Hannan leads Sayville over Kings Park
Sayville's running back Thomas Hannan scores a touchdown. (Oct. 29, 2011) Credit: George A. Faella
Good thing Thomas Hannan is a quick study. A halftime decision to move Hannan from wide receiver to halfback proved to be the difference Saturday for Sayville.
Hannan infused life into a stagnant Sayville offense and rushed for two second-half touchdowns as the Golden Flashes defeated Kings Park, 18-6, in a Suffolk Division III football game. He had 69 yards rushing and scored on runs of 10 and 33 yards. Sayville (8-0) locked up the top seed in the playoffs.
"Coach [Rob] Hoss drew up a few plays on the chalkboard, explained my responsibilities and told me they were going to get me the ball," Hannan said. "We have injuries and the offense wasn't moving. I was really excited because I knew we couldn't throw the ball and we'd have to run it."
The miserable field conditions, 35-mph winds and heavy rain, forced both teams to abandon passing. The ground game was reduced to a slip-and-slide battle.
Making it more difficult for Sayville was the loss of quarterback Steven Ferreira, Long Island's all-time leader in passing yardage, who was injured on the Golden Flashes' first play. Ferreira rolled to his right and was swarmed by the Kings Park defense. He emerged from the scrum with a bloodied nose.
"Our trainer thought it was a broken nose and we sent him to the hospital," Hoss said. "It didn't look good."
With top rusher John Haggart sidelined with severe inflammation in his knee and Ferriera out, Sayville went to the wildcat offense and moved speedy halfback Zach Sirico to quarterback.
"We've practiced the wildcat formation with Sirico all season," Hoss said. "And Thursday, we practiced it in bad weather."
The sloppy conditions were directly responsible for both first-half touchdowns. Sayville's Chris Lorenzo recovered a fumble at the Kings Park 37 in the first quarter to set up the opening score. Sirico went 24 yards on a sweep right to the 1-yard line before he scored on a 1-yard run for the 6-0 lead with 2:44 left.
That lead was short-lived. Outside linebacker Joe Lynn recovered a Sayville fumble at the Golden Flashes' 9 and two plays later, senior halfback Dominic Montemurro scored on a 9-yard run to tie it at 6 with 11:05 left in the half.
The second half belonged to Hannan and the Sayville defense, which limited the Kingsmen to minus-5 yards on 16 plays.
Sayville scored quickly to open the second half. Tom Dieckhoff keyed a three-play, 69-yard drive with a 59-yard run to the Kings Park 10. Hannan went around left end on a 10-yard run for the go-ahead score.
"The footing was terrible, it was like sinking into quicksand," said Hannan, who had seven touchdown receptions and returned two kickoffs for scores this season. "Sirico was telling me what to do because when Hoss was showing me the plays I was . . . just going to play it safe and hit the first guy in the other uniform on every play."
Both defensive units played well. Kings Park held the high-scoring Sayville offense to 217 yards on 40 plays. but Sayville's defense was impenetrable, allowing 5 total yards on 30 plays.
"The conditions were deplorable," Kings Park coach Mark O'Brien said. "The weather totally negated the passing game."
Hannan added a 34-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal the win. "We reduced the playbook to four plays in the second half for Hannan," Hoss said. "It's the most satisfying win for me. We overcame ridiculous adversity."
And the insertion of Hannan at halfback was perfect. "He's just so fast," Hoss said. "Our line coach Jimmy Knote said let's get the ball to Hannan -- our best athlete. It was a great call."
