Sayville senior CJ Messina said he was nervous stepping out onto the field under the bright Friday night lights in the first game of a shortened season with just a few weeks of practice under his belt. But while the wide receiver and his Golden Flashes team may have shared similar sentiments, they didn’t show it in a dominating 58-6 season-opening victory over Kings Park.
“We weren’t able to have as many practices as we normally would and only had one scrimmage with just our team, but walking out onto the field and seeing all of my teammates, and knowing that football is back in Sayville, I was excited. It’s really an awesome feeling,” the senior said. “Thankfully, after the first play or two the nerves are pretty much gone and it’s time to lock in for 48 minutes.”
Senior quarterback Jack Cheshire (19-for-25, 231 yards) tossed his first of four touchdowns on the night to Nick Buffardi on a 1-yard slant at 6:24 for a 7-0 lead. Cheshire and Messina set up the next score with a 24-yard pass that brought Sayville to the 5-yard line. Running back Alex Millwater (39 yards on eight carries) got the call next, spinning off several would-be tacklers to earn his first of two on the night.
Messina, who had six catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns, said: “It’s really great having Jack on my team, to say the least.”
“He really can do it all back there,” the wide receiver said. “He’s got the arm strength, accuracy, smarts, football IQ — and he’s even gotten a little faster since last year. I’m super pumped to be catching passes from him.”
Junior Michael Argenziano converted on the extra-point kick to give Sayville a 14-0 lead with 2:08 to go in the opening quarter, but botched the ensuing kick, which ended up working out in the Golden Flashes’ favor. Sayville recovered the ball on its own 35-yard line.
Just about a minute later, Cheshire and Messina connected again, this time, for a touchdown on fourth-and-10. Millwater scored on a 3-yard rush two minutes into the second quarter, Messina followed with a 7-yard TD pass from Cheshire and Nathan Casaburi with a 20-yard pass – with Argenziano remaining perfect on PATs — to give Sayville a commanding 42-0 lead.
“You know, a couple months ago the team and I weren’t too sure if we were going to have a season, but we were still trying to work out and practice when we could and just stay positive throughout all of this,” Messina said, as football was moved from the fall to the spring amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “When we found out we’re having a season, everyone was so pumped. It was amazing to be back on the field playing with my teammates.”
At halftime, Sayville head coach Reade Sands benched his starters. He said the score gave him the opportunity to see all his Golden Flashes play.
“Everyone did their job, and it was a lot of fun,” Messina said. “It was great to see our backups playing in the second half.”
The senior wide receiver, though, said his team’s play wasn’t without faults, and will be watching the film to fix those mistakes.
“We’ll definitely enjoy the win, but there’s still more work to be done,” Messina said. “I think this win will have more teams keeping an eye out on us, if they weren’t already, but we’re focused staying focused on us. We’re trying to get better every week.”
