Sachem North football's Jon Mullaly catches three TDs passes in victory over Longwood

Sachem North coach Dave Caputo called Saturday’s matchup with Longwood a “DNA game.”

A game that would show what his players were made of.

Jon Mullaly responded with the best game of his varsity career.

The junior receiver had eight receptions for 168 yards and three touchdowns in a breakout performance as host Sachem North defeated Longwood, 42-21, in Suffolk I Saturday.

“Not every game on the schedule is a DNA game,” Caputo said. “When Sachem plays Longwood, it’s a DNA game. We asked our guys to respond. Is it in your DNA to be a true football player, a true Sachem football player? And I think you saw it on the field today.”

Mullaly played on JV last season and entered Saturday with only one varsity touchdown. He added three more in front of a loud Sachem North crowd.

“Jon Mullaly’s a true football player,” Caputo said. “It’s just that he’s young. Otherwise, he would have the hype that all those other guys have.”

On the second play from scrimmage, Longwood pulled off a trick play. Wide receiver Makai Jacobs launched a deep pass to Travis Gibbs for a 51-yard gain. Three plays later, Jacobs had a 14-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Greene to give Longwood a 7-0 lead with 9:34 left in the first quarter.

Sachem North (4-0) immediately answered. Lucas Bouchard returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to tie the score.

“The hole collapsed a little bit, and I had to make a cut, get outside, and then I just made one guy miss,” Bouchard said. “It was a race from there.”

Sachem North trailed 14-7 before Mullaly hauled in a short pass from Luke LaRocca and sprinted for a 22-yard touchdown.

On the next drive, Mullaly took a screen pass and burst up the middle for a 47-yard touchdown to help give Sachem North a 20-14 lead with 11:47 left in the second quarter.

“At the beginning of the season, we were just new to each other, and now we’re really like brothers,” Mullaly said of LaRocca. “He trusts me, and I trust him. It’s just a connection.”

After a fourth-down stop, Sachem North went 82 yards in eight plays in just 1:35. LaRocca, who was playing through an injury suffered last week, ran a two-minute drill and found Bouchard for an 18-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left in the half. Sachem North led 27-14 at halftime.

LaRocca finished with 296 passing yards and five touchdowns.

“I got receivers that definitely helped me,” LaRocca said. “Mullaly, you saw had a crazy game. I’ve been expecting that game. It’s just amazing when you got people around you that can just help you whenever you need it.”

The Arrows led 35-14 after three quarters, but Longwood made it interesting. Gibbs, who had eight receptions for 149 yards, made a 17-yard catch that set up a 2-yard touchdown by Sarwari. Longwood trailed by 14 with 10:51 remaining.

“He battled,” Longwood coach Sean Kluber said of Gibbs. “He plays defense, too, so he hasn’t come off the field. He plays true Iron Man football. But as a whole, we made too many mistakes today to win.”

Longwood (2-2) got the ball back with 7:05 left, still trailing by 14. Big receptions from Gibbs and Mark Davis helped Longwood reach the Sachem North 42. But three straight incompletions resulted in a turnover on downs with 4:37 remaining.

The next two plays belonged to Mullaly.

He took a forward pitch 44 yards before LaRocca connected with him for a 14-yard touchdown with 3:50 remaining to put the game away.

Sachem North remained unbeaten and passed the “DNA game” test Caputo presented to his team.

“I’m so proud of him,” Bouchard said of Mullaly. “He’s next up. I’m so hyped for him. Player of the game, in my opinion. And that’s one of many.”