Jack Coan makes LIC history as Sayville cruises to Class III title

When Sayville's football team gathered in coach Rob Hoss' office at the high school on Saturday, as it always does the night before a game, junior quarterback Jack Coan stood and delivered a passionate speech. "I talked about how bad it felt to lose last year," Coan said. "I'll never let that go. It will always motivate me."

Perhaps Coan's memory of fumbling late and watching Lawrence return it 82 yards for the game-winning score will be a lot less bitter now.

Coan became the first player to both run and pass for more than 200 yards in a game in 24 years of Long Island championship games as Sayville rolled to a 59-15 victory over Plainedge on Sunday in the Class III title game before a crowd of more than 5,000 at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium.

"I called him at home and told him I was more proud of him for what he said in that meeting than anything he had done on the field," Hoss said. "For a 16-year-old kid to stand up in front of his teammates and tell them that he lost the game, that's something. He was very emotional."

Coan was emotional on Sunday, too, leaping into the arms of his father, Mike, after the final seconds ticked down on a perfect season. The Golden Flashes finished 12-0 and won their sixth Long Island championship game and first since 2011. Coan totaled 227 yards rushing on 17 carries with three touchdowns and completed 14 of 26 passes for 294 yards with two TDs.

"We threw a lot early because they had seven in the box," Hoss said. "So we knew we had numbers."

Coan exploited that in the first half, passing for 220 yards, including a 4-yard TD pass to Michael Dionisio on the first drive of the game. He also scored on a 48-yard run midway through the second quarter and Ashton Bradley (62 yards, 11 carries) scored two of his four rushing TDs as Sayville took a 27-7 halftime lead.

After the break, Plainedge adjusted -- but so did Sayville, especially Coan. He gained 144 yards in the second half, including runs of 68 and 55 yards, and punched in a pair of short TDs.

"Once we started passing, they widened out their linebackers and it opened up our running game," Coan said.

The Golden Flashes' defense also played a key role, limiting Davien Kuinlan -- Long Island's leading rusher this season and Nassau's all-time game, single-season and career rushing leader -- to 87 yards on 32 carries. Liam Bailey (eight solo tackles, six assists), Nick Casazza (five tackles, two assists, one fumble recovery, one interception) and Mike Leach (four tackles, one sack) led the way.

"We had a good feeling that we could control the line of scrimmage on defense," Hoss said. "Our defensive coordinator, Reade Sands, had a great game plan. We knew we had to force Kuinlan to run inside and then it was up to the kids to maintain gap integrity. We filled those cutback lanes and he didn't have much room to run."

Sayville's complete effort made its season-long mission complete. "All year long, it was, 'Let's finish.' This is sweet for everyone, especially my seniors, who never tasted the fruits of their labor," Hoss said of several three-year starters who had lost in the county and LI finals. "Jack wasn't the only one who was hurting for a full year."

Maybe that's why Coan, who set LI single-season records last season for passing yards and TD passes, was nonchalant when told of his historic LIC performance. "It was never about statistics, it was just about getting this win any way that we could," he said. "I know what it's like to break all the individual records and lose this game."

And now he knows what it feels like to win it . . . and make a little history along the way.