Eastport-South Manor flag football's experience pays off in win over Harborfields
Three years of varsity football and three years of learning how to play the game. The Eastport-South Manor football team had its share of growing pains and with the learning curve behind them, the experience is paying dividends.
Some of the finest flag pullers on Long Island play for first-year coach Guy Buckley at ESM. A new playbook, an experienced senior class and the Sharks find themselves shooting for a Suffolk title.
The undefeated Sharks traveled more than an hour by bus to play Harborfields in a Suffolk Division II game on Friday in Greenlawn.
They showcased why they’re one of the few remaining teams on Long Island with an unblemished record. Featuring one of Long Island’s top quarterbacks in senior Alexandra Daeira-Loccisano and a sturdy defense led by linebacker Ally Justesen and free safety Kate Keesee, ESM opened an 18-point lead on the way to an 18-6 win on a damp and cool spring evening.
Daeira-Loccisano found senior Jenna Vormittag, one of Suffolk’s leading receivers, with a perfectly timed 56-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring with 15:16 left in the first half for the 6-0 lead. Harborfields linebacker Scarlet Carey denied the conversion try.
“We have a really good feel for each other,” Vormittag said. “We grew up playing soccer together and forged a very close bond. She let that pass fly and I just had to run under it and make it work.”
It was the 10th touchdown catch for Vormittag this season.
Vormittag is also a force on defense where her interception on the next series and return to the Harborfields 35-yard line set up the next score. This time, Daeira-Loccisano sat in the pocket and patiently waited for Keesee to cross the face of the defense before she rifled a spiral that hit the receiver in stride for a 35-yard TD and 12-0 lead with 7:57 left.
“We were starters as sophomores and learning the game,” said Daeira-Loccisano, who completed 23 of 31 passes for 259 yards. “We’ve come a long way since 2023 and we’re having a great season.”
Vormittag jumped a deep route for another interception with 2:41 left in the first half to keep Harborfields scoreless.
“We’ve had three coaches in three years,” Vormittag said.
Buckley laughed at being called a rookie coach.
“We gave them a system to call plays on offense and they’ve done great,” he said. “They’re a bunch of super athletes and they know the game.”
Justesen added a 2-yard run on a pitched lateral over the right side to make it 18-0 early in the second half.
“I’ve been playing soccer for 12 years and I like flag football better,” she said. “I want to play in college.”
Justesen led the ESM defense with 11 flag pulls.
Harborfields (3-2) averted the shutout when senior halfback Annailliany Aguilar scored on a 5-yard run with 2:52 remaining.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.