Westhampton’s spectacular halfback Dylan Laube shares Hansen Award
Joe Cipp Jr. Running Back Award and co-Hansen Award winner Dylan Laube of Westhampton poses for a photo during the Suffolk football awards dinner at the Hyatt Regency Windwatch in Hauppauge on Monday, Dec. 4, 2017. Credit: Daniel De Mato
Coaches call them once-in-a-lifetime players. They are game-changers, playmakers and leaders all rolled into one.
For Westhampton coach Bill Parry, halfback Dylan Laube is that guy. “Every time you think you’ve seen it all, he does something else that blows your mind,” Parry said. “He’s the definition of ‘wow’.”
For those “wow” accomplishments, Laube was named a co-winner of the 58th Carl A. Hansen Award, given to Suffolk’s top football player, on Monday night at the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association dinner in Hauppauge. Laube shared the award with Lindenhurst’s Jeremy Ruckert.
Laube’s electric running style, which accounted for 120 career touchdowns, catapulted undefeated Westhampton to the school’s first Long Island Class III title.
In his senior year, he scored a Long Island-record 47 touchdowns and rushed for a school-record 2,680 yards on 249 carries, punctuated by a record-breaking performance in the Long Island Class III championship game. The 6-foot, 190-pound halfback tied the Long Island Championships record with six touchdowns and gained 227 yards in a 54-26 win over Lawrence at Stony Brook University’s LaValle Stadium.
The scoring runs came in a variety of ways. But Laube became known for his cutback runs that turned short gains into long, jaw-dropping, highlight-reel touchdowns.
“He’ll go down as one of Long Island’s greatest halfbacks,” Westhampton fullback Liam McIntyre said. “Dylan never took a day off in this program, and there were plenty of games where we needed him to put the team on his back.”
Laube’s career numbers are astounding. He totaled 6,495 yards rushing on 687 carries for 101 touchdowns and caught 64 passes for 1,234 yards for another 14 scores. He also returned five kicks for touchdowns.
“Dylan’s a warrior,” Parry said. “He’s the best player I’ve coached in my 34 years.”
There would be equally important moments throughout the first 12-0 season in Westhampton history. The New Hampshire-bound Laube ran for 259 yards in a 23-8 win over Sayville, the defending Suffolk III champion. It was the first time that Westhampton had beaten Sayville with Parry as coach. It also was the Hurricanes’ first win over Sayville since 1956. “We felt like we broke down barriers all season,” Laube said.
Opponents noticed.
“Our game plan was built to stop Laube,” West Babylon coach Ron Langella said. “He made it impossible because he did things that were incredible. You could put him in a college uniform tomorrow and he would do very well.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
