lions could have cut it to 3, but Lindy stopped the run for a two-point conversion short of the goal line.
On the ensuing possession, Longwood’s defense held Lindenhurst to 4 yards and forced a punt. Lynch sailed a 60-yard punt into the end zone with 1:13 left in the third quarter.
Longwood took over on its 20 and marched 67 yards to the Lindy 13 before the most critical turnover of the game. The drive halted when junior halfback Brett Wilson was jolted on a blast up the middle and the ball squirted forward to the Lindy 3-yard line. Defensive back Brian Witkowski, who was victimized on the fourth-down touchdown pass, made amends by jumping on the loose ball to stop the long drive that lasted 12 plays and took 7:09 off the clock.
After being outmuscled throughout the second half, Lindenhurst moved the ball out of the shadow of its goalpost and to the 44 with 1:43 remaining. On fourth-and-1, the Bulldogs punted to the Longwood 25.
The Lions gained a first down before Miller burst up the middle for a big gain and was stripped at midfield withthe ball rolling into Lindy territory. There, the opportunistic O’Hanlon made the play of his career.
Sachem 34, Longwood 12: James Sykes ran for 217 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries for No. 2 Sachem, which scored 27 points to erase a six-point deficit Friday night. Sachem (2-0) totaled 477 yards of offense. Quarterback Brian Hennessy completed 10 of 11 passes for 162 yards and a 31-yard touchdown to Bobby Belezza. Derek Dale had four catches for 79 yards and Alex Grimm added three catches for 40 yards as the Sachem offense got into full gear. Senior linebacker Tom Pandolf had 11 tackles to lead the defense which stymied the running game of No. 3 Longwood (0-2). Rickey Tonyez added eight tackles and Michael Dowling had seven tackles and a sack. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 21 Sep 2003:
Longwood 13, Brentwood 6: Longwood tailback Brett Wilson raced 53 yards down the sideline for a touchdown with 6:46 left in the second quarter. Da-Ood Isaac’s extra point put Longwood (1-2) up 7-6. Taison Miller had a 14-yard touchdown run off left tackle with 3:56 left in the half to increase the lead to 13-6. Defensive back Peter Sollecito had two interceptions. Longwood ran out the clock after Sollecito’s second pick with 1:28 remaining. Brentwood is 0-3. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 05 Oct 2003
Floyd 35, Longwood 0: Donnie McCarthy completed 12 of 13 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns for Floyd (4-0) on Friday night. McCarthy also rushed for 52 yards on five carries. Vinny Trent, who had six receptions for 157 yards, caught three of the scoring passes, including a 56-yarder to open the scoring in the first quarter. Andrew Miller ran for 109 yards on 10 carries. His lone reception went for 65 yards and a touchdown. James Parker had three catches for 82 yards. Juan Morales led the defense with 13 tackles, and John Barone had eight tackles and a sack. Blair Bines had a second-quarter interception for Floyd. Longwoodis 1-3. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 12 Oct 2003:
Longwood 34, Ward Melville 6: Taison Miller had 85 yards on eight carries and scored twice for Longwood (2-3) on Friday. Miller scored on a 22-yard run with 7:57 left in the second quarter, and Brett Wilson scored on a 3-yard run 3:54 later to give Longwood a 14-0 halftime lead. Rob Roper broke four tackles on a 28-yard run for the Lions’ final score. WM is 1-4. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 19 Oct 2003
Longwood 36, Smithtown 33: Tailback Kevin Bennett scored on a 37- yard touchdown run with two minutes left for Longwood (3-3) on Friday.
Smithtown attempted a 31-yard field goal with 1:17 left, but the ball bounced off the crossbar and fell short.
Bennett rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, and Tyson Miller added 86 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries for Longwood.
Drew Desmarais threw four touchdown passes for Smithtown (3-3), which rallied from a 22-0 first-half deficit. Chris Hervey returned a kickoff 80 yards for a score, and caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Desmarais.
