Offense helps Longwood stop Floyd
Longwood fullback Corry Wallace #7 rumbles in to the end zone just out of the reach of William Floyd MLB Marc Coles #28 and DL Pat Walsh #69 for the second touchdown of the game. (Sept. 17, 2011) Credit: George A. Faella
It was a last-gasp attempt at an unlikely victory. Floyd quarterback AJ Otranto, hoping for a miracle finish, fired a long spiral down the home sideline to a sprinting Stacey Bedell. Longwood defenders Khalik Evans and Anthony Martuccio blanketed Bedell as the three sprinted into the end zone. If anyone could pull out this win for Floyd it would be Bedell, the Colonials' superman.
But not Saturday. This one belonged to Longwood.
A battered Bedell couldn't get his hands on the ball and Otranto's pass fell incomplete as time expired. As the disappointed Bedell dropped to his knees, the Longwood secondary joined the rest of the Lions coming off the sideline for a wild celebration.
Longwood, behind its massive offensive line, ground out 214 yards and held on for a 14-12 win over top-seeded Floyd in a Suffolk Division I football game in Mastic Beach. It was only the third loss for the Colonials in the past 56 Division I home games since the turn of the century.
"It's certainly a tough place to win," Longwood sophomore linebacker Chris Faizon said. "But we were very physical and threw everything we had at them. This is always the battle of the parkway."
The schools, separated by six miles on the William Floyd Parkway, have had one of Long Island's hotter rivalries.
"They put seven defenders in the box and we didn't take advantage of it," Floyd coach Paul Longo said. "And we were outplayed on special teams. We have plenty of work to do."
It was the Floyd defense that opened the scoring in a hard-hitting affair that saw seven turnovers. Bedell forced a fumble and returned the ball 14 yards for a touchdown with 9:42 left in the first half. The extra-point kick went awry and the Colonials had a 6-0 lead.
The Lions also capitalized on a turnover for their first score. Jonathan Taylor pounced on a fumble at the Floyd 18 and two plays later Corry Wallace scored on a 7-yard run. Paul Aponza added the kick and Longwood led 7-6 with 5:36 left in the half.
Longwood added to its lead with a four-play, 62-yard third quarter drive. Palmer pancaked the defensive end to clear the way for a 21-yard Faizon run before Davonte Booker scored from five yards out. Aponza's kick made it 14-6 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
"He's the O-line leader," said Longwood center Kevin Perretta.
The rest was up to the Longwood defense, which owned the second half as linebackers Faizon and Wallace shut down the Colonials ground game.
"We had guys like Darius Greene and Omari Palmer stuffing the running game," Wallace said. "And the backers were filling the gaps and not allowing Bedell to get any of those dangerous cutback runs for big yardage."
Bedell was held to 54 yards on 14 carries. And Otranto completed just six of 25 passes for 84 yards, including one late TD and three interceptions.
Senior cornerback Dave Bennett, nicknamed Smiley, who had two fourth quarter interceptions, was the beneficiary of a big Faizon hit that jarred the ball from a receiver. Bennett made the pick on the deflection with 7:10 left in the game.
"Right place, right time," Bennett said. "We were hitting people and making things happen."
Otranto found Bedell with a 28-yard scoring strike late in the fourth quarter but the ensuing two-point conversion pass was incomplete.
"It's such a big win" said Bennett, sporting his big smile.
They were all smiling in Longwood Saturday.
