William Floyd's dominating defense conquers Sachem North

BY JIM FURLONG

For opposing offenses trying to advance against William Floyd defenders is like trying to drink coffee with a fork. In the large majority of games the last seven seasons, the Colonials dominated and opposing offenses are forced to be ineffective. That certainly proved true last Sunday night during the 2009 Suffolk Division 1 championship game.

Previously undefeated Sachem North, the top seed, ran into a consistent roadblock. The William Floyd defenders outplayed  the Flaming Arrows record-setting offense.

Speedy sophomore Stacey Bedell broke loose for two long touchdown runs and the second-seeded Colonials rolled 27-6. A crowd of 5,200 at LaValle Stadium on the Stony Brook University campus watched William Floyd win for the 12th time in its last 13 playoff games.

Sachem North, with four turnovers and a costly penalty which erased a possible second-half touchdowns, saw its 10-game winning streak stopped.

William Floyd, with a 10-game winning streak,  advanced to face the Nassau County champion, Freeport, next Saturday in the Class 1 Long Island Championship game. Freeport (9-2) will try to stop Floyd;'s quest for its fourth LIC crown in the last five years. Kickoff is 4:30 p.m. at Stony Brook's stadium.

The Colonials are 52-2 the last five seasons. In those 54 games, opponents have averaged eight points per game.

On a clear, chilly night, Sachem North wanted to prosper with its powerful rushing attack, led by a top-notch runner, Davon Lawrence, and an agile, quick-moving quarterback, Angelo Armine. Instead, the Flaming Arrows finished with a season-low 191 yards total offense, and the speedy Lawrence gained a season-low 86 yards on 26 carries.

"Our defense is so powerful, strong, quick and tough," said Floyd coach Paul Longo. "They have been like that all year and (Sunday night) they rose to the occasion again.

"I would say that was our best defense all year because of the opponent and it being for the county championship."

Along the defensive front, Kevin Hauter, Ivy France, Andrew Incantalupo and Anthony Tavarone worked with four linebackers: Nick Sidaras, Kevin Lacey, Bobby DeSilva and Will Brooks. Bedell and Darryl Moore played cornerback and Jarel Johnson roamed at free safety.

"They were all over and, if they made a mistake, they had the speed to make up for it," said Gil DeCicco, the Floyd defensive coordinator. "Our goal was to hit the quarterback constantly because their option revolves around him."

DeCicco said he spent about 12 hours last week, working with secondary coach Pete Friedman, studying Sachem North game films. "Me and him designed the (defensive) game plan," said DeCicco.

The Colonials, with no turnovers, led 7-6 at halftime when Bedell ran 37 yards to the end zone. Sachem North coach Dave Falco watched his offense gain 45 combined yards on its first four possessions, including a lost fumble with 6:59 left in the second quarter..

"We swarmed to the ball and we held our gaps," said Incantalupo. "We knew they had an explosive runner."

Lawrence, who rushed for 22 touchdowns and 1,778 yards in his first 10 games, scored two touchdowns on Sept. 11 when the Flaming Arrows pulled an upset, a 17-14 victory at William Floyd in the regular-season opener for both teams.

Last Sunday, Lawrence found little running room, and William Floyd avenged its only regular-season loss in the last seven seasons..

"We were so excited to play them again," said Sidaras. "The coaches gave us a great game plan. As soon as we came out of the locker room, we were hitting all over the field."

The Flaming Arrows entered with a Sachem single-season record for scoring (372) points, but their lone touchdown came on a deflected pass in the end zone.

On its most-productive drive, Sachem North moved 55 yards and the payoff came with nine seconds remaining in the first half. Armine dropped back and quickly moved forward into the pocket. He launched a pass from around the Floyd 24-yard line. Brooks leaped in the end and swatted the football with one hand. Luckily for Sachem North, the ball went right to Lawrence who was standing behind Brooks.

Lawrence's TD was the fourth TD pass for Sachem North in its 11 games.

"After they got that lucky touchdown, we shut them down," said Lacy. "They had the most potent rushing in the division and we shut them down. The coaches said, if they were going to beat us, they had to throw the ball."

In the third quarter, the Colonials scored twice after recovering Sachem North fumbles.

Sidaras, a senior who's bounced back from a knee injury, scored his first varsity touchdown in the first minute of the third quarter.

The Flaming Arrows bobbled a bouncing kickoff and recovered it at their three-yard line.

On the second play from the seven-yard line, Armine made a pitch back to Lawrence.

"It was a low pitch and (Lawrence) started to bobble it," said Sidaras. "Me and Jarel hit him and the ball was loose. I quickly covered it and didn't let it go."

Joe Miranda converted the extra point kick for a 14-6 advantage.

Hauter grabbed Sachem's third lost fumble and the Colonials were at their 49-yard line.

After Moore, at quarterback, recovered his own fumble, he rolled out, reversed his field and galloped inside the Sachem North 20-yard line. A penalty moved the ball back to the 31 and soon after Moore powered in from the 1-yard line to give William Floyd a 21-6 lead with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Lawrence did break loose for a long run on the next Sachem possessions, but the potential TD was erased by a penalty for an illegal shift.

Bedell delighted the Floyd supporters at 7:49 of the fourth quarter, breaking free up the middle and racing 73 yards to the end zone.

"He exploded and picked up speed," said Longo. "He got faster and faster. He looked like a blur."

Bedell, a 5-8, 150-pound sophomore, gained a season-high 170 yards on 13 carries.

While the crowd included more Sachem fans, the Floyd supporters enjoyed chanting "LIC, LIC, LIC." in the final minutes.

Freeport and William Floyd will compete for the first time since the 2003 LIC game. Freeport romped 40-7, which is the most lopseded setback during Longo's 15 years as the Floyd head coach. His teams are a combined 114-31.

Last Saturday night, top-seeded Freeport won the 2009 Nassau title by beating third-seeded Farmingdale 34-20.