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Sports

Sayville Makes a Stand in Defense of County Title

A goal-line stand late in the second quarter highlights the Golden Flashes' 28–6 victory over Westhampton Beach in Sunday afternoon's Suffolk Division III championship game.

While Sayville’s multi-weapon offense grabbed the headlines for much of this season, it was their defense that was the difference against the Westhampton Beach Hurricanes Sunday afternoon at Stony Brook’s Kenneth LaValle Stadium.

On offense, Sayville spread the ball around, scoring three first-half touchdowns, and their defense did the rest, bottling up Westhampton’s offense for much of the game, winning 28–6. The victory gives the Golden Flashes their second-straight Suffolk County Division III title.

Defense Stuffs Westhampton In Red Zone

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Leading 21–0 on a pair of Steven Ferreira touchdown passes and a rushing  score by John Haggart, Sayville was poised to run Westhampton out of the game early. But Jack Murphy’s 51-yard completion to Brendon Eckart set the Hurricanes up at the Sayville 15 with 2:00 remaining in the half. Needing a score desperately, Westhampton made their way down to the Sayville 1 with just under 30 seconds to play.

But the Sayville defense came up big, stuffing a first-down run. Then, after being aided by a Westhampton illegal motion penalty, James Rupp brought Eckart down for a three-yard loss. Rupp then intercepted a pass in the end zone, and Sayville took its three-touchdown lead into the locker room.

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“That was the turning point, our defensive stand,” Sayville coach Robert Hoss said. “We stopped them right before half and kept momentum on our side.”

That series of plays loomed even larger after Murphy’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Connor Raynor, who outran the Golden Flashes’ defense down the right sideline, closing the score to 21–6 midway into the third. Had the Hurricanes converted in the final moments of the first half, it might have been a different game.

“It’s all about making plays, and today we didn’t make them,” Westhampton coach Bill Parry said. “We got beat today by a better team. I hate to say that, but they played better.”

Sayville Helped By Good Fortune

Leading 7–0 on a Ferreira-to-Rupp 33-yard touchdown pass with 2:04 left in the first quarter, the Golden Flashes scored on their first possession of the second quarter, when Ferreira found Tom Dieckhoff down the left sideline. The pass was tipped by a Westhampton defender into Dieckhoff’s hands, and the senior did the rest, running untouched into the end zone.

After Westhampton’s third-quarter touchdown, Sayville went three-and-out, and was forced to punt at its own 30. With just the hint of a momentum swing in the air, the Hurricanes ran into punter Zach Sirico deep in Sayville territory. The Golden Flashes maintained possession and drove down the field, ultimately scoring on Haggart’s second touchdown run of the game.

“Our defense played ridiculous,” Haggart said. “We all knew we needed to come up big.”

Ferreira Stands Tall Under Pressure

Westhampton did a good job pressuring Ferreira throughout the game, especially early, when the senior quarterback held the ball a bit too long on several occasions, waiting for his receivers to get open. Still, Ferreira delivered at key moments, connecting several times with Rupp over the middle.

“Steve throws a perfect ball. He’s the best quarterback in New York State,” Rupp said.

“We definitely started off a bit slow, but we began to click,” Ferreira said, referring to his team’s early moments. On Sayville’s first drive, Haggart fumbled (he subsequently recovered a fumble to give the ball back to his offense). On their second drive, Ferreira was sacked three times.

“[Westhampton] was bringing pressure,” Hoss said. “Give them credit. They played hard.”

Next Up: Long Island Championship

With the win, Sayville will play Lawrence next weekend at Stony Brook (day and time TBD). The Golden Tornadoes captured the Nassau County Division III title with a convincing 64–34 win against Plainedge.

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