Jack Coan tosses three TD passes to lead Sayville and is one shy of tying record
Sayville's Jack Coan takes the ball upfield in a Suffolk III semifinal in Sayville on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014. Credit: George A. Faella
Jack Coan was one touchdown pass away from tying the Long Island single-season record and 13 yards away from the goal. There was a little more than a minute left on the clock, and the capacity crowd at Sayville was primed to see some history.
Except it didn't.
Instead, Coan, who'd already thrown for three touchdowns, took a knee, then another, and time ran off the clock.
The final result: No. 1 Sayville defeated No. 4 Eastport-South Manor, 29-7, Saturday to remain undefeated and advance to the Suffolk III final against Islip on Thursday.
The record stands at 38, set by Lawrence's Joe Capobianco in 2012. All that legacy stuff will have to wait till the next game.
"I felt like we had an opportunity to do it during the game and we didn't take care of business," coach Rob Hoss said. "The game was over, there wasn't a doubt . . . and more than anything, it was respect for those kids and that program."
It was an object lesson in sportsmanship and, for a team that both Coan and running back Matt Selts said lived and died with its coaching staff, the sentiment wasn't lost.
"That was Coach," said Coan, who was 18-for-33 for 304 yards. "We're not going to try to do anything, we're just trying to win the game . . . You just have to have that mind-set that it doesn't really matter about the record. It matters winning the championship. If you don't win a championship, it's the worst feeling in the world."
Though the Sharks (5-5) did an admirable job trying to contain the quarterback that no one seems able to contain, Sayville managed to get on the board on its fourth play from scrimmage.
After Coan's first attempt went long for an incompletion and Selts got stuffed trying to find a hole on the right side, Coan found a groove that he would ride repeatedly Saturday -- hitting Christopher Rupp on the slant for 10 yards and the first down. On the very next play, he did the very same thing, but this time Rupp broke free up the right sideline for a 62-yard touchdown.
After the Sharks' 29-yard field-goal attempt against the wind fell short, Sayville (10-0) marched up the field on a 4-minute, 22-second drive capped by Coan's 5-yard pass to Ryan Kelly on fourth down for a 15-0 lead.
On the next possession, the Golden Flashes stopped Eastport on five attempts from within the 8-yard line despite a pass-interference call and a personal foul against Sayville. The Golden Flashes scored again shortly after that when Coan connected with Rupp for a 40-yard touchdown with 7:31 left in the third.
ESM eventually scored on Matt Kane's 1-yard pass to Dan McCormick with 6:34 left, but Selts, who ran 19 times for 148 yards, struck soon after, breaking free from the scrum, hopping over a tackle and cruising in for the 72-yard score.
"I feel like we always have composure because our coach is always putting us in the right spot," Selts said. "They never lead us the wrong way . . . We do what they say and we keep on winning."
Apparently, even if that means taking a knee and waiting for next time.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
