Whitman flag football's Madison Richter to Iris Hoffman connection rings up a victory against Sachem East

It was an 18th birthday to remember for Whitman’s Iris Hoffman, who celebrated her entry to adulthood with a hat trick of touchdowns. The star senior wideout and Molloy basketball commit spoiled Sachem East’s senior night by roaming free in its secondary all night long, leading visiting Whitman to a 39-26 victory in flag football Friday.

Hoffman and freshman quarterback Madison Richter connected six times for 130 yards and three touchdowns, the shortest of which was for 32 yards. Her first two catches went for touchdowns of 46 and 53 yards, spotting Whitman a 25-6 lead by halftime. Her performance helped lead Whitman (9-2) to its seventh consecutive win to end the regular season.

Hoffman was overjoyed to play a role in her team’s dominant regular-season finale.

“We wanted to end the season with a bang, obviously, so rolling into the playoffs with this winning streak we’re on and capping it off with a game like this is a lot of fun,” Hoffman said.

Richter’s strong connection with Hoffman on the gridiron stems from their time on the hardwood together.

“We also played basketball together, so that connection carries over to flag,” Richter said. “She’s a great athlete. She makes it happen.”

Whitman coach Ralph Milazzo has been at the forefront of Hoffman’s two-sport dominance over her time in high school, as he has coached her in both sports.

With time running out on her high school career clock, Milazzo is just trying to enjoy every last moment with her.

“She’s such an impressive athlete,” Milazzo said. “I’ve been lucky to coach her for basketball and football for so long, I’m just trying to soak up as many games as I can with her.”

Even beyond her connection with Hoffman, Richter and her powerful right arm had it working all day, completing 16 of her 24 passes to the tune of 243 yards and four touchdowns with just one interception. Her other scoring pass went to senior Katelyn Adams on their second possession of the game.

Richter diced up Sachem East’s defense, as she connected on passes from all three levels throughout the evening. Outside of the three long bombs to Hoffman, she chucked a 58-yard pass to Adams on Whitman’s opening drive, setting up a 6-yard rushing touchdown by fellow senior Brittny Cisneros Campos. Cisneros Campos later ran for a 32-yard touchdown in the second half.

Milazzo attributed his signal-caller’s success as a freshman to her mental growth.

“I just think she’s getting so much more comfortable,” Milazzo said. “She’s gaining more confidence, especially on those deep balls. When teams try to take away the underneath stuff, we’ve got to be able to hit them over the top, and that’s what she did today.”