History of the Class III Long Island Championship

Updated Nov 28, 2012 04:05 PM

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1992 -- LYNBROOK 19, ISLIP 7 Dec. 3, 1992 Lynbrook came back from a 7-0 first-quarter deficit, ran the ball at - and over - Islip, and beat the Buccaneers before a crowd of 2,428 at Hofstra Stadium. Anthony Picone led the charge for Lynbrook, rushing for 145 yards and scoring a touchdown on 33 carries. Photo Credit: Newsday/John Keating

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1993 -- NEW HYDE PARK 34, DEER PARK 14 Dec. 3, 1993 Deer Park scored the first and last touchdown of the game, but it was what happened in between that meant the most. New Hyde Park scored five touchdowns in that time led by halfback Craig DeNicola, who gained 331 yards rushing. Photo Credit: Newsday/Jim Peppler

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1994 -- BETHPAGE 20, COMSEWOGUE 15 Dec. 3, 1994 Comsewogue outgained Bethpage 375 yards to 293, but Bethpage made the big plays when it counted the most. It was the second straight Long Island Championship for Bethpage, which won the Class IV title in 1993 and became the first team to win in two divisions. Photo Credit: Newsday/Paul J. Bereswill

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1995 – NORTH BABYLON 28, BETHPAGE 13 Dec. 2, 1995 Bethpage rolled into the Long Island Championship Class III as winners of 32 straight games. One would say history was on its side, but North Babylon’s offense toppled the history and mystique of Bethpage. North Babylon outgained Bethpage, 360-226, in total offense thanks to running back Jason Hickson who carried 20 times for 152 yards and scored three touchdowns. Photo Credit: Newsday/John Keating

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1996 – COMSEWOGUE 15, BETHPAGE 13 Nov. 29, 1996 For Comsewogue to earn its first Long Island Championship the team had to go through the best - Bethpage. Sean Garry provided the margin of victory when he kicked a crucial 26-yard field goal with 6:43 left in the game to give the Warriors a 15-6 lead. Photo Credit: Newday/Vincent Pugliese

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1997 – NORTH BABYLON 50, CLARKE 0 Nov. 28, 1997 The Bulldogs put on a show as they scored more points than any team in the six-year history of the Long Island Championships. They also totaled more yards (418) than any team before them as they walked away with the school's second title in three years. The defense, which only allowed seven touchdowns all year, set the tone early forcing four turnovers in the first half that would eventually lead to North Baylon touchdowns. Photo Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1998 – SAYVILLE 51, GLEN COVE 6 Nov. 28, 1998 The Golden Flashes outhit, outran and outdid Glen Cove in every regard. Sayville pounded out 358 yards rushing, led by halfback Vin Greco, who finished with 164 yards on 11 carries, including a 54-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. By the end of the first half, it was evident this was a mismatch as Sayville scored on all three of its possessions. Photo Credit: Newsday/Kathy Kmonicek

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  1999 – AMITYVILLE 18, GARDEN CITY 16 Nov. 28, 1999 Garden City watched a 16-6 fourth-quarter lead dwindle away and the championship slip through their fingers. It started when Amityville's Eugene Nottingham scored on an 11-yard run with 5:48 left to cut the score to 16-12. It went from bad to worse when Garden City's Dave Kang was intercepted by Max Rose. Three plays later, Nottingham scored to give Amityville an 18-16 lead. Photo Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2000 – BETHPAGE 29, AMITYVILLE 28 Nov. 24, 2000 Chris DeSimone rushed for 124 yards, including what proved to be the winning 47-yard scoring run with 9:31 left in the game. It was just enough to overcome Eugene Nottingham who finished with 123 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. The Golden Eagles completed an 11-0 season and captured the school's third Long Island championship. Photo Credit: Bob Mitchell

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2001 – WANTAGH 17, HARBORFIELDS 7 Nov. 30, 2001 Wantagh’s starting quarterback Brian Rath broke his right wrist the week before the championship. If there was ever a time junior backup Jeff Hiller was going to step up and deliver the game of his life, this was it. Hiller completed 11 of 12 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns as Wantagh earned a 17-7 victory and wrote an incredible storybook ending to an unbeaten season before 4,727 fans at Hofstra Stadium. Photo Credit: J.S. Moses

