Flashes celebrate as Suffolk County champs

Sayville and Westhampton Beach faced off on the gridiron for a rematch from two weeks prior at the same venue last Friday night for the Suffolk County Conference III Championship game.

Because of the truncated pandemic-shortened season, this game capped off the season for both football clubs and was for all the marbles in this winner-take-all contest. On a picturesque spring evening with not a cloud in the sky at Timothy J. Henck Field, Nate Casiburi gave Sayville a jolt in the first quarter with an interception to put the dangerous Sayville offense back on the field.

With Jack Cheshire under center Nick Buffardi made a 16-yard catch. Alex Millwater carried the ball down to the Sayville 10-yard line, followed by Tom Cea with a 10-yard touchdown run to get the offensive juggernaut started. When the first quarter expired, Sayville led 7-0. In the second quarter, the defense played tough as a sack by Cash Carter resulted in a turnover on downs by the Hurricanes. Later that quarter, the Golden Flashes tacked on 2 points with a safety. Prior to the end of the first half, an Alex Millwater interception put the offense back on the field deep in Westhampton Beach territory. Cheshire took it himself for a touchdown run and Sayville led 22-0 at the intermission.

In the third quarter, a 35-yard field goal by Michael Argenziano added the tally to 25. In the fourth, C.J. Messina ran the ball four yards to cross the plane; then an extra point for Argenziano put Sayville up 32-7.

On the other side of the field, Messina made a tackle for a loss of two yards, and subsequently Matt Bonfanti sealed the deal with an interception down to the Sayville two-yard line. The waning seconds ticked away and the final on the scoreboard read Sayville 32, Westhampton Beach 7.

It is the 12th Suffolk County title in school’s history and the eighth time Sayville football has reached the pinnacle as Long Island champions in 1972, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2015. Because of COVID-19, this is the pinnacle of the 2021 season as they stand atop their conference with the hardware.

For the Golden Flashes, the spring 2021 season consisted of another banner to hang in the rafters, more indelible memories for this illustrious football program, and most importantly, more smiles on faces up and down the Sayville sidelines and in the bleachers, when smiles and happy times are hard to come by in the difficult time we all live in during the COVID-19 era.

Here's to another memorable page added to the history books of Sayville varsity football!