Sayville's Sirico makes run for records
Sayville running back Zach Sirico (32) runs around the right side for another touchdown in the second half. (Nov. 27, 2011) Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
It began for Sayville tailback Zach Sirico with a 32-yard first- quarter touchdown that gave his team a 14-point lead.
The holes opened by his offensive line were massive, as Sirico faked out a linebacker and shook off a safety en route to the end zone.
But he was far from finished. He rushed 17 times for 224 yards and six touchdowns, tying the Long Island Championships record set by Freeport's Isaiah Barnes last year. And he added a pair of two-point conversions for a 40-point game.
Sirico's sixth and final score came with 4:09 remaining, a 1-yard run that put the Golden Flashes ahead by 23 in their 78-61 victory in the Long Island Class III championship game at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium.
"We just had to keep bringing it," Sirico said. "We knew [Lawrence] had a great offense. Our defense had to step it up, but in the end, our offense had to stay strong and keep pounding it in."
At the game's outset, it appeared Sayville's primary back, John Haggart, would carry the load. His 40-yard TD run opened the scoring, and he wound up with three touchdowns, but once Sirico got going, coach Rob Hoss kept feeding it to his hot hand.
"From an offensive standpoint, it's as close to perfection as you can get," Hoss said. "Zach played out of his mind. All year long, he has been really good for us, but Haggart has been our main guy."
According to Hoss, nothing in practice indicated that Sirico would have the game of his life.
After his touchdown runs of 32 and 21 yards, he added TD runs of 41 and 15 yards and a two-point conversion in the third quarter, totaling 87 yards on seven carries.
In the fourth quarter, on Sayville's first play from scrimmage after a Lawrence touchdown, Sirico ran for a 55-yard touchdown through another gaping hole.
"Our linemen kept pounding their linemen, and it was basically holes galore," Sirico said. "I kept running through them, and it was just open field from there."
Said Hoss: "We had a feeling they would be scheming against the pass, and more importantly, taking John Haggart away. That being said, I don't think [Lawrence] realized how good of a player Sirico is."
Six touchdowns later, they got the picture as an unlikely candidate rushed his way into the record book.