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2002 – BETHPAGE 28, ISLIP 14 Nov. 29, 2002 Islip entered the game as huge underdogs to the Bethpage powerhouse. After one quarter, Bethpage had a 13-point lead and the game seemed to be out of reach. The scrappy underdogs had other ideas as the Buccaneers scored twice in 31 seconds and had a 14-13 lead in the second quarter. However, there was no fairy tale ending for Islip as junior running backs Rich Festante and Jordan Levine both scored in the fourth quarter to give Bethpage the title. Photo Credit: Richard Slattery

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2003 – BETHPAGE 18, HUNTINGTON 7 Nov. 29, 2003 Bethpage made it back-to-back titles with a win over Huntington at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium. Much like the previous year, it was Rich Festante who put the finishing touches on another title. His 21-yard score with 2:06 left in the final quarter sealed the deal for another perfect 11-0 season. Photo Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2004 – SAYVILLE 55, WANTAGH 14 Nov. 26, 2004 When it rains it pours. It poured on Wantagh during the Class III title game at Shuart Stadium. After giving the ball away only five times all season, Wantagh turned it over seven times, including five interceptions. Wantagh lost the ball on five straight possessions between the second and fourth quarters. Sayville took advantage of every mistake on the way to the team's second Class III title. Photo Credit: Newsday/Paul J. Bereswill

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2005 – HUNTINGTON 27, PLAINEDGE 14 Nov. 26, 2005 With the score tied at 14 in the fourth quarter, the Blue Devils marched 82 yards on nine plays. Dominick Sair accounted for 32 yards on the drive, which was capped by his 12-yard burst through the left side with 3:27 left that gave Huntington a 20-14 lead. Sair carried Huntington to the title with a bad ankle and a surgically repaired knee, which caused him to miss two games that season. Photo Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2006 – SAYVILLE 48, BETHPAGE 6 Nov. 24, 2006 Halfback Chris DeLuca shredded the Bethpage defense for five first-half touchdowns as Sayville rolled to a 48-6 win before a crowd of 4,000 at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium. DeLuca gave Sayville 186 of its 397 total rushing yards. It was the school's third win in as many appearances in the Long Island championship game and the second in three years. Photo Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2007 – ISLIP 14, BETHPAGE 12 Nov. 24, 2007 It was a tale of two very different teams: The Bethpage powerhouse vs. smaller, opportunistic Islip. Each time Bethpage scored, Islip responded swiftly. Bethpage opened the second half with a 12-7 lead after Joe Loria’s 1-yard touchdown run. Islip’s John La Monica recovered a muffed punt at the Bethpage 24-yard line that would set up the eventual winning score. Photo Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2008 – SAYVILLE 13, BETHPAGE 7 Nov. 24, 2008 Sayville’s Dillon Boos went from goat to hero as he turned the ball over four times - two first-half interceptions and lost a pair of fumbles in the third quarter. The two teams battled their way to overtime where once again, Boos was in the middle of the action. Nick Stover was inches from the goal line after he caught a pass from Boos. It took Boos two tries to run it in from the 1-yard line for the final score. For the third straight year, Bethpage was on the losing end of the Long Island Championship. Photo Credit: Newsday/Paul J. Bereswill

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2009 – HALF HOLLOW HILLS WEST 42, LAWRENCE 32 Nov. 28, 2009 Lawrence had its chances to put high-flying Hills West away. The one thing Lawrence didn’t have was a way to stop Hills West quarterback JeVahn Cruz. Cruz put Hills West on his back, rushing for 204 yards and three touchdowns, passing for 133 yards and three touchdowns and accounting for 416 yards overall. Quarterback John Kinder scored four touchdowns as Lawrence took leads of 7-0, 13-7, 20-14 and 26-21. Photo Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan

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  Photo credit: Newsday/MSG Varsity | Monday, November 21

  2010 -- LYNBROOK 42, SAYVILLE 27 Nov. 26, 2010 Senior quarterback Paul Magloire ran for three touchdowns and a pair of two-point conversion for Lynbrook. The game featured one of the most spectacular plays of the season, which came on a two-point conversion. Magloire took the snap and looked to run straight up the middle, but then bounced outside to the right, leaped over two Sayville defenders and rolled into the end zone. Photo Credit: James Escher

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  Photo credit: Joseph D. Sullivan | Monday, November 21

  2011 - SAYVILLE 78, LAWRENCE 61