Edgar's kick gives II/III All-Stars win

Smithtown East kicker Matt Edgar was looking to atone. He had missed an extra point in the first quarter, which proved to be a monumental miss, as his Division II/III All-Stars trailed by 1 in the fourth quarter with time on the clock for one play. And there he stood, with a 29-yard field goal attempt, and a chance to win the game.

Goat or hero; there would be no middle ground.

And Edgar struck the ball true, a dead-center no-doubter that gave his team a 9-7 victory against the I/IV All-Stars to win the Suffolk P.A.L. All-Star Football Game at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium.

"Going into this game, I thought I would kick a couple of extra points, maybe a field goal if I was lucky," said Edgar, also named his team's offensive MVP. "I would never expect to kick a game-winner. It's a great way to end my career."

But Edgar and the II/III All-Stars were fortunate to be in game-winning position. On I/IV's previous drive, they drove deep into II/III territory, forcing them to burn all three of their timeouts.

With a fresh set of downs, the I/IV coaching staff elected to throw the ball twice and run the ball on 4th-and-long, which gave the II/III All-Stars the ball on their own 13-yard-line with no timeouts and 1:19 remaining.

"I went to [West Babylon receiver Michael] Richardson before the drive and said, 'me and you, we're going to do this,'" Miller Place QB Matt Hinchy said. "We had 1:19 left, and we just went down the field. We knew we were going to get down here, and we just made big plays in the end."

SEE PHOTOSSuffolk P.A.L. All-Star Football Game

Added Miller Place DT Ryan Kelly, who had 9.5 tackles (three for a loss) and was named his team's defensive MVP: "Defensively, we got the big stop, and then our offense got it, and my QB was playing. I had complete confidence in him and my whole offense."

Hinchy led his team past midfield, almost hitting a diving Richardson on the opposing 10-yard-line. On the ensuing play, he found Hills West's Devon Williams to advance the ball to the 15.

On third down, Richardson caught a jump ball TD that would have put II/III ahead, although an ineligible receiver downfield negated the score.

"We started celebrating and then the play got called back, and we didn't know what the penalty was for," Hinchy said.

SEE PHOTOSLong Island in the pros: NFL edition

After the play, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on I/IV gave II/III the ball at the 10.

Following an incompletion that forced fourth down, the II/III All-Stars looked to Edgar.

"Game-winner in the All-Star Game," Edgar said. "I'll remember this for the rest of my life."