Bayport-Blue Point, Sayville figure to fight to finish for Suffolk Division IV supremacy
Tommy Steyert's championship-winning kick. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
A lot has been made about this season’s Nassau crossover game between Massapequa and Garden City, and for good reason. But what about the matchup between the two reigning Long Island champions from Suffolk?
With Sayville’s move to Division IV due to lower enrollment, Suffolk fans get to see a dream matchup between the county’s most accomplished programs in recent years.
Reigning Long Island champions Sayville and Bayport-Blue Point will square off at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.
Sayville has won 19 Suffolk III titles, including two straight and five since 2019. The Golden Flashes defeated Wantagh, 42-35, for their eighth Long Island title and claimed their fourth Rutgers Trophy in the past six seasons.
The Phantoms won their fourth straight Division IV title and defeated Seaford for their third Long Island championship in four years on Tommy Steyert’s winning 47-yard field goal as time expired.
“A lot of times, it’s all about the big schools and I get that,” Sayville coach Rob Hoss said. “But there is great football in all divisions. We have a ton of respect for Bayport. You don’t win as many games as they do unless you’re really good, regardless of division. Our schools are right next to each other. We compete in all other sports and it’s very competitive, but we’ve never really had the opportunity to do that in football. There is a lot juice in the community for this game.”
“Sayville is one of the best football programs on the Island, if not the best with all the Rutgers Trophies they’ve won in recent years,” Bayport-Blue Point coach Mike Zafonte said. “They are big-time and now we have an opportunity to play them. That’s a huge challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”
Sayville and Bayport-Blue Point are seeded No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Don’t be surprised if October’s matchup is a preview of the Suffolk IV final.
And don’t count out the Phantoms and the rest of Division IV against the mighty Golden Flashes.
“This division has been very solid the last few years,” Zafonte said. “Now, we have an opportunity to show the rest of the island that Division IV can really play football.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
