The start of the Suffolk County playoffs is just hours away, but who we won’t see play this weekend is William Floyd or Lindenhurst. After a forced Bulldogs quarantine due to COVID-19 contact tracing, their Saturday game at the No. 1 Colonials has been canceled, effectively ending their season and giving William Floyd a first-round bye.
“I can’t believe it,” Lindenhurst senior star running back Jack Winey said. “It’s a terrible way to go out.”
Many reached out to the Bulldogs players to offer praise and support.
“Great high school career Jack,” James Rowland said. “It’s not the way you wanted it to end, but look to big things in the future.”
“That’s incredibly unfair,” another commented. “I feel bad for the kids.”
According to Section XI, the governing body of athletics in Suffolk County, nonplayoff qualifiers could not fill in for the playoff qualifiers, even in a season riddled with pandemic-related disruptions. Of the 48 football teams in Suffolk, 36 were impacted by the coronavirus. Only 12 played a full schedule and 17 schools added nonconference games, especially in the wake of canceled games. Nineteen schools did not reschedule matchups that had to be postponed due to quarantining.
William Floyd will face the winner of the League II No. 1-seed Walt Whitman v League I No. 2-seed Longwood matchup, which kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m.
Quarterback Nicholas Bottoni helped lead the Wildcats (3-1) to their first league title in 37 years. Wide receiver Brandon Ivy (five receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns) provided a big boost in the team’s 35-14 win over Lindenhurst in the final game of the regular season. Longwood (2-2) has won the past seven meetings between the two teams, and had shutouts this season against Brentwood (56-0) and Patchogue-Medford (28-0), but were shut out by Bellport (28-0) and lost to William Floyd (28-8) back on March 20. Lions quarterback Noah Rattmer (27-for-50, 348 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions this season) threw for two scores in the final game of the season against Patchogue-Medford. The last time Walt Whitman beat Longwood was in 1985.
The first of Friday’s matchups will be a Conference II matchup between the No. 1 seed of League III, Half Hollow Hills East, and League IV’s No. 2-seeded Bellport. Kickoff begins at 4 p.m.
Bellport (4-1) has earned wins against the Thunderbirds in all six meetings between the two teams, beating them by 17 or more points in five of those victories. But Hills East’s (5-0) special team is led by Hansen Award candidate Leisaan Hibbert (who also rushed for 576 yards and seven touchdowns on 43 carries this season). Bellport, though, has do-it-all Ka’Shaun Parrish, who has 18 receptions for 379 yards and seven touchdowns this season, and rushed for 144 yards and five touchdowns on 19 attempts.
The other Conference II battle will be between League IV’s No. 1-seeded West Islip and League III’s No. 2-seeded Northport Saturday at the Lions’ house at 2 p.m.
Northport’s (4-0) defense, led by Anthony Canales and Owen Johansen, will have to work hard to contain West Islip quarterback Joe Costantino and running back Ryan Behrens. Costantino scored two rushing touchdowns in the Lions’ (3-0) final game of the season against Bellport — which was a battle of undefeateds — on runs of 70 and 26. He also threw a 16-yard strike in the 24-14 win. But Northport has outscored opponents by 17 or more points this season, which includes a 50-13 win over Smithtown East April 3 and a 41-6 victory over Copiague April 10.
In Conference III action tonight League V’s No. 1-seeded East Islip faces League VI’s No. 2-seeded Westhampton Beach at East Islip Middle School at 6 p.m.
These two teams have met seven times in the past five seasons with the Hurricanes coming away winners after four of them. Westhampton Beach will see the return of multiple starters following quarantine, including running back Aidan Cassara and middle linebacker and fullback Dom Sarno. East Islip, though, has pulled away with victorious in both postseason matchups between the two squads, eliminating the Hurricanes in 2016 and 2019.
Also in Conference III action tonight will be League VI’s No. 1 seed and Long Island powerhouse Sayville taking on League V’s No. 2-seeded Hauppauge, which also begins at 6 p.m. at the Golden Flashes’ Railroad Avenue complex.
Sayville’s star quarterback and Hansen Award frontrunner Jack Cheshire is hot off a record-breaking 46-21 win over Westhampton where he threw a school-best 500 yards and five touchdowns, and ran in another. The Golden Flashes (4-0) also have a lineup of stellar receivers led by C.J. Messina and Nathan Casaburi, who had 81 and 50-yard catches for scores, respectively, in the win. Hauppauge (3-1), which won three straight to start the season, is led by quarterback Anthony Russo, who threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-15 passing and rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in the team’s 28-2 win over West Babylon April 3. He threw a 92-yard touchdown pass to Eric Quinonez with 2:27 left in the third quarter to give Hauppauge a 28-0 lead.
The first Conference IV matchup will be tonight, when League VII’s No. 1-seeded Babylon hosts League VII’s No. 2-seeded Mt. Sinai at 5 p.m.
The Mustangs (2-1) are looking to avenge a county final loss to Shoreham-Wading River that brought their 2019 season to an end. The Mustangs run the Wing-T offense and a 5-3 defense, but sought to play more of a spread-look offense this season. This team runs with a lot of speed behind quarterback Joey Spallina (22 rushes for 113 yards), and running backs Zachary Rotella (115 yards on 16 carries) and Ryan Jones (84 yards on 15 carries). Babylon (5-0) finished the season with a 36-0 shutout of Hampton Bays April 3. Quarterback Joe Young accounted for four touchdowns, was 4-for-7 for 62 yards tossing scoring passes to Elijah Kneeland, Joseph Kelly and Aidan Killeen, and rushed for 65 yards on 11 carries with another touchdown.
As the 2019 Long Island Champions, League VII’s No. 1-seeded Shoreham-Wading River runs a spread offense and a 3-4 defense behind wide receiver Johnny Schwarz, tight end Jake Wilson, quarterback Chris Visintin and offensive linebackers Dylan Blanco and Jeffrey Lachenmeyer. The Wildcats (5-0) finished this season with a 41-10 win over Bayport-Blue Point April 9. Visintin ran for 160 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, while David Tedesco ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and Schwarz ran for 140 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Visintin also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Schwarz.
We want to congratulate all the Suffolk County teams, especially its seniors, on all your successed through a difficult year at and some times challenging season.
