With 4:20 remaining in the first half, Lindenhurst's defensive line swarmed Floyd quarterback Donnie McCarthy as he released the ball 25 yards downfield to an outstretched Vinny Trent. The completion brought the 4,000 spectators at LaValle Stadium to their feet and moved the ball down to the Bull Dog 14-yard line.
Lindenhurst's defense tightened up on the next two plays, forcing a third and 15 for Floyd from the 19-yard line. Looking for an open receiver, McCarthy drilled a pass to tight end James Parker. Parker, who was running a slant, made the reception and turned up-field, outrunning the Bull Dog secondary and giving his team an early lead with 2:39 remaining in the half.
The William Floyd defense continued shutting down the Bull Dogs on their next offensive possession. After two plays for no gain from their own 19-yard line forced a third and long for Lindenhurst, Floyd's defensive line applied heavy pressure on Bull Dog quarterback Matt Maes, forcing him to throw an incomplete pass and bringing the punting unit back out onto the field for the Bull Dogs.
Vinny Trent's return to midfield gave the Colonials one more chance to score before the half. On second and 2 from their own 43-yard line, McCarthy, remaining calm in the pocket, found receiver Jamie Kilcullen open down the middle and made the completion. Kilcullen did the rest. Eluding linebackers and dancing around tackles, Kilcullen found himself tight-roping the sideline and running into the end zone for a 43- yard touchdown, giving his team an early two touchdown lead with 1:06 remaining in the second quarter.
A Bull Dog defensive stop and a Colonial short punt opened the second half, giving Lindenhurst the ball back on the Floyd 37-yard line with a chance to do some damage. However the Colo-nial defense hung tough forcing a third and 10 from the 23.
Matt Maes over the shoulder pass to the right corner of the end zone looked as if it would pull his team to within seven of the lead; however, it went in and out of the hands of the intended receiver, forcing Lindenhurst to attempt a 40-yard field goal. Chris Lynch, cool under pressure, converted on the attempt putting the Bull Dogs' first three points on the scoreboard with 8:33 remaining in the third.
The Colonials took back control of the football on their next possession and began driving their offense down field under the hand of quarterback Donnie McCarthy. On second and 15, McCarthy, looking to give his team a comfortable lead launched the ball deep down field. A battle in the air ensued as wide receiver Vinny Trent and defensive back Chris Green both went up for the ball. Green came down with it.
The pick gave the football back to Lindenhurst on its own 24 with a chance to cut into William Floyd's lead. The Bull Dogs picked up a first down and were moving toward midfield when the Colonial defense jarred the ball loose on the Lindenhurst 41, creating a fumble as bodies in motion swarmed toward a dispossed football. As the bodies were slowly removed from the pile, the football was in the possession of defensive linebacker Ron Webber's hands, giving control of it back to William Floyd.
After a 35-yard pass completion to Vinny Trent brought the Colonials down to within eight yards of the goal line, Floyd had three chances to put the ball in the end zone and give themselves a comfortable 21-3 advantage.
However that was not the case. On third and goal Bull Dog defensive back Brian Witkowski cut across the intended receiver's pass and made a sliding interception in the end zone, giving his team the ball back on the its own 20-yard line with 3:45 to go in the third quarter.
The Bull Dogs offense, desperately in need of a score, wasted little time bringing the ball downfield. On third and goal from the eight yard line, Maes, flanked by green jerseys, completed a touchdown pass to running back Anthony Falsita, pulling Lindenhurst to within five points. On the extra point attempt Lindenhurst faked and Falsita ran the ball into the end zone. Suddenly the Colonial lead had shrunk to three.
With under four minutes remaining in the game Lindenhurst stopped the Floyd offense and took back control of the ball on their own 42-yard line. Floyd, which has relied upon their offense all season, was now forced into a situation where they needed to rely on their defense to hold a lead.
The defense did not disappoint. On second and eight defensive back Matt Korn wrapped up the Bull Dogs quarterback Matt Maes for a loss of nine, forcing third and long for Lindenhurst from their own 37. Forced into a passing situation, Maes aired a deep pass that was then picked off by defensive back Vinny Trent. The Colonials took control of the ball on their own 32-yard line as parents, friends and family started celebrating victory on the William Floyd side of the field.
Then, just as he has been doing all season long, Andrew Miller(103-yards, 17 carries, 1 touchdown) stuck the final dagger in the Colonials' opponent. His 66-yard rush into the end zone with less than two minutes to play assured William Floyd's second trip to the Long Island Championship game in the last three seasons.
After the game William Floyd Coach Paul Longo could not say enough about his team's defense. "Our defensive line was awesome, our linebackers, our secondary came up with a big interception. Defense is always key, especially in big games and our guys came up huge." Floyd will go on to play the Freeport Red Devils for the Long Island Championship at Stony Brook University's LaValle Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Freeport is averaging 44-points per game and has an outstanding quarterback, Randy Mills. Mills threw his Nassau County record 28th touchdown pass against Farmingdale Sunday in his team's 28-7 victory over Farmingdale for the Nassau Conference I Championship.Although the Colonials defense came up big this week, they will have to come up even bigger next week to bring William Floyd its first ever Long Island High School Football Championship.