Tuttle's 170 yards rushing, 213 passing lead Dalers
Farmingdale's Kevin Wahl (32) runs for yardage during his teams game against Freeport at Freeport. (Sept. 25, 2010) Credit: Richard Slattery
Farmingdale quarterback Sal Tuttle was in full scramble mode. Flushed from the pocket by the Freeport blitz, Tuttle eluded two would-be tacklers with some fancy footwork and kept his eyes on the prize. Tuttle was dancing alone until he found a partner.
Tuttle drilled a pass to Pat Starke in the back of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining to give the Dalers a dramatic 42-39 victory over host Freeport Saturday in a back-and-forth Nassau Conference I thriller that left both teams at 2-1.
"It was supposed to be an inside route but then I saw him scrambling," said Starke, who caught all three of his passes on Farmingdale's last drive. "He found me. When he scrambles, he always finds someone."
The elusive Tuttle had a huge game in helping the Dalers erase the memory of last Sunday's crushing loss to East Meadow on a fluke fumble return in the final seconds. Tuttle ran for 170 yards on 17 attempts, including runs of 80 and 41 yards, and completed 12 of 17 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns.
None was bigger than the dart he threw to Starke. "The original call was a dig route, but there was early pressure," Tuttle said. "I just scrambled and kept looking in the end zone."
Tuttle's deft play-action fakes and scrambling ability were keys all afternoon.
"He has the poise to handle the rush, to scramble if he has to," Farmingdale coach Buddy Krumenacker said. "He demonstrated his presence on that last play. Guys like that seem to know where they are at all times. They seem to operate in a little bubble where they know, 'I'm safe.' "
Tuttle burst the bubble on defending Long Island champion Freeport, which had taken a 39-36 lead with 6:07 left on Edwin Sandoval's 29-yard field goal, and had tied the score at 36 in spectacular fashion on Evan Lapice's 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter followed by a two-point conversion.
Lapice's dash immediately followed Brian Prendergast's 80-yard punt return for a touchdown that, after the extra point, had given the Dalers a 36-28 lead.
"This game was a lot of fun for everyone watching - except the coaches," Freeport coach Russ Cellan said.
It was filled with big play after big play:
The Dalers' Vinny Schultz caught two touchdowns on screen passes covering 54 and 30 yards.
The Red Devils got a 70-yard touchdown pass from Isaiah Barnes (16-for-23, 211 yards, two TDs) to Jere Brown.
But the biggest plays were made by Tuttle after Farmingdale took over on its own 11 with 2:52 left. On the Dalers' 11-play game-winning drive, he completed 5 of 6 passes for 54 yards and ran three times for 26 yards.
"We're good in the two-minute offense," Krumenacker said. "After last week, losing this one would've been a tough pill to swallow."
Starke supplied the remedy for victory with his improvisational pass route and clutch catch. "It felt good. Really good," said Starke, who leaped into Tuttle's arms after his touchdown.
At that moment, he was dancing with the star.
