Ball-hawking Caden Lesiewicz lives up to his reputation in Floyd's Week 2 win
Floyd RB Caden Lesiewicz takes the hand off upfield for a small gain against Ward Melville in a Suffolk Division I football game on Wednesday at the William Floyd Sports Complex. Credit: George A Faella
He is known around school as Mr. INT.
Floyd strong safety Caden Lesiewicz has earned the reputation as a man of theft on the football field. And deservedly so.
Lesiewicz sprinted across the field at the Colonials’ 25-yard line and made a leaping interception of a ball intended for wide receiver Jackson Weber with 2:07 left and Floyd clinging to a three-point lead. It was the second interception of the game for Lesiewicz.
Two plays later, senior halfback Jaden Montalvo broke a 67-yard touchdown run to give Floyd a 31-21 win over Ward Melville in a Suffolk Division I game in Mastic Beach. The win moved Floyd to 2-0.
“My eyes are on the quarterback all the time,” Lesiewicz said. “He locked in on his receiver and I knew he was going there. So, I took off.”
<CW4>Lesiewicz, the Cassese Award winner in his junior year as Suffolk’s top defensive back, has a Long Island record 16 career interceptions. He already has four this season through two games.
</CW>“He’s the best ballhawk I’ve ever coached,” Floyd coach Paul Longo said. “He breaks on the ball so well. He’s a weapon all over the field.”
Lesiewicz proved his value as a kicker when he broke a tie at 21 with a 36-yard field goal with 4:27 left.
“This was such a big game,” Lesiewicz said. “They beat us in last year’s playoffs. We had that on our minds.”
Ward Melville (1-1) opened the game with a 16-play, 66-yard drive. The march stalled when a fourth-down pass into the end zone fell incomplete and Floyd took over on downs.
The Patriots had the ball for 7:43 of the first quarter.
“Our defense gave up some big yardage,” Longo said. “But we made some critical stops against a very athletic team. They’re so well coached and we knew this one would be close.”
Ward Melville linebacker Griffin Kramer set up the game’s first score. He intercepted an AJ Cannet pass over the middle at the Floyd 30-yard line and returned the ball 21 yards to the 9.
On third down, quarterback Ethan Burgos found Jackson Weber alone in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard scoring pass. Dan Brausch added the point-after kick to make it 7-0 with 8:38 left in the half.
On Floyd’s next possession, Kramer made a diving interception of a short pass at the Colonials’ 32. This time the Floyd defense stiffened and, on fourth-and-9, Javon Delaney made a two-handed interception on a pass thrown down the middle of the field. The turnover killed the Patriots’ momentum.<NM1>
“We have to limit our mistakes,” said Ward Melville coach Chris Boltrek. “We have to win the turnover battle in these games.”<NM>
Lesiewicz intercepted Burgos on the Patriots’ next drive to set up the Colonials’ first score.<NM1>
“The two first half interceptions kept them from gaining too much momentum,” Longo said.<NM>
The first Lesiewicz pick set up a Jack Molini 22-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Gio Alvarez to make it 7-7 with 24 seconds left in the half.
On the first play of the third quarter, Montalvo, who carried 16 times for 193 yards, burst into the open field for a 63-yard scoring run and a 14-7 lead.
“I’ve been training all season and improving my strength and speed,” Montalvo said. “I worked on my weaknesses and analyzed my game. And I’m seeing results.”
Ward Melville’s Sebastian Jolley keyed a 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive with a leaping grab in heavy traffic on a fourth-down pass for 18 yards and a first down at the Floyd 19. That catch set up a short TD pass to make it 14-13. The teams traded touchdowns through the fourth quarter.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
