MP grad boots 47-yarder

From U of Albany Athletics:

ALBANY, N.Y. – University at Albany’s Herb Glass booted a 47-yard field goal, tying the third-longest kick in school history, in last Saturday’s 32-24 loss to New Hampshire, the nation’s 10th-ranked team. The two programs met for the first time on the gridiron.

Glass, a redshirt freshman placekicker from Miller Place, connected on the longest field goal by a UAlbany player since 1991 in the first quarter. He has made all seven point-after attempts this season.

UAlbany (1-2) meets its third nationally-ranked opponent this year when the Great Danes travel to Delaware, last year’s national runner-up, on Sept. 27. The Blue Hens are No. 12 in the FCS Coaches poll and are ranked No. 17 by Sports Network.

A look back at Week 2

The marquee matchup in Week 2 was no doubt Longwood-Floyd. While the Colonials won to extend their unbeaten streak to 35, we saw firsthand what we thought coming into the season: The Colonials are still good, but nowhere near the juggernaut they were the past two seasons. So there is hope for every team in Division I. 

While obviously disappointed in the loss, the Lions know it ultimately comes down to who wins in November. In 2004 Longwood lost big in the regular season to Floyd, 42-12. Longwood followed that a month later with a 27-20 win when it really mattered in the  county championship. Beating a good team twice in the same season is never an easy task, although the Colonials have done it against Wood the past two seasons. (All together it's been six straight wins for Floyd over Wood).

Floyd opened the game in a spread formation looking to throw. I was a little surprised they stuck with the passing game so much especially when the Lions defended it well. We heard a lot about Vaughn Magee coming into the season and he didn't get many touches until the second half. Once he got rolling, the Lions had a hard time bringing him down. He had seven runs of 10 yards or more. If the two teams meet again, it'll be interesting to see if the Colonials come out looking to run or if they start with the passing game again.

The Lions did what they needed at the start of the game. Against any good team on the road, you want to get ahead early. The Lions did that on Walter Miles' 68-yard run on their first offensive play. That lead held up until 3 minutes remained in the second quarter. After guarding the passing game so well, the Lions finally got burnt on a 65-yard pass play. The Lions, though, were lucky to go into halftime tied after turning the ball over twice on fumbles in Floyd territory. After the first fumble, I was surprised the Lions didn't just take a knee. With :49.3 left in the half the Lions started on their own 15.  Needing to travel 85 yards in less than a minute, I didn't like the odds of anything good happening on that drive. And it nearly cost the Lions when Floyd got it back with :21.2 left and 19 yards away. Luckily Tommy Scala gave Longwood the ball back with an interception. This time, Longwood did just take a knee with :9.2 left.

I thought Longwood needed a good, sustained drive to open the third quarter. That didn't happen as the Lions gained only 3 yards before punting. Floyd got it back at its own 44. Field position was crucial. Floyd consistently started in good field position while Longwood started deep in its own territory. It's very difficult to consistently drive the length of the field on a tough Floyd defense.

Here's a breakdown of starting position for both teams:

Floyd:

Own 35

Own 34

Own 42

LW 29

Own 18

LW 37

LW 19

Own 44

LW 14 

LW 49

50

Own 40

LW 48

Longwood:

Own 32

Own 30

Own 4

Own 14

Own 26

Own 15

Own 10

Own 27

Own 32

Own 8

Own 30

WF 36

There you have it. The numbers speak for themselves. Of course, the one drive Floyd was pinned deep to start, at its own 18, the Colonials scored a touchdown.

Now, as for the rest of our local football teams:

After a nice win to start the season, the young Mount Sinai Mustangs fell against Port Jefferson, 17-9. The offense wasn't great for the Mustangs against Southampton, but their defense did the job and they got a spark with a special teams touchdown. Against the Royals the offense struggled again, only putting up nine points. These are the kind of struggles that are to be expected from a young team. If the Mustangs had won this game I would have thought a 5-3 season was possible. Now 4-4 is likely more realistic. Babylon took control of the division with a convincing win against Amityville. More impressive is that Babylon did it without their top player, Bryan Schweitzer, who I believe is injured. Not positive on the extent. Babylon may not lose a game this season. Glenn could be the only team left that can even give them a competitive game.

Miller Place rebounded with a nice win against Westhampton. Miller Place kept the ball on the ground with Zach Buonaiuto shouldering 20 carries. Joe Mancini ran in two touchdowns and Tyler DeRosa added two of his own.

If the Panthers can get their passing game going with the running game, they can be a tough team to beat.

Shoreham-Wading River earned its first win of the season at Wyandanch. Rocky Point fell to 0-2 with a loss at Harborfields. 

Wild scene in Mastic Beach

Not just on the football field, that is. With about four or five minutes left in the fourth quarter Friday night of the Longwood-Floyd game, things got a little hairy in the crowd. According to Longwood security, who always do a great job led by John Dee, about 10 Floyd fans were over on the Longwood side and started a fight. Surprise, surprise. Amongst themselves. Things quickly escalated and before you knew it, everyone in the crowd on that side gravitated toward the action. 

