Longwood line at its best in Long Island final
Longwood's 77 Anthony Lavio battles with Farmingdale's Javier Hernandez during their their Division 1 championship game in Stony Brook. Nov. 29, 2015 Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
There's no secret to Longwood's success. The Lions' offensive linemen tell their opponents what's coming. "Literally," right tackle Matt Weiss said. "We come up to the line of scrimmage and point at the guy across from us and say, 'We're blocking that guy.' We tell them what we're doing."
Doesn't help.
Longwood's offensive line, led by its dynamic senior right-side duo of tackle Weiss and guard Anthony Lavio, opened so many holes for its running backs Sunday in a 47-28 Long Island Class I victory over Farmingdale that the Lions accumulated 555 yards on the ground, an LIC record.
"Our motto since July is 'to the last whistle,' and when you're blocking for backs like that, they make it easy," Lavio said.
The guys who made the dirty work look easy were Khalil Owens (271 yards), Latrell Horton (118), Tahj Clark (97) and Mike Scalice (60).
"Teams know we'll be running behind our offensive line or behind our fullbacks," Lavio said of Horton and Scalice. "We'll keep doing it until it stops working."
It never stopped working against previously unbeaten Farmingdale. "I trust every single one of those runners," Weiss said. "Some of those runs today were ridiculous."
It was Weiss who coined the "to the last whistle" slogan after a summer session. "We brainstormed,'' he said, "and I came up with that."
It was a summer of reflection as well as hard work for Longwood, which was stung by its loss to Patchogue-Medford in last year's Suffolk I semifinal as an undefeated No. 1 seed.
"Every day in summer sprints and every day in the weight room, I thought about that loss," Lavio said. "Every day it was on my mind."
Added Weiss, "We fed off last year's loss."
The Lions led 27-14 at the half, and on the first play in the third quarter, Owens burst through a gaping hole and raced 80 yards for a touchdown. Said Lavio, "Coming out after halftime, after that play, we knew if we didn't turn it over and just pounded the ball that we'd win."
For the first time, Longwood's players wore black jerseys with the word "HEART,'' "SPIRIT" or "PRIDE" -- instead of their names -- on their backs above the numbers.
For Weiss and Lavio, close friends who lined up side by side for two years, it was "HEART." That suited them perfectly. They were the heart and soul of the champion Lions.
