Sports

2011 Long Island Championship Notebook

A look at interesting highlights, stats and notes from LI's biggest football stage.

This year’s record-setting Long Island championship bouts on the gridiron were memorable. From high scoring games to outstanding individual performances, players and coaches solidified their program’s legacies in Long Island football history. 

The scores

Inside the numbers

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  • LIC tally (for this year's winners): Sayville (5), Floyd (4), Glenn (2), Newfield (1)
  • Sayville and Lawrence combined for 139 points to make the Class III LIC the highest scoring game in Long Island high school football history. Football has been played on Long Island since 1884.
  • Sayville's 78 points are the most scored by any team in a single LIC game, breaking last year's mark of 62 set by Freeport.
  • Floyd's Stacey Bedell rushed for an LIC record 412 yards (third in Suffolk and LI history)
  • Lawrence sophomore quarterback Joe Capobianco threw for a LIC record 541 yards (Nassau record and ties LI record) and 7 touchdowns. His 27 completions are another record.
  • Lawrence receiver Ed Robinson caught a record 238 yards (fifth best in LI history) on 8 receptions
  • Lawrence recorded 667 net yards, another LIC record
  • Sayville's Zach Sirico scored an LIC record 40 points

Top performers

  • Stacey Bedell, William Floyd: 29 carries, 417 yards and 4 touchdowns
  • Billy Andrie, East Meadow: 25 carries, 128 yards and 3 touchdowns
  • Michael Silva, Newfield: 16 carries, 76 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 reception for 19 yards
  • Mark Ellis, Garden City: 10 carries, 27 yards, 1 touchdown and 7 receptions for 23 yards
  • Zach Sirico, Sayville: 17 carries, 228 yards and 6 touchdowns
  • Joe Capabiano, Lawrence: 27-of-41 passing for 541 yards and 7 touchdowns
  • Rich Czeczotka, Glenn: 14 carries, 110 yards and 2 touchdowns and he was 14-of-20 passing for 142 yards 

Quotable

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Paul Longo, William Floyd head coach: "This is the wildest Long Island championship game we've ever won. This is the wildest football game I've ever been involved in. I literally stood there in disbelief during the game."

Joe Piccinnini, Newfield head coach: "[Newfield] plays with a great amount of desire. They’re a relentless group and they won’t quit. They don’t know what that word is. We knew we’d be a contender knowing the group of kids we had. If you tell them they can’t do it, they’ll prove you wrong."

Rob Hoss, Sayville head coach: "Losing last year was our drive all year long. To not have that same feeling a year and two days ago. We lost the Long Island championship and it was a bitter taste in our mouths. In Sayville really the bar is the Long Island Championship.  Anything else, to our standards, is unacceptable."

Dave Shanahan, John Glenn head coach: "It feels like a million dollars."

Fourth and long

  • This year we saw a Suffolk County sweep in all four Long Island title games for the first time since 2008. Suffolk now has three sweeps (1997 and 2007) and Nassau did it in 1993 and 2000.
  • Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko was on the sidelines for the Class I title game between Floyd and East Meadow. Lesko, who also attended the Suffolk County Division I final last week, played JV football at Yale in the 1980s.
  • Newfield alum and former NFL player Rob Burnett spoke to the Wolverines prior to their Class II LIC. Burnett won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens and brought his championship ring as motivation for his alma mater.
  • After the Class II LIC, Garden City coach Tom Flatley, who is one of the winningest coaches in Long Island history, said he was unsure if he'll return next season. “They’ll be a Garden City football team,” he said, “but I’m not committed to anything right now.”
  • Glenn's Long Island championship is extra special for . He was the head coach at Sachem in 1995 the last time he was on the turf at Hofstra. His Flaming Arrows lost to Lawrence, 14-7, that year. “Getting here once and winning is hard,” Fusaro said. “Getting here twice, that’s a dream come true.” 

Next up: Both the Nassau and Suffolk County Football Coaches Associations will host their annual awards dinners this week. Multiple teams and athletes from Patch towns will receive honors, so stay tuned for coverage.


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