Leading off today: I know of a couple of high school football coaches who absolutely, positively would not send a kicker onto the field to attempt a game-winning field goal in a championship game under any circumstances.
Especially a 47-yarder with his team trailing.
They didn't want the kid have to carry around the baggage after a miss for the years to come. (See: Norwood, Scott.) It makes perfectly good sense in most situations; life is more important than winning.
Thankfully, Bayport-Blue Point's Mike Zafonte isn't one of those coaches.
Recognizing the odds of pulling off a Hail Mary were slim, Zafonte sent Tommy Steyert out to attempt a 47-yard field goal with one second left in Saturday's Long Island Class IV title game. Zafonte's faith was rewarded with a perfectly executed kick, and the Phantoms defeated Seaford 20-19 for their third championship in four years.
"It was probably the best one I kicked all season," Steyert told Newsday. "When it went in, I've never felt anything like that before."
It capped a dramatic sequence that began with Seaford's go-ahead touchdown with 2:40 to play, followed by BBP's Ryan Space blocking the extra point to keep the score 19-17.
The Phantoms drove to the Seaford 38, where Colin Clark hit Colin Most for a gain of eight yards on a play that began with :05 on the clock.
"I trust Most to make the catch and get down, and I trust my coaches to call the timeout," Clark said. "We bring on Tommy Steyert and he hits a field goal that this program will never forget."
We got that one right
The football season was only two weeks old when Steve Grandin, who compiles the weekly rankings for the New York State Sportswriters Association,
opened with Iona Prep at No. 1 and Syracuse CBA at No. 2 in Class AA.
Given what they accomplished last fall and what they were returning this season, he expected those two powers to separate themselves from the field. And that's most certainly what's happened in the two and a half months since.
Iona Prep repeated as the CHSAA state champion on Saturday, pulling away from a tough St. Francis for a 42-21 victory as all-everything running back Crew Davis scored twice on the ground and caught the go-ahead touchdown pass.
Bouncing back from a midseason loss to Monsignor Farrell, the Gaels outscored their final five opponents by a combined 147 points.
Meanwhile, CBA was throttling Buffalo Bennett 34-14 in the NYSPHSAA semifinals at Cicero-North Syracuse High School to extend the two-time defending champions' winning streak to 40 games.
Junior tailback Austin Ariola and senior receiver Kieghlin Hicks scored touchdowns 1:59 apart midway through the second quarter, and the Brothers never looked back.
Epic performance by Sleepy Hollow star
Brayden Richardson ran for a Section 1-record 446 yards on 27 carries, scoring five times, as Sleepy Hollow defeated Glens Falls 42-20 to advance to next weekends NYSPHSAA Class B championship game.
Richardson, a state long jump runner-up last spring and University of Rhode Island football commit, is up to 42 TDs and 2,418 rushing yards for the season. Saturday's performance included two scoring carries of 80 or more yards in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Garden City limps to fifth straight L.I. championship
The season has ended just in time for Garden City. With a roster riddled by injuries, the Trojans gutted out a 10-7 victory vs. East Islip at Stony Brook University to capture their
fifth straight Long Island Class II championship.
Four-year varsity player Zach Olson made 11 tackles, including four for losses and two on sacks, as Garden City extended its nation's-best winning streak to 66 games. The Trojans have not lost since falling to Lindenhurst 14-13 in the 2019 Long Island finals.
"If we had a chance to win, based on the state of our health, we had to play lights out on defense," Garden City coach Dave Ettinger said. "And our defensive coordinator Steve Finnell and his staff did a fantastic job having our guys prepared. And we had a few key guys unable to play on the offense and Owen Anderson (eight carries, 144 yards) stepped in and did a great job."
Frank J. Macchiarola Campus caps perfect season
Frank J. Macchiarola Campus looked like the class of the PSAL AAA Conference at the start of the season. The perception was reinforced repeatedly during the regular season and then confirmed when the Sharks fought off a tough A. Philip Randolph Campus team in the semifinals.
FJM, criminally underseeded at No. 6 to start the postseason, completed a 13-0 season by pulling away from a stubborn James Madison in the second half for a 46-6 win at Old Boys & Girls High School.
It was the program's first PSAL championship in 21 years.
"We lost the 2A title last year, but we told the kids we will get back to a championship," coach Ubeaka McKinney said. "We added some great pieces to the program, we had a great offseason that helped us get here and do what we have to do."
