Half Hollow Hills East football's Daniel White runs wild against top seed East Islip, leads Red Hawks to first Suffolk Division II title
Daniel White of Half Hollow Hills East reacts after scoring in the second quarter during the Suffolk Division II final on Friday, November 22, 2024 at Stony Brook University. Credit: Dawn McCormick
The Half Hollow Hills East football program has finally arrived. The Red Hawks have been on the cusp of a championship for years and were never able to kick down the proverbial door.
That is no longer the case. Junior halfback Daniel White rushed 24 times for 273 yards and four touchdowns to power No. 2 Half Hollow Hills East past top-seeded East Islip, 41-14, to capture the school’s first Suffolk Division II football title on Friday night at Stony Brook University.
The Red Hawks avenged a 33-14 loss to East Islip on Oct. 5 with complete domination from start to finish in the title game. Half Hollow Hills East (10-1) will meet the winner of Carey/Mepham in the Long Island Class II championship at Hofstra on Nov. 29 at 4:30 p.m.
“This is the greatest feeling in the world,” Half Hollow Hills East coach Alex Marcelin said. “It’s just been too long. Too many close heartbreaking losses. And we knew we were right there to win a championship.
"We were outplayed and outcoached the first time around against East Islip. We had no finger pointing and kept playing better as the season wore on. And we were ready for this game. We came here believing we could win if we could set the tone early.”
The Red Hawks served notice on the first possession of the game when they drove 69 yards in seven plays and opened the scoring when White scored on a 4-yard run. Robbie Kapovic added the kick to make it 7-0 with 8:49 left in the first quarter.
Quarterback Nick Sevilla hit Tyler Sanders with a 34-yard pass for a first down to the East Islip 9 to set up the score.
After the teams traded punts, Sevilla connected with Sanders on a 32-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 57 seconds left in the first quarter. The throw came on a fourth-and-20 play.
“We came out with more energy than the first game and took the momentum from them,” said Sevilla, who completed four of seven passes for 113 yards. “Tyler broke open down the middle of the field for that touchdown.”
The Red Hawks made it 21-0 when White scored on a 32-yard run with 5:56 left in the half. The 69-yard drive was highlighted by a diving 27-yard reception by tight end Max Drehwing on a third-down pass from Sevilla.
“That was a spectacular catch,” Sevilla said. “He’s so athletic for a big man.”
East Islip (10-1) responded with a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Halfback Ryan Parker scored on an 11-yard run and Anthony Mariani added the kick to make it 21-7 with 3:01 left.
With the tide turning, the East Islip defense came up with a turnover when defensive back Alex Ciampi intercepted Sevilla at the Red Hawks' 16 with 1:26 left in the half.
Quarterback Thomas Costarelli ran the ball three times to the 4-yard line. On first-and-goal, Costarelli rolled to his left and fired a pass to Jack Kalinowski in the end zone. But defensive back Noah Chlap jumped the route and made a leaping one-handed interception. He returned the pick-6 100 yards for a touchdown with three seconds left in the half for a 28-7 lead.
“I saw number three go out and the quarterback looked right at him and I cut in front of him,” said Chlap, who also had a pick-6 against Huntington in the season finale. “I make them count. I’m two picks for two touchdowns. It was the best feeling ever. I turned it on when I was running downfield because I would have never lived it down if I got caught.”
That one play became a game changer. More importantly, that one play was a program changer. The Red Hawks defense stopped East Islip, which averaged 39 points per game this year, in the red zone three times.
“Three years in a row they stopped us from doing this,” linebacker Akio Johnson said. “I came to this field last year and watched teams from North Babylon and West Islip and I told my dad we are going to come here and win this and we did.”
White broke a 90-yard third quarter touchdown run and added a 14-yard scoring run in the fourth for the final margin.
“We made adjustments in our assignments and the line played great,” White said. “First county title in school history — just amazing.”
The offensive line of tackles Keith McDowell and Trevon Cole-Jenkins, guards Jacob Gianatassio and Sebastian Damis and center Rafael Hernandez paved the way for the Red Hawks.
Perhaps winning the championship will go down as the most important storyline in Hills East lore. But what will always be remembered will be the show of respect that every Hills East player had for East Islip’s Parker, who sat on the bench, his right leg wrapped in ice after suffering a horrific fourth-quarter injury.
The Hills East players showed so much class at the end of the game. And that counts too.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
