70-68! Joseph Filardi accounts for 10 touchdowns as Half Hollow Hills West wins epic playoff battle
Half Hollow Hills West QB Joseph Filardi gets by three Smithtown West defenders for the touchdown in a Suffolk Division III playoff game, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. Credit: George A Faella
Joseph Filardi certainly can use that extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning.
The Half Hollow Hills West junior quarterback was exhausted after putting together yet another unforgettable performance on Saturday.
A week ago, Filardi set the Long Island record for total yards in a football game with 601 in a win over playoff-bound Westhampton.
The encore was even better.
Filardi accounted for 10 touchdowns and 651 all-purpose yards in a wild 70-68 comeback win over Smithtown West in a Suffolk Division III quarterfinal game in Dix Hills.
The total of 138 points is the second most in a game in Long Island history, one shy of the record (Sayville beat Lawrence, 78-61, in the 2011 Long Island Class III championship game).
Filardi completed 30 of 38 passes for 404 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed 17 times for 183 yards and three more scores. He added 64 yards on one kick return.
His 61-yard touchdown run with 3:19 left, which gave the Colts a 70-61 lead, proved to be the game-winner.
“I went over the right side and cut back inside the defense,” Filardi said. “I picked up some nice blocks on that run. That was the wildest football game I’ve ever been in. It was just back and forth and who was going to have the football last.”
Smithtown West (4-5) closed to within 70-68 when wide receiver Jack Melore scored his seventh touchdown of the game. He caught a 3-yard pass from quarterback Brayden Stahl (32-for-47, 433 yards, seven touchdown passes) with 2:01 left and James Martino added the kick. The catch was Melore’s 17th of the game, a Long Island record for receptions in a single game, and he finished with 241 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions. He added a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 2-yard scoring run.
“We left it all out there,” Melore said. “They have a dynamic offense and a bunch of playmakers. We couldn’t stop Filardi and that was the difference. He was outstanding. They got a few stops on defense and that keyed the win.”
Hills West (7-2) recovered the final onside kick and took over at its 45. Filardi ran 15 yards for a first down before the Colts were able to kneel on the last two plays.
“It was one of those games where you know the other guys can score too,” Filardi said. “We just had to outscore them and make a big play on defense.”
That defensive gem came late in the fourth quarter. The Colts had forged a 63-61 lead on Filardi’s 5-yard scoring run with 7:13 left, but Smithtown West drove back inside the red zone and was knocking on the door again. Colts defensive back Michael Redd then intercepted Stahl’s pass intended for Nick Briffa in the end zone.
“Redd’s interception was the key play in a game loaded with offensive highlights,” Hills West coach Gerald Filardi said. “I’m a defense-first guy, but I know our skill set with our guys is that we can score points — and a lot of them. That interception allowed us to take a two-score lead in a game that featured so much offense where we couldn’t stop them and they couldn’t stop us.”
Three plays after Redd’s theft, Filardi broke loose for the 61-yard touchdown that gave Hills West a 70-61 lead.
“Joe is making all the right decisions and our offense is clicking,” wide receiver Anthony Raio said. “Our game plan was perfect and he’s unstoppable.”
Raio caught 15 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns. Jesse Brooks added 11 receptions for 114 yards and two scores.
Melore made an over-the- shoulder catch for a 29-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left in the first half to get the Bulls within 21-20, but Filardi needed only 32 seconds to respond. He drove the Colts 59 yards in four plays, capped by a 17-yard scoring pass to Brooks to make it 28-20 with 25 seconds left.
Stahl then marched the Bulls 72 yards, completing five straight passes, before Melore scored on a 2-yard sneak as time expired to make it 28-27 at the half.
“We came right back every time they scored,” Melore said.
Back and forth they went until Filardi had the final possession.
In addition to his extra hour of sleep, Filardi now has a few days to rest up for Friday night’s semifinal showdown against Sayville.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
