Jack Coan, Davien Kuinlan can put on a quarterback show in LI Class III final

The Long Island Class III championship game is a matchup of a gunner vs. a runner . . . but beware each one's other weapon.

When Sayville quarterback Jack Coan assessed his game in the offseason, he knew he had to improve his running. When Plainedge quarterback Davien Kuinlan assessed his game in the offseason, he knew he had to improve his passing.

Give them both an A-plus on those take-home tests.

Coan, who last year set Long Island records for passing yards (3,431) and touchdown passes (40), was forced to run more this season because Sayville's top running backs and wide receivers had graduated. So the highly recruited junior ran for 1,051 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Of course, his strength is his passing, and he produced 2,180 yards plus 34 touchdowns by air.

Kuinlan, who mostly takes direct snaps in the spread, amassed 2,304 yards and 31 TDs on the ground last year but knew he needed to be a passing threat to make Plainedge more dangerous.

Presto! Kuinlan showed off his arm more often and compiled 1,288 yards and 12 touchdown passes as a senior.

Of course, his strength is his running, and he totaled 2,631 yards and 39 touchdowns by land, including a Long Island single-game record of 485 yards (officially upgraded from 484) in last week's Nassau III championship game against Glen Cove.

Those two elite quarterbacks who recognized and addressed their own weaknesses are the primary reasons their teams have so many strengths.

Both are 11-0 entering Sunday's Long Island Class III championship game at noon at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium. Sayville is 5-3 in the Long Island Championships, with its last victory coming in 2011. Plainedge lost its only LIC appearance in 2005.

"When last season was over, I told Jack that several colleges took note of his throwing ability and that he wasn't scared in the pocket. But some weren't sure about his athleticism, speed and durability," Sayville coach Rob Hoss said. "That was part of it. The other part was not having a returning starting running back. I recognized what we had to do."

So Coan trained hard, got bigger (he's now 6-4, 185) and faster, and became a dual threat. Never was that more apparent than in a regular-season game against tough East Islip, when the Redmen took away the downfield passing game and Coan rushed for 309 yards. And even with a completely new cast of wide receivers, the uncannily accurate Coan still approached last year's record total of TD passes.

"When you challenge Jack, he attacks it," Hoss said. "He worked so hard on strength, change of direction and stride that he wound up with a blister all spring. But he improved that part of his game so much and made our offense even more difficult to defend."

Indeed, Sayville averages 41 points a game.

Kuinlan followed a similar path but worked on a different skill set. "He put in a lot of time in the offseason throwing and working on his footwork," coach Rob Shaver said. "He's so strong we had to tune down his arm. This year, there was tremendous improvement and he's a way better passer. He's finally got a touch on the ball. But if we have a choice between a run and a pass, we'll choose to run."

That formula has allowed the Red Devils to average 44 points per game.

And that's why Kuinlan, like Coan, is approaching a Long Island record. After his historic performance last week, Kuinlan, who is strong (6-1, 215), quick and exceptional at reading his blocks, is 251 yards from the Long Island single-season record for rushing yards -- 2,882 set by Jason Gwaltney of North Babylon.

"We started getting to the point in practice where once Davien gets through the line, it's over," Shaver said. "We just blow the whistle. He makes everyone look bad."

That's true of Coan as well. Different methods, same results.