Newsday's final top 10 high school flag football team rankings for the season
Half Hollow Hills coach Mike Lupa and his team is fired up in the closing seconds of its state Class A flag football championship win. Credit: Adrian Kraus
(previous ranking in parentheses)
1. Half Hollow Hills (1)
Hills captured the state Class A championship and finished a perfect 19-0. Hills defeated Shaker, 26-12, in the state final. Samantha Heyman threw three touchdown passes in the championship game and finished with 70 touchdown passes on the season. Hills’ offense averaged more than 35 points per game.
2. MacArthur (2)
The Generals defeated Hauppauge, 25-19, in overtime to win the Long Island Class B championship. Taylor Garro scored the winning touchdown to give MacArthur its first Long Island championship in program history. MacArthur (18-1-1) fell to Yorktown, 20-0, in the state semifinals.
3. Hauppauge (3)
Hauppauge, led by Taylor Mileti, won the Suffolk Class B title with a 26-7 victory over Deer Park. The Eagles then lost to MacArthur, 25-19, in overtime of the Long Island Class B championship game. Hauppauge finished 17-1.
4. Plainedge (4)
The Red Devils reached the Nassau final before falling to MacArthur, 13-9. Gianna Ponticello threw 45 touchdown passes on the season. Plainedge finished 14-2-1.
5. Sachem East (5)
Sachem East lost, 27-6, to Half Hollow Hills in the Suffolk Class A championship game. Sofia Larrea led the offense with 36 touchdown passes on the year. Sachem East finished 15-3.
6. Deer Park (6)
The Falcons lost to Hauppauge, 26-7, in the Suffolk Class B championship game. Taylor Gabel had 1,139 rushing yards and 2,431 passing yards on the season. Deer Park finished 12-3.
7. Herricks (7)
Herricks entered the playoffs as the No. 6 seed but emerged as Nassau Class A champion. The Highlanders then fell to Half Hollow Hills, 27-7, in the Long Island Class A championship game. Lia Bono recorded 163 flag pulls this season. Herricks finished 9-8-1 after defeating three teams in the Nassau playoffs that it had lost to during the regular season.
8. Floyd (8)
Floyd ended its season with a 19-12 loss to eventual Class A state champion Half Hollow Hills on May 21. Vinte’ya Rountree led Floyd (10-4) with 152 flag pulls and nine interceptions.
9. Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK (9)
Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK finished 9-6-4. Quarterback Schyler Sacks helped lead the Hawks to the Nassau Class A championship game before a 21-0 loss to Herricks on May 23.
10. Syosset (10)
Syosset’s season ended with a 12-6 loss to Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK in the Nassau Class A semifinals. Syosset finished 10-2-3 and was the top seed in the Nassau Class A playoffs. Leah Calderone returned five interceptions for touchdowns to lead the defense.
