Sayville returns to form in upset of Huntington
Sayville's Matt Selts (no. 21) runs to the outside during the Suffolk Division III quarterfinals against Amityville. (Nov. 10, 2012) Credit: Alan J. Schaefer
Returning only three starters this season, three-time defending Suffolk Class III champion Sayville got off to a rough start, losing its last two games.
The Golden Flashes returned to form yesterday, defeating previously undefeated Huntington, 44-14.
"This is probably the most gratifying win of my career," head coach Rob Hoss said. "We're 1-2 and the wheels are falling off a little bit and the kids didn't give up. This is a huge statement win for us."
Matt Selts ran for 237 yards and returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and Kevin Murphy made three interceptions as the young Golden Flashes played their best game of the season and hit Huntington with huge plays.
Two of Murphy's interceptions were returned over 70 yards and both led directly to Sayville touchdowns.
"This was the first game we ran for over 100 yards," Hoss said. "Selts went off. We've been struggling to run the ball."
Center Bobby Boos, one of the three starters, returned from an injury and allowed Sayville to reconfigure its offensive line. "This is the first week we had all five linemen practice the whole week together," Hoss said.
After working in a pair off sophomore offensive tackles that had never taken a varsity snap and a freshman quarterback, Jack Coan, who was in middle school five months ago, the improvement has begun.
"We're dealing with a very young team and they're just starting to learn how to play high school football," Hoss said. "Everyone that's playing this year is coming back next year."
