This time, Half Hollow Hills flag football wrote the perfect ending in state final
Half Hollow Hills won the state Class A championship in flag football to complete a 19-0 season. Credit: Adrian Kraus
It felt as if Half Hollow Hills' flag football team was starring in its own video game this season.
Samantha Heyman threw 70 — yes, 70! — touchdown passes. Zoe Franks caught 27 of them.
The offense churned out 679 points and the defense recorded six shutouts. It added up to a 19-0 season and a state Class A championship.
“We were supposed to achieve this multiple times,” said Hills coach Mike Lupa, whose team was the state runner-up in 2025. “We’ve been to the state final, and we felt this was our time to get over the hump. We’ve achieved so many great things over the past four years, and this was the last thing on the list. I am so happy for our girls. Hills is on the map.”
Heyman capped her brilliant career at Hills by going 23-for-31 for 220 yards and three touchdowns in the state final. Franks ran for a score in the first quarter and added a TD catch in the second quarter as Hills beat Shaker, 26-12.
“The preparation from the night before is what got us here,” Franks said. “We had trust in each other to make plays, and this has always been the dream.”
Hills beat all of its regular-season opponents by double digits except for Longwood, a 27-20 decision. Emma Wilck's two fourth-quarter interceptions sparked a 19-12 win over Floyd in the Suffolk Class A semifinals, and after rolling to the state tournament behind its high-powered offense and relentless edge rushers Emma Gould and Harlow Rivera, Hills faced a test in the state semifinals. It found itself trailing for the first time all season. But Hills had an answer, scoring 30 straight points in a 37-18 win over Middletown after falling behind 12-7.
Hills then achieved its goal, winning the state title to cap a perfect season.
“It was the greatest feeling in the world,” Heyman said. “I have four amazing receivers, two great running backs that can act like receivers, and everyone was on point. Any adversity we had, it was the chemistry and love for each other that got us through it.”
ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP
County final: def Sachem East, 27-6
L.I. final: def Herricks, 27-7
State semifinal: def Middletown, 37-18
State final: def Shaker, 26-12
