Defending champ Wantagh, high-powered Sayville to meet for Long Island Class III football title

It has been a while since the Sayville and Wantagh football teams faced each other.

When the two teams met in the 2004 Long Island Class III championship game, coach Rob Hoss’ Sayville won, 55-14, over Keith Sachs’ Wantagh.

Hoss was in the third year of his first stint at Sayville and said that at the time, he wasn’t familiar with Sachs. Twenty-one years later and in his first year at the helm since 2016, Hoss has a much better idea.

“He’s a winner,” Hoss said of Sachs. “He wins in football. He wins in baseball. Sometimes, he’s able to do more with less. He’s super creative. He’s willing to take chances. He’s got a bag of trick plays that you have to have a ton of eye discipline to defend.”

Sachs has led Wantagh to six Nassau championships and three Long Island titles, including last year’s Class IV crown.

Despite returning just two starters from last year’s team, Wantagh found its way back to championship game. Wantagh (8-3) will face Sayville (11-0) for the Long Island Class III title on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Hofstra.

“It’s been very satisfying to watch what the kids have done this year,” said Sachs, who is in his 33rd year as coach. “Many people would go into a year and say, ‘Well, we graduated 20 starters… So, it’s a down year.’ This year was challenging. There was a lot of parity in the conference and I don’t think we had one game that was easy.”

Wantagh has explosive athletes all over the field. Luke Martini and Joe Nicholson form a dynamic duo at running back. Elusive quarterback Carter Loughman and receiver Devin Paccione, a smooth route runner, lead a dynamic offense that  is averaging 30.5 points per game.

“Even if they don’t block it up right, Martini and Nicholson will break tackles. They’ll look for a cutback seam and bend it back on you,” Hoss said. “If we don’t shut down the run, then play-action pass becomes problematic.”

And as Hoss mentioned, Sachs’ playcalling knows no limits. After Martini ran for a 42-yard touchdown in Wantagh’s 28-21 win over Bethpage in the Nassau III final, Wantagh ran a fake PAT kick with Martini throwing to Joseph Adamo in the end zone for a two-point conversion.

“It’s just fun,” Sachs said. “We don’t call them trick plays. The bottom line is, if you trust your athletes, they’re just regular plays. We’ll never win a championship on trick plays. You’ve got to tackle, block and do all the fundamentals.”

Led by senior quarterback and Lehigh commit Patrick Coan, Sayville averages 39.6 points per game. Coan’s top receiver, Luke Neugebauer, caught seven passes for 148 yards and three scores in Sayville’s 34-7 win over Smithtown West in the Suffolk III final.

“I totally respect the fact that (Coan) throws it well and he can run it, but I think the fact that they’re well-balanced as an offense is more of an issue than if they only threw it,” Sachs said. “They have the ability to run it over you, too.”

Halfbacks Tristan Vitale and Timmy Holahan have both stepped up in the playoffs. Vitale ran for 143 yards and two TDs last week. Holahan ran for 148 yards and two scores in a 28-14 semifinal win over East Hampton/Bridgehampton.

And Sayville’s defense is finally healthy. Linebackers Sal Calicchio and Ryan Linker and defensive end Javen Taff all missed significant time due to injuries. The Golden Flashes played their best defensive game in the county final.

Said Hoss: “What you saw against Smithtown West was all our kids healthy and we haven’t had it all year.”