All it took was a little early energy to fuel William Floyd to its second straight Suffolk County Division I title. It came in the form of Tommy Verga.
The junior quarterback faked a pass, then bulled his way through the defense until he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. With no one in sight, he carried the ball 59 yards into the end zone in a game less than a minute-and-a-half old. It’d be the first of many touchdowns for the Colonials in a 34-14 win over Longwood at Stony Brook University November 22.
“I saw the end coming down on me, I took it around, saw green, and kept going,” Verga said. “It felt great to open up the game like that and get us going.”
It keeps a rich tradition going at William Floyd (11-0), which has won 12 Division I titles and has a record of 12-3 in the championship game. The win was also historic for head coach Paul Longo, who becomes the 10th football coach in Long Island history to reach 200 career wins. The 25-year coach also has the most county crowns of any football coach in Suffolk County history.
“It makes it fun,” Longo said. “Winning the county championship is so important to me, though.”
He said he was especially excited seeing his field general kicking things off early.
“That play was awesome,” Longo said. “Tommy’s a great player, he’s very fast, and he’s just a great leader on the field. That was a big-time play by a big-time player.”
Verga rushed 12 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Tyshawn Lopez, who rushed for 247 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries, was also elated.
“He had me jumping,” Lopez said, bouncing and smiling. “That was the momentum right there. He took off, was flying, and then we were going.”
After Longwood (8-2) quarterback Noah Rattmer responded with a 57-yard dash into the end zone late in the first, it was the Colonials defense that would set up the next play. First, senior middle linebacker Eddie Longo’s sack forced a three-and-out, and then, Andrew Minelli’s tackle of the Lions’ punter put Floyd on the 5-yard line.
“Our defense was swarming,” Longo said. “I did what I expected myself to do, but I’m glad I have all the amazing defenders around me to help us win these games.”
He was also happy to win it for coach, who’s his cousin.
“Coach Longo is always very motivational, and tells us what we need to hear,” Longo said. “We always talked about getting him the win, and I hoped to do it. This sport has brought us so much closer.”
Longo said he originally played for Newfield, but that he and his cousin always talked about playing together.
“Somehow we made it happen,” he said. “We both love football too much — it’s the main think we almost always talk about. And I enjoyed every second of this ride.”
Lopez capped the two-play drive that lasted 46 seconds with a 3-yard rush for a 13-7 lead.
“We came out here and played hard. Business is business,” he said. “They always say it’s hard to beat the same team twice, and our intensity was definitely there.”
Again, it was the Colonials defense that brought it. With seconds to go in the first half, Randy Russo stopped Longwood running back Anele Nwanyanwu, who’d racked up 1,174 yards and 16 touchdowns on 122 carries this season entering the championship game.
“We know this is the biggest rivalry we’ve got — we’re just across the parkway. We knew we had to show we were coming to play,” Verga said. “This goes to show how hard we all worked from the spring workouts, summer workouts — this is just a great group of boys always coming to work. The next guy is always stepping up. But we’re not done yet.”
Lopez scored on runs of 11 and 1 in the second half, the latter, coming after a Floyd sack and fumble recovery, bringing the score to 27-7 with 3:58 left in the third.
Longwood’s Zach Soriano caught a 12-yard pass from Rattmer, charging through a defender he picked up and moved to his right, to cap a five-play, 60-yard drive a little over a minute later.
Floyd will face Freeport (11-0) in the Long Island championship Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Stony Brook University.
While Paul Longo noted Freeport is a well-coached team with athletes that will bring a big, and tough challenge, he’s looking forward to it. Lopez is, too.
“We came a long way. There was a lot of doubt from a lot of people, but we let it go in one ear and out the other, and the tradition continues,” he said. “Bring whatever doubt, whatever negative energy, and we’re going to roll over it. I’m ready.”
