Suffolk I football team-by-team overview
Owen O’Brien oweno. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 03 Sep 2017.
No. 3 LONGWOOD LIONS
2016 record: 6-4
Coach: Jeff Cipp, fourth year
KEY PLAYERS
Jake Murphy
RB, 5-10, 190, Sr.
Jordan Harris
QB, 6-1, 195, Sr.
Christian Reuthebuck
CB/WR, 6-0, 170, Sr.
Rob Wunsch
C/LB, 5-9, 225, Sr.
Joe Caldas
FB/LB, 5-10, 190, Sr.
Longwood returns tailback Jake Murphy and quarterback Jordan Harris, both of whom played well against Floyd. Connetquot has a strong mix of skill-position players in George Wichelns, GQ Grippo, Taylor Stepanek and quarterback Dylan McDermott. Ward Melville, after losing in last season’s Suffolk I title game, graduated many of its playmakers but returns starting running back Nick Messina. Northport, returning quarterback Ryan Walsh, is also a legitimate playoff contender.
Torres, Floyd get tough at end, hold off Longwood
Herzog, Bob. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 03 Sep 2017.
One by one, the Floyd players came off the field, victims of cramping that coach Paul Longo said forced him to send out several offensive players to fill in on defense in the final minutes. That’s when senior linebacker Danny Torres recognized the urgency of the situation.
“Some guys were out and I had to be the one to step up and finish the game for us,” said Torres. “There were some reads to make, but I knew I had the green light to blitz.” He sacked Longwood‘s Jordan Harris twice in the final, desperate sequence, as Floyd held on for a 23-18 home victory Saturday in the Suffolk I opener for both teams.
This annual matchup of long-time rivals is known as the Parkway Bowl because the teams are just 10 miles apart on the William Floyd Parkway. But Saturday, the 5-10, 185-poundTorres appeared to have the express lane all to himself.
He had four sacks and made an interception to set up the Colonials’ first touchdown. He also harassed Harris into an intentional grounding late in the second quarter that resulted in a safety.
“He’s amazing. Not the biggest kid. Not the fastest kid. But he is a tough, smart player who is always in the right spot,” Longo said. “He had a huge interception in the county championship game last year (won by Floyd.) All he does is make big plays.”
There were big plays all around, making for an entertaining opener in front of a full house in Mastic Beach. Torres broke through to pick off an attempted option-pitch by Harris, setting up Nick Silva’s 5-yard scoring run in the first quarter. After the Lions made it 7-6 on the first of two touchdown runs by Jake Murphy, Brandon Zach returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a 14-6 Floyd lead.
The Lions had an answer for that when Harris cleverly faked a middle screen then dumped off a screen to the right side that Courie Bradley took 61 yards for a touchdown, hurdling a Colonials’ defender to escape a tackle near midfield.
Longwood got the ball back deep in its own territory on an interception by Christian Reuthenbuck, but on second-and-11 from the 12, Harris was flushed from the pocket and ultimately chased down by Torres in the end zone. Harris’s desperate throwaway to avoid the safety was first ruled a fumble and touchdown for Torres, who recovered in the end zone. But after an officials’ conference, the call was reversed and the intentional grounding ruling gave Floyd two points instead of seven.
However, that call wound up benefiting the Colonials because they got good field position after the free kick and made it nine points instead of seven on the sequence, scoring on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Rob Taiani to Jordan Clinton, who made a one-handed grab on the run before tucking it to finish the play with 29.7 seconds left in the first half. That gave Floyd a 23-12 lead.
The Lions made it 23-18 on Murphy’s 9-yard run that capped a clock-killing, 11-play, 80-yard drive late in the third quarter. Silva killed off some precious minutes himself late in the fourth quarter with four big runs, but Floyd ultimately turned it over on downs at the Longwood 30 with 1:45 left.
That’s when Torres’ sacks put a definite crimp in the Lions’ comeback.
Longwood 28, Northport 20: Jake Murphy had 28 carries for 212 yards and a touchdown to lead Longwood. Dashawn Garricks, who scored on a 1-yard run to put Longwood (1-1) ahead for good in the second quarter, had seven tackles. Danny Orr added six tackles, and Elijah Stowe and Midjery Paul each had a sack. Jordan Harris completed 3 of 5 passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. Sept. 10
QB Nick Anzalone guides Lindenhurst to complete team victory
Sarra, Gregg. Newsday, Combined editions; Long Island, N.Y. [Long Island, N.Y]. 16 Sep 2017
Lindenhurst quarterback Nick Anzalone deflected all the credit for Friday night’s win. He directed the accolades for the thorough 28-7 victory over Longwood in Suffolk Division I toward his coaches, the offensive line, the defense and anyone without the last name Anzalone.
But it was Anzalone – a first-year starter who completed 12 of 18 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns – who stole the show. He converted with pinpoint accuracy on all four third-down conversions in the first half as the Bulldogs opened a 21-0 lead.
