Joseph Filardi totals 601 yards as Half Hollow Hills West wins thriller at Westhampton
Half Hollow Hills West QB Joseph Filardi takes the keeper through midfield for a big gain against Westhampton, Friday, October 27, 2023. Credit: George A Faella
Half Hollow Hills West quarterback Joseph Filardi had almost nothing left. The exhaustion had set in and his legs were like jelly.
The Westhampton defense chased the junior quarterback all over the field — to no avail.
The elusive Filardi amassed 601 total yards in an unbelievable performance for Hills West, which came back from a 15-point second-half deficit for a wild 48-42 road win in a pivotal Suffolk Division III football game. Filardi completed 32 of 56 passes for 356 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed 31 times for 245 yards and two more scores.
With the Hurricanes leading 42-40, Filardi’s final pass found the hands of wide receiver Anthony Raio for a 9-yard touchdown with 13 seconds left. He added the two-point conversion pass to Mason Reisch as Hills West moved to 6-2 and dropped Westhampton to 5-3.
It will go down as one of Long Island’s greatest single-game high school football performances.
Afterward, Westhampton coach Bryan Schaumloffel made his way over to Hills West coach Gerald Filardi and said, “Your son is one heck of a quarterback. He had an amazing game.”
“He was unstoppable,” Raio said. “We are never out of a game with him as our leader.”
Filardi led Hills West on four fourth-quarter touchdown drives and 28 points to wipe out a 35-20 deficit.
“I was gassed in the third quarter,” Filardi said. “It was a back-and-forth game, and they were coming after me. I found the reserves to come out and get it done in the fourth quarter. Our defense needed a few big stops and that really keyed the comeback.”
Westhampton halfback Nolan Michalowski also was unstoppable, rushing 31 times for 240 yards and five touchdowns. His final scoring run gave the Hurricanes a 42-27 lead with 10:13 left in the game.
“Westhampton is such a good team and I’m so proud of our guys and the way we kept coming back,” Gerald Filardi said. “Our defense got the critical stops when we needed them in the fourth quarter. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The teams totaled 1,047 yards of total offense.
Hills West scored on seven of nine possessions. Westhampton scored on its first five possessions before Hills West stopped the Hurricanes on the final three drives.
“A total team effort,” Joseph Filardi said. “Our receivers ran great pass routes and our line gave me enough time. This was an incredible win on the road.”
The first punt of the game came with 4:55 left, and Hills West took over at its 19. Filardi engineered a nine-play, 81-yard scoring march capped by an 11-yard touchdown strike to Michael Redd to make it 42-40 with 3:27 left. The two-point conversion try was stopped when Filardi backpedaled away from the pressure and lost his balance.
Westhampton failed to move the ball and was forced to punt, setting up the winning drive.
With Carissa Kellman
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
