West Islip flag football's Meghan Farrell accounts for three touchdowns in win over Glenn
Meghan Farrell of West Islip drops back to pass against Glenn during a Suffolk League II flag football game on Tuesday at Glenn HS. Credit: David Meisenholder
Meghan Farrell can run like the wind. The junior can also throw passes that cut through heavy gusts of wind.
The quarterback ran 18 times for 147 yards and a touchdown and threw for 164 yards and two TDs to lead West Islip to a 19-13 win over Glenn in Suffolk League II flag football Tuesday in Elwood.
Farrell also had three interceptions as the Lions’ free safety.
“A lot of her skill comes from her toughness,” coach Jake Rossi said. “She plays very free at quarterback when she’s scrambling, and at safety when she’s going for the ball . . . Her fearlessness is her best attribute.”
On the second play of the second half, Farrell threw a bullet over the middle to a slanting Alyssa Romanelli, who turned upfield and dashed for a 64-yard touchdown, giving the Lions a 19-0 lead with 11:18 left in the third quarter.
“I saw the linebacker slipped and that gave me lane to run it right up the field,” Romanelli said.
“Setting the tone right out of the break is very important,” Farrell said. “That play kept us going.”
Romanelli intercepted a pass on Glenn’s opening drive and Farrell ran up the middle on West Islip’s first play from scrimmage for an 8-yard TD.
At the end of the first quarter, Farrell hauled in her first interception. Six plays later, she found Erica Kearney over the middle for a 4-yard TD pass with 9:32 left in the second quarter and ran in the extra-point for a 13-0 lead.
“She’s one of the fastest girls on the team and her arm is insane,” Romanelli said. “It’s definitely nice having her as our quarterback.”
Romanelli caught four passes for 103 yards and a TD and Kearney caught five passes for 39 yards and a score.
Alexa Narvaez hauled in a 55-yard TD pass from Nora Truncale with 34 seconds left in the third quarter to cut Glenn’s deficit to 19-6. Truncale found Brianna Mauro for a 20-yard TD pass with 2:23 remaining to bring Glenn (2-3) within six points.
Then Farrell ran for two first downs to allow West Islip (3-0) to run out the clock.
And that’s a bit of a pattern. In West Islip’s 18-13 win over Shoreham-Wading River on Saturday, the Lions led 18-6 entering the fourth quarter before the Wildcats’ made it a one-score game.
“Obviously, we don’t want it to come down to the wire, but they’ve shown that when they have to make plays down the stretch that they will,” Rossi said. “They’ve shown a level of resilience and toughness early in the year and it’s something we can bring with us later in the season.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
