Half Hollow Hills flag football repeats as Long Island champions behind Samantha Heyman's 4 TD passes
Half Hollow Hills celebrates its Long Island Class A flag football championship win over Herricks on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at Long Island University in Brookville. Credit: Kathy M Helgeson
Half Hollow Hills hasn’t been stopped all season.
But to win a Long Island flag football championship, it had to get through a Herricks team on a Cinderella run, along with 32 mph wind gusts that stood in the way of Hills’ high-powered offense.
“If you saw warm-ups, in one direction you couldn’t pass at all,” Hills coach Mike Lupa said. “The game plan had to change. It had to be shorter passes and some runs here to battle that wind.”
For star quarterback Samantha Heyman, it didn’t matter. The signal-caller was still dominant, and so was Hills’ defense.
Heyman completed 25 of 30 passes for 190 yards and four touchdowns to lead Half Hollow Hills to a 27-7 victory over Herricks and capture its second consecutive Long Island Class A championship at LIU on Saturday.
“Mentally, it was a lot to change your game plan right before,” Heyman said. “But your teammates pick you up. We were all so locked in from the start. I think that’s how we were able to get the win.”
Half Hollow Hills will play in the state semifinals at 11:30 a.m. on June 6 at Homer High School against the winner of Mamaroneck and Middletown on June 2.
Heyman set the tone on the opening drive. She was 4-for-4 for 40 yards and capped a seven-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Zoe Franks. Hills led 7-0 with 8:14 left in the first quarter.
Herricks (9-8-1) — a No. 6 seed that beat three teams in the playoffs that they lost to in the regular season — responded behind quarterback Regan Cottrell. The junior juked past four defenders for a 25-yard gain and drew a penalty at the end of the play. But Herricks was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the Hills 18-yard line with 5:23 left in the first half.
“They’re a well-coached team. We started to make plays, but we made them a little too late,” Herricks coach Thomas Graef said. “Nothing can take away how incredibly proud I am of this group.”
Hills then put together an 11-play drive that ended with Heyman scrambling before finding Emma Gould for a 9-yard touchdown with 40 seconds left in the half to make it 13-0.
Hills (17-0) stifled Herricks throughout the game. Gould and Harlow Rivera each recorded two sacks.
“It’s amazing working with her,” Gould said of Rivera. “We work together, keep our composure and get the job done.”
With 8:29 left in the third quarter, Heyman rolled right and fired a pass to Victoria Valdes for a 19-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 20-0.
Heyman connected with a fourth different receiver for a touchdown when she found Samantha Hovanec from 6 yards out. It was 27-0 with 7:15 remaining. Cottrell scored on a 1-yard run with 2:59 left to help make it 27-7.
“I’m grateful for this moment,” Heyman said. “The emotions are high. I’m just taking it in. I’m grateful to be going back to states. To get that experience with these girls is such a special thing.”
