John Corpac propels Ward Melville to Division I final
Ward Melville's Eddie Munoz catches a 7-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter while Lindenhurst's Mitchel St-Aubin tries to bring him down during the Suffolk Division I football semifinal on Friday, Nov. 11, 2016 at Lindenhurst Middle School. Credit: Bob Sorensen
John Corpac bolted around the left side, picked up a crushing block from Dom Pryor and raced 90 yards for the touchdown that would send Ward Melville to its first championship game in 29 years.
Corpac’s dash with 5:09 left sealed Ward Melville’s 27-10 win over undefeated and top-seeded Lindenhurst on Friday night in a Suffolk Division I football semifinal.
Wesley Manning threw three touchdown passes as the Patriots scored 27 straight points to erase a 10-0 deficit and deny two-time Suffolk finalist Lindenhurst another shot at the Long Island Class I title.
“We got together as a coaching staff at halftime and decided we were being much too conservative in our play-calling,” Ward Melville coach Chris Boltrek said. “So we let loose in the second half.”
Ward Melville will play the winner of Saturday’s Longwood- Floyd game for the Suffolk I title.
The first half was an exercise in futility. Heavy winds made passing and punting nearly impossible.
On the first play from scrimmage, Lindenhurst (9-1) forced a fumble that Vincent Winey recovered at the Patriots’ 20. Quarterback Austin Perri scrambled for 12 yards and a first down and then found Cordell Fontana for an 8-yard touchdown. Jeremy Ruckert’s extra point made it 7-0 with 10:01 left.
Lindenhurst extended the lead after defensive back Justin Zotto returned an interception 37 yards to the Ward Melville 5. The Patriots’ defense stiffened and Ruckert drilled a 21-yard field goal to make it 10-0 with 10:17 left in the half.
The turning point came when Ward Melville punter Brandon Ciullo buried the Bulldogs at their own 1 and into the wind. After Lindenhurst was unable to move the ball, Ricky Conway had to drive his punt into a 35-mph wind. The ball was blown back and Conway downed it at the 5.
On fourth-and-goal, Manning fired a perfect pass to Eddie Munoz for a 7-yard score with 1:34 left in the half. “It was a tight window and he made a great throw,” Munoz said.
Conway blocked the extra point, but the Patriots had climbed to within 10-6.
Manning fired a 4-yard touchdown pass to Munoz to cap a 12-play, 58-yard drive into the wind and give the Patriots a 13-10 lead. “I was playing with confidence,” Manning said.
On the Patriots’ next possession, Manning fired a quick slant to Andrew McKenna, who split two defenders for a 61-yard touchdown and a 20-10 lead with 11:49 left in the game.
Lindenhurst then drove to the Patriots’ 6 before Corpac intercepted a tipped pass at the 4. Two plays later, he scored the clinching TD. “I looked back, and I was alone,” Corpac said.
“Ward Melville is going to the championship,” Munoz said. “I love it.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
