Ward Melville records 10 sacks in quarterfinal win over Sachem North
Nick Gaffney of Ward Melville celebrates his outstanding game during a Suffolk Division I quarterfinal against Sachem North on Friday, November 5, 2021 in LaValle Stadium at Stony Brook University. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Ward Melville’s game plan was straightforward on Friday night: apply pressure to the quarterback. Relentless, aggressive pressure — from linemen, linebackers and occasionally cornerbacks. From the outside, the inside and, frequently, both directions at once.
The fourth-seeded Patriots’ sack-a-thon was key in their 35-7 win over fifth-seeded Sachem North in a Suffolk I quarterfinal at Stony Brook’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. But the dagger to Sachem North (4-5), the final blow to its postseason hopes, wasn’t one of the 10 sacks tallied by Ward Melville (6-3) but simply more of that relentless pressure that this time forced an errant pass.
Nick Gaffney did the rest.
The junior intercepted a pass with about six minutes left and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown that gave the Patriots a three-score lead.
"I saw the end zone and thought, ‘We did it,’ " said Gaffney, who also had two rushing touchdowns. "An amazing feeling."
Gaffney’s primary role for the Patriots is running back, but he pulled double duty as a linebacker with Ward Melville determined to throw its most explosive athletes at Sachem North’s dual-threat quarterback, Chris Kelly.
"Nick’s a stud. There’s no doubt about it," Ward Melville coach Chris Boltrek said. "He hasn’t played a lot of defense for us this year, but given the running ability of their quarterback and some of the things they do on offense, we felt it best that he play both ways for us tonight.
"Obviously, it paid dividends."
And like the rest of Ward Melville’s successes on Friday, it began with pressure.
In one particularly impressive stretch for the unit during a third-quarter drive by Sachem North, the Patriots strung together sacks on four consecutive plays.
Minus eight yards. Minus six yards. Minus six yards. Minus 10 yards. Turnover on downs.
"The sacks are momentum-changers," said senior outside linebacker Kevin Dolan, who had two of them. "Our crowd went crazy after every single one of them."
Except it wasn’t just the Ward Melville fans going crazy. On the sideline, the offense was fired up, too.
"How could you not be?" said senior quarterback Chris Prussen, who had a 24-yard rushing touchdown and led an offense that methodically wore down Sachem North’s defense with hard-nosed running.
Poor field conditions at Ward Melville prompted the Patriots to move the game to Stony Brook. They took the heightened stage as a cue.
"Incredible atmosphere," Gaffney said. "Championship atmosphere. We had to deliver for [our fans] here, and we did."