Whitman fulfills a promise by beating Floyd for Suffolk I football title
Whitman head coach Robin Rosa celebrates his team's 42-7 victory over Floyd at the Suffolk Division I championship game at Stony Brook on Nov. 19. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
It was a moment frozen in time.
Whitman had lost the spring football title in dramatic fashion last April, suffering a crushing overtime loss to perennial Suffolk Division I champion Floyd.
Safety Rasahn Thompson worked his way through a dejected group of teammates and draped his arm over the shoulder of coach Robin Rosa. The two shared an emotional moment.
"I told him, ‘No worries, Coach. We will be back,’ " Thompson said. " ‘And we’ll bring home Whitman’s first title in a long time. We will do it. I promise.’ "
On Friday night, he made good on that.
Thompson led a ferocious defensive effort and quarterback Nicholas Bottoni threw for three touchdowns as Whitman thrashed three-time defending champion Floyd, 42-7, to capture the Suffolk Division I championship before a crowd of more than 3,200 at Stony Brook University.
"We came into the season with one goal in mind, and that was to win a county title," Thompson said. "I was serious when I made that promise when we lost that heartbreaker to Floyd in the spring championship. We set the tone early tonight and played inspired football."
It was Whitman’s first Suffolk title in 37 years. The Wildcats (11-0) will make the school’s first appearance in the Long Island Class I championship game when they meet Massapequa (10-1) at Hofstra University at noon Friday.
"It’s so emotional," said Rosa, who couldn’t hold back tears of joy. "I need to compose myself. But I am overwhelmed by it all. I’m so proud of this group of players and our outstanding coaching staff. Our community and school leaders and our families have been so supportive. We came out and played as good a game as we’ve played all season. And we beat the champion, and that feels good."
Bottoni opened the scoring when he fired a laser to Tyreik Mays-McCoy on a crossing pattern for a 33-yard touchdown that gave Whitman a 7-0 lead with 5:57 left in the first quarter. The Wildcats never took their foot off the gas, building a 28-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
Floyd responded with a methodical 13-play drive, but it stalled at the Wildcats’ 17. Thompson came off the left edge and blocked a 34-yard field-goal attempt.
"They just do everything so well in all phases of the game," Floyd coach Paul Longo said. "They have playmakers all over the field, it’s not just one guy. It’s a well-rounded team with excellent coaching."
The Wildcats used a nice blend of run and pass to open a 14-0 halftime lead. Halfback A.J. Evans scored the first of his three touchdowns with 1:18 left in the half, going over left tackle and then tightroping the sideline for a 24-yard scoring run.
"The offensive line did a great job of getting a push and then I hit the hole hard and kept driving for extra yards," Evans said.
Bottoni threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Mays-McCoy for a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter, and then it snowballed on Floyd.
Middle linebacker Liam Villanti recovered a fumble at the Colonials’ 35, setting up Bottoni’s 5-yard scoring pass to Luke Kannavos as Whitman took a 28-0 lead with 5:28 left in the third quarter.
"We promised we’d play our best game," said Villanti, who had nine tackles. "We rallied to the football and gang tackled and it was a team effort."
Floyd’s Dylan Harris broke a 63-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 to make it 28-7 with 2:53 left in the third quarter.
Evans scored on TD runs of 7 and 8 yards for the final margin. He finished with 78 yards on eight carries and caught two passes for 52 yards. Bottoni completed 10 of 18 passes for 187 yards.
"We have dynamic players on both sides of the ball," Rosa said. "And they came to play."
Fulfilling a promise.
