Crossan scores 4 TDs to lead Sachem North
Sachem's Dalton Crossan (34, right), who scored his teams first touch down early in the first quarter, breaks away from the pack of Northport defenders Stephen Carr (24, left), and Alex Egglinger (58, center). (Nov. 12, 2010) Credit: Richard Slattery
A brief scare swept across the stands Friday night when a speaker caught fire at the end of the third quarter. Thanks to Dalton Crossan, it was the only thing Sachem North fans had to worry about.
Crossan did everything but put the fire out himself as he rushed for 118 of his 159 yards in the first half and found the end zone on scoring runs of 55, 44, 23 and 11 yards as No. 1 Sachem North defeated No. 4 Northport, 42-21, in a Suffolk Division I semifinal at Sachem North.
After Jesse Scanna recovered a fumble by Ryan Kokell on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, Crossan took a sweep down the sideline and fell into the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown run for a 28-7 lead.
Northport's John Laurine then connected with Tom Cordts across the middle on fourth-and-9 for a 32-yard TD to pull Northport within 28-14, but Sachem North countered with a six-play, 64-yard drive capped by Crossan's fourth TD of the day on an 11-yard run to all but seal the victory.
"I definitely knew how big the game was tonight," Crossan said. "So I just got myself ready to play and everybody just came to play and I just had a big game."
It took just 1:25 of actual game time for Sachem North to reach the end zone as Crossan, who later added a 44-yard TD run, emerged from the pack and ran down the sideline untouched for a 55-yard touchdown.
Northport (5-5) tied the score after Laurine found Jack Delahunty for a 30-yard pass to bring the ball to the Sachem North 5 and set up a 5-yard TD run by Kokell with 4:24 left in the first.
Sachem North found itself in an unusual position, anywhere but in the lead, and Scanna quickly restored order a little more than three minutes later by putting the Flaming Arrows back in front with a 30-yard scoring run.
Sachem North (10-0) advanced to play the winner of Saturday's game between No. 2 Floyd and No. 3 Longwood in the Division I final at 7 p.m. Friday at Stony Brook University.
Crossan's younger brother, Trent, added a 93-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. "In a game like this, for me and him to play like we did and the whole team to play like that, it's definitely special," Dalton Crossan said.
