In a year where the theme for the William Floyd Varsity Football Team was to play up to their expectations and avenge last season's heartbreaking end, the Colonials made a dominant run to the Long Island Championship before falling to the unbeaten Massapequa Chiefs on Friday afternoon at Hofstra University.
Despite the Chiefs losing their superstar Quarterback Paul Dulatno early in the season due to injury, Junior Joey Diesso led the Chiefs to an undefeated season as they took down Suffolk County’s best football team in Division I by a score of 35-7.
Massapequa took a two-score lead before the Colonials could even take an offensive snap as running back Michael DeLuca broke off a 53-yard run that would set up a 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Robby Nugent with 8:20 left in the first quarter.
Massapequa then ran a “pooch kick” on the ensuing kickoff and it was successful as the ball found a soft spot in the Floyd Special Team’s unit and it was recovered by the Chiefs.
Diesso would then find his running back Tyler Villalta open, which lead to a catch and run where he made Floyd players miss en route to scoring a 28-yard touchdown with 6:59 left in the first quarter.
The junior quarterback for Massapequa made it 21-0 before halftime as he would call his own number inside the red zone and rush for a 14-yard touchdown with just over four minutes to go in the half.
Tyler Villalta would make it 28-0 Massapequa as he would punch it across the goal line from 15 yards out for his second touchdown of the game
After the Chiefs jumped out to a 35-0 lead before the end of the third quarter as Dean Vitale would haul in a 7-yard touchdown pass, William Floyd was entering desperation mode as the hopes of the season ending with a Long Island Championship looked bleak.
Late season Varsity call-up Ja’Quan Thomas ended the shutout with just over two minutes to play as he scored on a 1-yard run to make it a 35-7 game.
Statistically, this game was all about the Chiefs. Running back Michael DeLuca had 20 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown.
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Floyd’s Defense makes a tackle during the Long Island Championship
File Photo
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Despite the rough ending, William Floyd should still hold their heads high as the team bounced back from a brutal postseason defeat last fall and they made sure they would not lose out on an opportunity of playing in both the Suffolk County and Long Island Championships while also maintaining their status as Suffolk County Division I Championship.
Coach Paul Longo and his team full of some of the best athletes Long Island has to offer has to be proud of bringing yet another Suffolk County Championship back to William Floyd while also making a deep run to the Long Island Championship game as well.