As security tried breaking things up, it only got worse. Each time it looked like the melee was controlled, it started back up. It was not a pretty scene and one that makes you wonder about the idea of starting games at 7 p.m. As a small group of Floyd fans were escorted away, they maturely chanted "Longwood's -------" I'll leave that to the imagination.

At least one Suffolk Police car drove out onto the grass where the kids were gathered to help control the crowd. It was clear, though, that William Floyd security had little control of the situation from the start. It's a problem Longwood coaches say happens at every game in Mastic.

For the Lions, they'll have to hope if they meet Floyd again this year, it'll be at Stony Brook in the county championship.

Week 1 First Impressions

We're one week into the 2008 football season and we've already learned a lot about the local teams. Only two local teams pulled out victories in Week 1, Longwood over Connetquot and Mt. Sinai over Southampton. The other three teams were handed lopsided defeats.

Two games really stand out: Hills West beating Miller Place so easily. With such an experienced group back the Panthers came into this season with high expectations. But the Colts provided a rude dose of reality. Division III is no D-IV. And while the Panthers came on strong at the end of last year, it won't necessarily translate into a top finish in D-III. Hills West was the superior team Saturday, winning 42-14, and the Panthers will need to regroup going forward. It's not over for Miller Place by a long shot, but the Panthers clearly need to get better if they have any hopes of making this a season to remember. They'll have a good shot to rebound next week when they travel to Westhampton. The Hurricanes are not as talented as Hills West. The following week the Panthers return home to face Eastport, another winnable game. The real test will likely come in Week 4 when they host Comsewogue.

The other game that stood out was Mt. Sinai's shutout against Southampton. The Mariners were seeded fourth in D-IV and I thought this would be a great early test to see where the young Mustangs stand. They responded with a terrific victory that now makes you think that this might not be just a rebuilding year for Mount Sinai after all. Sophomore Josh Morales scored two touchdowns in his varsity debut. Coach Vinnie Ammirato was very high on Morales coming into the season and he quickly showed why. With Port Jeff next week at home and Greenport the following week, the Mustangs have a legit shot at being 3-0 leading up to Week 4 showdown with Babylon. I'm not ready to put the Mustangs in the same class as Babylon, but that could be a more competitive game than we thought coming into the season. 

As with Miller Place, Rocky Point was handed an equally deflating loss at Sayville Saturday. A win here for the Eagles wasn't necessarily expected, but the way Sayville dominated leaves you little reason to believe the Eagles can make a serious playoff run. The Golden Flashes, who spread the field with multiple receivers, dominated the line of scrimmage on defense and offense. The offense for Rocky Point had little chance for success when defenders were over the line a second after the ball was snapped. The Eagles had some injuries to deal with on the line, so perhaps as the season progresses they'll improve. The Eagles did have some big plays with Justin Oliver and Matt Palasek. And Pete Vivonetto ran in two touchdowns on short runs. Other than that, there was little positive to take away.

Hills West plays Sayville next week which should be one heck of a ballgame. Go get your tickets now.

SWR lost big at Amityville, 40-6. No surprise there. The Wildcats don't have the horses to compete with the elite of the division.

Longwood had to hang on for dear life against Connetquot Friday night in the rain, nearly blowing a 20-6 lead. But after Connetquot scored with five minutes left to cut the lead to one, the Lions stopped the two-point conversion try that likely would have won it for the T-birds. Longwood wins these type of close games all the time, so it's no surprise they still pulled it out. Coach Chris Meyer said he seeded the T-birds third coming into the season, so he had a lot of respect for what they can do. As it is the T-birds ended up seeded sixth. But still, an important win for Longwood to start the season, especially with Floyd looming next week.

The concern for Longwood coming out of this win was the health of linebacker Moses White. He was shaken up on a play in the second half but stayed in the game. After the game he complained of numbness in his right side of his body. His symptoms sounded like some kind of pinched nerve, but the doctor and trainer were unsure exactly from speaking with White. The fact that the numbness extended through his entire body is what had the doctor unsure. If White has to miss any extended time, it's bad news for Longwood. He's not a guy that can be replaced. If he's ready to go, I like Longwood's chances of upsetting Floyd next week. The streak has to end sometime, so why not next week. Floyd hung on to beat Lindenhurst this week, 14-12, and was nowhere near as dominating as last season.

Should be a good one down in Mastic Beach Friday night.

Share your thoughts on Week 1 action in the comments section.

Welcome BACK!

OK, for any of you loyal bloggers out there who have been clicking this summer to see no updates, my apologies. Who do you think I am, Neil Best??

But with football season kicking off Friday with Longwood hosting Connetquot, the Sun Sports Blog is back in full gear, ready to provide tidbits of info, amusing links and video, and any content you'd like to provide all year.

The Sun's Football Preview hits newstands Friday, so pick up a copy. The last week of my life has basically been spent working on that. Hopefully there are no misspellings in headlines like last year's preview ('playmaker' was misspelled in a feature on Sean Kelly. Terrible, just terrible. For a writer that's like marching your team down field 80 yards only to throw an interception in the end zone.)

You'll notice a few polls on the left-hand side. Let us know who your picks are to win this year in football. I'll try to be coming up with different polls throughout the year. So keep coming back and spread the word.