The magical run of dominance on Long Island ended Friday night at Hofstra University when Wantagh defeated Bayport-Blue Point 29-21 to capture the Long Island Class IV championship.
With the loss we watched the end of one of the best runs in Long Island history and a historic group of kids played well until the very end. Bayport-Blue Point were the two-time defending Long Island Class IV champion and had won 34 games in a row before the loss.
The game was decided on the final drive and Wantagh just got the better of that to claim the title. Halfback Dylan Martini rushed for over 140 yards and led the offense all day. His running and the clock ticking for the last nearly five minutes made all the difference as Wantagh didn't want to give the ball back to the champs and they kept them off the field.
The Phantoms thought they would be leading at the half 14-7 as Cooper Fuller had a TD pass to Dylan Craig and Collin Reyer ran one in just before the half. But, with 12 seconds to play, Wantagh came down the field and scored to give them a 15-14 halftime lead.
They then came out of the second half with a long TD drive and now the Phantoms, who allowed only 8 points per game, found themselves playing from behind with time against them. After that was ball control with nearly a 9 minute drive but the former champions would not go away quietly and Fuller found Sean Coffey to cut the lead to a TD.
That is when the offense of Wantagh took over and again drained the clock to win the game. Bayport-Blue Point played an excellent game and they showed their championship mentality but they will have to begin a new streak starting next season.