Longwood linebacker Matt McMahon had seven tackles and two sacks to lead the defense. Lineman Peter Taddeo added five tackles and a sack. Oct. 26
THIS WEEK: A Look at the Top Games and Players: SUFFOLK: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 28 Oct 2003:
Patchogue-Medford at Longwood (Saturday, 2 p.m.): Patchogue (4- 2) let a 14-0 lead slip away against Lindenhurst and needs to rebound if it wants to defend its Class I Long Island title. Longwood (3-3) can push itself into the Division I playoff picture.
Defensive Line Stand Seals Longwood Win: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 02 Nov 2003:
Longwood 14, Pat Med 8
Longwood defensive linemen Matt McMahon, Peter Taddeo and Darrell Scott stopped Patchogue-Medford on fourth down at the Longwood 6- yard line to seal a 14-8 win in a Suffolk Division I football game yesterday.
Brett Wilson’s 14-yard touchdown run with eight minutes left gave Longwood (4-3) a 14-0 lead. Anthony Monaco answered for Patchogue (4- 3) with a 2-yard touchdown run with six minutes left. Patchogue marched 60 yards before turning over the ball on downs on its final drive. Nov. 2
Playoff Picture Muddled Across Suffolk Divisions: [NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition]
Gregg Sarra. STAFF WRITER; Andy Slawson contributed to this story. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 07 Nov 2003:
The final week of the regular season in Suffolk football opens at 6 tonight as Longwood hosts Commack (4-3) in what is essentially a first-round playoff game for Longwood.
If the Lions (4-3) win – Longwood is 3-0 at home – they’ll earn a spot in Suffolk’s Division I playoffs. If the Lions lose and Patchogue-Medford (4-3) beats Whitman (0-7) at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, the Lions are out and Patchogue is in.
“We know what’s at stake,” Longwood coach John Murphy said.
Longwood started 0-2 and surged into the playoff picture with four wins in the past five games. Last week’s 14-8 win over Patchogue-Medford, the defending Class I Long Island champion, catapulted the Lions into fourth and pushed the Raiders closer to elimination. Patchogue is one of five teams county-wide that has a shot at a playoff berth but has no control over their own destiny.
East Islip in Division II, Amityville and East Hampton in Division III and Hampton Bays in Division IV are in the same boat. Thus far, 10 teams have qualified for the playoffs. And 11 others battle for the final six spots.
There are six teams that control their own destiny. If Longwood, Bellport, Huntington, Miller Place, Sayville and Glenn win, they’re in. Here’s a look at the possibilities:
Division I. Floyd (7-0) has the top seed clinched. The winner of the Lindenhurst (6-1) at Sachem (5-2) game takes second. If Lindenhurst loses, the Bulldogs would be seeded third. If Sachem loses, it goes to fourth and Longwood (with a win) would move into third.
Laluna Passes For 541 Yards, Setting LI Mark: [SUFFOLK Edition]
Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 09 Nov 2003: B22.
Mike Laluna lit it up Friday night. The Commack quarterback set a Long Island record for yards passing in a game when he torched Longwood for 541 yards in a 42-39 victory over the Lions in a Suffolk Division I football game.
The previous record was set by Stony Brook’s Derek Kenney, who completed 32 of 63 passes for 466 yards against Bayport-Blue Point in 1995. Laluna completed a 20-yard scoring pass to Bobby Trenkle with 1:24 left – his fifth TD pass of the game – as Commack (5-3) knocked Longwood (4-4) out of playoff contention.
Laluna completed 36 of 59 pass attempts. He also threw three two- point conversions. Taison Miller‘s 20-yard run gave Longwood a 39- 34 lead, but Commack’s Ken DiMicco forced a fumble and Jason Byrnes recovered it to set up the winning pass. Byrnes had 10 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Chris Ennis had 16 catches for 181 yards for the winners.