Andreassi & Co. power Sachem North past Floyd
Sachem North's Dalton Crossan breaks a tackle by William Floyd's Dylan Munster in the Suffolk high school Division I football game. (Oct. 15, 2010) Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
It was a one-question multiple-choice test and Sachem North aced it on Friday night.
Which Flaming Arrows running back can hurt you the most?
(a) Mike Andreassi
(b) Dalton Crossan
(c) Jesse Scanna
(d) All of the above.
Of course, the answer is 'D' but Sachem North (6-0) brought its 'A' game in crushing perennial Suffolk Division I power Floyd, 40-6, before a homecoming crowd of more than 3,000.
The teams combined for 28 points in the first electrifying five minutes. Crossan broke away on a counter trap for a 70-yard touchdown 1:44 into the game. Scanna returned a fumble by quarterback A.J. Otranto - that he picked out of the air - 38 yards to pay dirt less than a minute later.
Otranto answered for the Colonials (4-2) with a 61-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Grimm that made it 13-6. Game on? Uh, no. On the ensuing kickoff, Crossan, after a bobble, raced 85 yards untouched to make it 20-6.
After those big plays, Sachem North did all the little things right. The line opened holes. The defense closed them. The Arrows threw only one pass, Angelo Armine's 30-yard scoring toss to Scanna that made it 26-6 - the halftime score. After that, it was ground control central.
Andreassi, who scored the final touchdown, rushed 17 times for 114 yards. Crossan totaled 85 yards on just four carries and Scanna had 76 on just five attempts. "I've said all along, it's a three-headed monster," Sachem North coach Dave Falco said. "The defense has to try to figure which one to stop. We'll go with one guy for a while, then switch to the other. Credit the offensive line for opening those holes."
The Flaming Arrows rushed for 310 yards. "That's the line making it easy for us," Scanna said.
The trap blocking was superb on two counter plays - Crossan's early score and Scanna's 71-yard touchdown burst in the third quarter. Both of those plays were runs right up the gut. "We run a base offense and then we throw in the counter play when they overload," said the junior Crossan, who along with his freshman brother Trent brought speed and versatility to Sachem North after transferring from Shoreham-Wading River early in the summer.
"We fit in really well with everybody. The transition was smooth," said Crossan, who scored the game's biggest touchdown when he returned a kickoff for a score just moments after Floyd had scored.
"I dropped the ball, then I saw the hole and ran behind the wedge," Crossan said. "Then I turned on the speed."
There's plenty of speed and power in the Sachem North attack. Andreassi gets the tough yardage inside, softening up the defense for the explosive bursts of Crossan and Scanna.
Scanna's defensive touchdown was a bonus. Otranto lost the ball as he tried to avoid a hit and there was Scanna. "I was in the right place at the right time," he said.
He usually is. "I've been saying all along that he's the premier player in Suffolk County and a strong Hansen candidate," Falco said, referring to the Newsday award for the best player in Suffolk. "He's the heart and soul of our team. He showed that tonight."
So did Andreassi and Crossan. There were no wrong answers for the Flaming Arrows on this multiple-choice test.
