Jack Cheshire leads Sayville past Floyd in shutout victory

The debate has raged for decades.

Can the smaller talented schools, rich in tradition like Sayville, compete with the larger schools also steeped in tradition, like William Floyd?

The circumstances of Week 3 of the pandemic football season played in the spring of 2021 gave us the opportunity to see one of those dream matchups come to life.

For the first time since Suffolk went to four classifications in 1992, two champions were meeting on the field. Sayville, the defending Suffolk Division III titlist, and Floyd, the defending Division I champion, were getting it on.

The Sayville – Floyd outcome won’t end the debate. But it certainly opens it up to further discussion and the idea of playing more of these sensational matchups. And give both coaches and the respective administrations the respect of having the courage to engage in such a championship-feel event.

In a year that we don’t have the Long Island football championships, Sayville and Floyd gave us a championship atmosphere and a build up to the big game that’s usually reserved for week 12 of the season.

Sayville quarterback Jack Cheshire completed 21 of 35 passes for 253 yards and a score and the Golden Flashes beat Floyd, 24-0, Saturday in a non-league football game in Mastic Beach. Cheshire threw a 10-yard scoring pass to wide receiver Nathan Casaburi to open the scoring with 9:27 left in the second quarter. He added a 6-yard scoring run with 18 seconds left in the half for a 14-0 lead.

SEE PHOTOSPhotos: Sayville vs. Floyd football

The dynamic Sayville signal caller did his part. And his offensive line of Jake Thorry, Max Llewellyn, Jack Leniec, James Gallagher and Thomas Crowe gave him enough time to strut his stuff. But what will be remembered will be the intense atmosphere and the physicality of the Sayville defense which suffocated Floyd’s offense.

"Our coaches put together a great game plan and we shut them out," said Casaburi. "Our defense made a huge statement. And we usually get overlooked because our offense is so good. Some thought Floyd, which is much bigger, would run us over. That was not happening. We are as tough as they come."

There was heavy hitting on both sides in this game. A swarming Sayville defense bottled up Floyd’s running game. Defensive end Tom Cea Jr., middle linebacker Tyler Kolar and Casaburi anchored a defense that held star halfback Jezayd Hall to 69 yards on 21 carries and sophomore halfback Dylan Harris to 22 yards.

"When Max [Llewllyn] went out with an injury early in the game, Cea replaced him at the defensive end and gave us a boost," Casaburi said. "His physical style of play and speed off the edge was one of the reasons we disrupted the running game and won."

Casaburi’s thoughts were echoed by Kolar.

"Cea was great and our defense followed the game plan," said Kolar, who had nine tackles. "This was such a challenge to play Floyd and so much fun. It’s a lifetime experience that I’ll never forget. This game was like playing in the LIC."

The final contribution from the Sayville defense came in the way of Casaburi’s blocked punt, which was caught in mid-air by junior linebacker Charlie Sands and returned to the Floyd three. Halfback CJ Messina scored on a 3-yard run with 10:07 left for the final margin.

"The Sayville defense was excellent, very fast off the ball," said Floyd coach Paul Longo. "We never found our rhythm on offense and that’s a credit to them. And their quarterback is everything we saw on film. He has a quick release with excellent touch, makes timely decisions and when we had pressure on him he had the ability to escape."

Said Sayville coach Reade Sands, "We designed a game plan to get rid of the ball quickly and neutralize the pass rush and our line was dialed in and communicating well. We played a championship caliber team. This was one for the ages. I’m very proud of our guys."

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.