Craig comes up big as Islip reaches Division III final
Islip's Jeffrey Craig (23) runs pass the Huntington defense. (Nov. 12, 2010) Credit: Alan J Schaefer
With his team holding on to a two-point lead in the closing minutes of Friday night's game against Huntington, Islip quarterback Jeffrey Craig knew if he could get 1 yard on fourth down, the Buccaneers would win. Craig was very confident in his ability to get the job done when his team needed him.
"I always feel that I can make a big play at any given time," Craig said. "I knew that all we needed was a yard, I feel like I can go 60, it's only a yard - I got it."
Craig did get it and No. 2 Islip (9-1) defeated No. 3 Huntington, 16-14, in a Suffolk Division III semifinal.
"Jeff was awesome," Islip coach Jamie Lynch said. "He's a playmaker."
Craig was 6-for-12 passing for 95 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and rushed for 116 yards on 12 carries for the Buccaneers, whose only loss this season was Oct. 30 against Huntington (7-3).
The Blue Devils had driven the ball down to the Islip 36-yard line with less than five minutes to go but turned over the ball on downs.
"Our defense has been awesome all year, we let up the least amount of points in the conference, so I felt confident that we could come up with a stop," Lynch said. "We bent but we didn't break."
Craig connected with Alex Gaviria for a 26-yard touchdown with 5:56 to go in the first quarter to give Islip the early lead 6-0.
Huntington took a 7-6 lead on a 1-yard run by quarterback Dan Plant at the end of the first quarter. The Buccaneers regained the lead 13-7 with 4:19 remaining in the first half, when Craig found Terence Foley for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Eric Rosenthal kicked a 26-yard field goal on the opening drive of the second half for Islip to give the Buccaneers a two-possession lead. Huntington made it 16-14 on a 1-yard run by Plant with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
Plant was 8-for-19 passing for 124 yards, adding 10 carries for 19 yards and two touchdowns for Huntington. Calvin Bollar had 20 carries for 87 yards and Trayvon Toney had 12 carries for 40 yards for the Blue Devils.
Islip will face the winner of Saturday's game between No. 1 Sayville and No. 4 Westhampton in the Suffolk Division III final at 7 p.m. Thursday at Stony Brook University.
"We knew we had a good team," Lynch said. "We expected to be challenging for a county title and that's where we're sitting right now."
