Ferreira sets passing mark; Sayville wins

All eyes were on Sayville quarterback Steven Ferreira and his assault on the Long Island record book. While Ferreira carved through the Bellport secondary on his way to setting the all-time career record for yards passing, junior teammate John Haggart did his best to steal the spotlight.

"Our offense is just awesome and Steve's an incredible quarterback," Haggart said. "We have a real balance, running and throwing the ball."

Haggart couldn't be more on the money.

Ferreira completed 13 of 25 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns as Sayville rolled to a 41-0 win over Bellport Saturday in a Suffolk Division II football game. Ferreira became Long Island's all-time leader in career passing yardage when he connected on a 56-yard touchdown pass to James Rupp midway through the third quarter. It was his final pass of the game.

"It was a post pattern and Steve was perfect on the throw, as usual," Rupp said. "That's why he's one of the best quarterbacks to ever play on Long Island."

The completion moved Ferreira past Tony Capozzoli of St. Dominic's on the all-time career list. Capozzoli, who passed for 5,376 yards from 1972-75, held the record for 36 years. Ferriera's career total is 5,384 yards.

"It's special for everyone because we all share in the accomplishment," Ferreira said. "Without a hardworking line, we couldn't be successful."

While Ferreira was enjoying the accolades that come with three years of passing glory, Haggart was wreaking havoc on Bellport. If he wasn't harassing quarterback Kevin Wilson, in his first start for the injured Justin Honce, then he was running over the Clippers defense for 143 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.

"I'm not a big juke guy, I'd rather truck people and run them over," Haggart said. "And I like to get down and dirty and hit people on defense."

Haggart noticeably stalked Wilson all game. He came off the edge and beat the tackle repeatedly for three sacks for minus 31 yards. He finished with nine tackles as undefeated Sayville (6-0) produced its first shutout of the season.

"I like the excitement of the offense," Haggart said. "But there's nothing like coming hard on defense and hitting people."

The Sayville defense held Bellport to 39 yards on 33 plays in the first half as the Golden Flashes opened a 28-0 lead. Sayville scored on three of its first four possessions for a 21-0 first quarter lead. Ferreira hit Tom Dieckhoff for a 4-yard touchdown pass and added a 38-yard scoring strike to Tom Hannan for a 14-0 lead with 7:51 left in the first. After a short punt, Haggart ripped off a 35-yard run and then added a 15-yard scoring run with 51 seconds left in the quarter to make it a three touchdown lead.

"This was a blemish on a 35-year winning tradition," Bellport coach Joe Cipp III said. "We were beaten in every phase of the game. We did not come to play."

Haggart had a 3-yard scoring run in the second quarter and Brendan Halton added his fourth extra-point kick to make it 28-0 at the half.

'That's an excellent team and the quarterback is the real deal," Cipp III said. "He's accurate, has tremendous poise in the pocket and puts the ball on the money."