“It’s not possible without everyone doing their job,” Anzalone said. “The coaches have really spent the time with me in films understanding what I’m looking at and figuring out the defenses. And our line and running game has been great.”
It doesn’t hurt to have a blue chip wide receiver in Ohio State-bound Jeremy Ruckert to lean on in third-down situations. Ruckert caught seven passes for 72 yards, including five third-down conversion catches.
“It’s a comfort knowing Jeremy is out there,” Anzalone said. “He’s a go-to guy.”
Lindenhurst scored on its first three possessions of the first half. The Bulldogs mixed the run and the pass and that balance helped them on two long scoring drives. The third touchdown came after a Longwood fumble deep in Lions territory.
Anzalone, quickly emerging as one of Long Island’s top signal-callers, threw for three first-half touchdowns and completed 8 of 9 passes for 135 yards before the break.
“He showed poise in the pocket and did a fantastic job of checking down to the right receivers,” said coach Nick Lombardo. “We are very happy with his progress. He has a strong arm and he’s making the right decisions.”
Longwood (1-2) opened the game with an eight-play, 33-yard drive that lasted 6 minutes, 23 seconds but was undermined by a few killer penalties.
“We moved the ball at times and hurt ourselves with penalties and then a turnover,” said Longwood coach Jeff Cipp. “We can’t have those mistakes against any opponent. We have a lot of work to do but we’ll be alright. We have a bye week and we’ll work out the kinks.”
Anzalone connected for touchdown passes of 15 yards to Justin Zotto, 75 yards to Ricky Conway and 10 yards to Dilon Smith.
Conway’s second-quarter touchdown romp came on a third-and-8 pass from Lindenhurst’s 25-yard line. Anzalone drew the rush and dumped a short pass over the outstretched arms of the defensive front to Conway, who juked the first tackler and outran the secondary to the end zone for a 14-0 lead with 7:54 left in the half.
Linebacker Dean Morreale recovered a Longwood fumble deep in Lions territory to set up the final score of the half. Anzalone passed 14 yards to Ruckert and then fired a 10-yard scoring strike to Smith to make it 21-0.
Longwood came out in the second half and forced Anzalone into his lone mistake. The quarterback fired downfield and defensive back Jaheim Dotson intercepted at the Lions’ 29.
Longwood started to gain some momentum, moving the ball quickly to the Bulldogs’ 36 behind big runs of 19 yards from halfback Jake Murphy (18 carries, 146 yards) and 13 from Elrich Bowlay-Williams. But a fumble on a toss, recovered by linebacker Jack Whiney, short-circuited another Lions drive.
Lindenhurst punctuated the win with a workmanlike nine-play, 72-yard drive, capped by Conway’s 13-yard touchdown run. Anzalone hit Ruckert with three passes for 38 yards during the drive and Conway finished the march with a 17-yard run and the touchdown scamper.
Longwood 42, Whitman 0: Jake Murphy rushed 10 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns to lead Longwood (2-3). Jordan Harris rushed for 21 yards and a touchdown and also completed 3 of 4 passes for 72 yards and a touchdown. Longwood scored on each of its first five possessions, taking a 35-0 lead into halftime, and the Lions rushed for 353 yards. Oct. 8
Connetquot 41, Longwood 12: Dylan McDermott completed 20 of 31 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns to lead Connetquot (4-2) Friday. GQ Grippo caught seven passes for 154 yards and a TD along with 20 rushing yards and a score. George Wichelns had six catches for 132 yards and a TD. Cole Bunicci and Trevor Cahill both led the defense with 10 tackles each. Bunicci also had two pass breakups, caught a 6-yard TD pass and was 5-for-6 on point-after attempts. Oct. 15
Ward Melville 35, Longwood 12: Nick Messina rushed 14 times for 189 yards and three touchdowns to lead Ward Melville (5-2). Peyton Capizzi rushed 10 times for 55 yards and a score and completed 7 of 11 passes for 69 yards including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Liam Davenport. Oct. 22
Commack 39, Longwood 14: Quarterback John Rose completed 7 of 12 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown to lead Commack (4-4) to the win. Cameron Dupera had eight rushes for 101 yards, and a 65-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Logan Tobias returned a kickoff 45 yards for a touchdown in the second, and hauled in three receptions for 92 yards, including a 80-yard touchdown catch to open the scoring in the first. Brendan McCaffery returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown in the third, and William Pizzolo also returned one 75 yards for a score in the fourth. Joey Slackman had 12 tackles and two sacks. Adam Ostrowski added 10 tackles and three sacks. Oct. 29
JEFF CIPP
Teacher, coach
Jeff Cipp of Bellport has been named Suffolk County Adaptive Teacher of the Year by the Suffolk Zone of the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Cipp is a physical education teacher, adaptive physical education teacher and head football coach at Longwood High School in Middle Island, where he has worked the past 21 years. He also has served as the school’s lacrosse coach from 1996-2008 and is involved with organizations including the Special Olympics, Best Buddies International and the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association.