Brian Benson, Darius Arrington help Floyd defense shut down Longwood
William Floyd LB Darius Arrington stops Longwood WR Antonio Jackson at the line of scrimmage for no gain on Saturday at Floyd. Credit: George A Faella
The Floyd defense had an important meeting scheduled for Saturday.
It was "let’s meet at the quarterback."
Defensive ends Brian Benson and Darius Arrington recorded three sacks and seven tackles each as an athletic Floyd defense keyed a 28-8 win over Longwood in a Suffolk League I football game Saturday in Mastic Beach. The Colonials totaled 11 tackles for a loss, forced two turnovers and limited Longwood to 123 yards.
"We were one step ahead of them on the lines and pushed them around," said Benson, who missed his sophomore season with a back injury. "All that weight room work throughout the pandemic really paid off. I felt like I was in the backfield all game chasing the quarterback."
Benson came off the edge and repeatedly forced Lions senior quarterback Noah Rattmer to flee the pocket. He disrupted the Lions' timing in the passing game by forcing Rattmer to throw early and before receivers finished routes.
Floyd led 14-0 late in the second quarter and Arrington strip sacked Rattmer and Benson recovered at the Lions 41. It was a microcosm of the day.
"We never let those plays develop and the scheme was to make it uncomfortable for Rattmer because he’s so good," said Floyd coach Paul Longo. "He’s an athletic quarterback and escaped quite a few times where we had him."
Rattmer was sacked eight times and still rushed for 52 yards. He only completed five of 13 passes for 32 yards and was intercepted by defensive back Nick Muelthaler on the Lions first drive.
"Start to finish we handled them," said Floyd defensive tackle Stiven Ayala. "They were big, but we stayed low and drove them off the ball. We were much quicker and able to dictate the flow of the game. When you control the line play, you win the game."
While Arrington, Benson, Ayala and linebacker Krishmar Powell shut down a Lions offense that scored 56 points last week against Brentwood, the Colonials offense was methodically bludgeoning the interior of the Longwood defense.
"We pounded the ball right down the field," said Floyd senior halfback Jezayd Hall. "Our line was the key."
Hall carried eight times for 66 yards on the Colonials opening drive which lasted 6:50. He capped the 11-play, 66-yard march with a 1-yard touchdown run for the 7-0 lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
Hall added a 12-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. He burst up the middle, shed a tackler and then a well-placed stiff arm helped him run over the final defender before hitting the end zone. He finished the game with 23 carries for 103 yards and two touchdowns.
"To be number one you have to beat number one," Longwood coach Jeff Cipp said. "I really thought we’d beat Floyd this year. I had high expectations for our team. I’m more than a little disappointed because they kicked our butts out there. They handled us fairly easily."
Floyd’s sophomore halfback Dylan Harris punctuated a six-play, 51-yard drive with a powerful 28-yard touchdown run for the 21-0 lead with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter.
Longwood averted the shutout after a 60-yard kickoff return by Tyson Taylor to the Colonials 35. Three plays later, Jahkeem Moye scored on a 5-yard run with four seconds remaining.
"My takeaway today was that we put some unreal pressure on a great quarterback," Longo said. "We lost one of our best players last week when two-way starting lineman Zach Hoerter suffered a season-ending ACL injury. That hurt a lot. Our guys came together, and this was a great effort."
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
