Sayville football advances to Suffolk Division III final behind Kyle Messina's four touchdowns
Sayville's Kyle Messina (9) runs in a touchdown in the first quarter during the Suffolk High School Division III Football semifinal playoff game between Sayville and Westhampton on Friday Nov 15, 2024 at Sayville High School School Credit: Bob Sorensen
The record was perfect last year: 10 football games, 10 wins. And then East Islip smudged it, beating Sayville in the Suffolk III final.
The record is perfect again this year: 10 games, 10 wins. The Golden Flashes are back in the title round and are bent on preventing any smudge marks this time.
“Extremely determined, especially with a lot of the guys just knowing that feeling of seeing those seniors cry and knowing that you didn’t complete the goal that you’ve been working so hard for for so long,” senior Kyle Messina said Friday night after top-seeded Sayville beat the fourth-seeded visitors from Westhampton, 35-16, in the semifinals.
Messina did his part to get the Golden Flashes back in position, running 22 times for 148 yards and four touchdowns. Junior quarterback Patrick Coan did his fair share as well, going 11-for-15 for 189 yards and a TD.
So Sayville will be playing for the championship at Stony Brook on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between No. 2 Half Hollow Hills West and No. 3 Islip.
“We have a bunch of two-way starters that actually were in [last year’s championship] game, so they know what’s coming at them,” Sayville coach Reade Sands said. “ . . . They don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”
Sayville went three-and-out on its first possession against the Hurricanes (6-4). On the Golden Flashes’ next possession, they went six plays and in, moving 59 yards on the drive. Messina scored on a 5-yard run.
Then Coan unloaded a perfect throw to Donovan Bartolotta for a 40-yard touchdown 3:50 into the second quarter.
Jake Calloway, who threw for 174 yards and ran for 89 and two scores, countered with a 1-yard touchdown run for Westhampton. But Messina carried the ball in from the 3 to give Sayville a 21-7 lead with 53 seconds left in the half.
“Obviously, the O-line this whole year has just been so good, so consistent,” Messina said.
The Hurricanes still managed to cut it to 11 by the break. Brody Schaffer drilled a 40-yard field goal on the final play after Mikey Sands sacked Calloway for a 10-yard loss back to the 23.
The Golden Flashes took the first possession of the second half and drove 80 yards for a TD to make it a 28-10 game. Messina bounced out to the left side for the final 24 yards.
“That was big,” Westhampton coach Bryan Schaumloffel said. “We spoke at halftime about making that stop coming out of the half, but unfortunately we didn’t get it.
“But I’m proud of my guys. We started the season 1-3. We lost 21 starters from last year’s team . . . We battled. That’s a good [Sayville] football team over there.”