Live Playoff In-Game Blog: No. 1 Sachem vs. No. 5 Northport

Sachem and Northport met once this season already and the game was marred by five Flaming Arrows' fumbles.

Top-seeded Sachem (9-0) walked away with a 28-7 win over No. 5 Northport (5-4), who upset No. 4 Connetquot, 28-14, last week in the Suffolk County quarterfinals.

Both Sachem and Northport meet again tonight in the Suffolk County Division I semifinals. The winner is guaranteed a spot in the county championship next Friday at Stony Brook University.

Sachem is 9-0 for just the third time in program history and is on pace to break the school scoring and wins record (both set last year).

T0 check out a preview for this game: and .

To check out last week's game stories:  and .

Game time: 7 p.m.

Weather: 41 degrees, clear

Venue: Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium, Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

Interesting Facts

• Sachem is 15-3-2 all-time against Northport. Their first meeting was in 1977, and resulted in the biggest win in Sachem's history, a 55-0 drubbing. The Arrows went on to win the Rutger's Trophy that year and Brian Dehler won the Hansen Award. Northport did not win a game against Sachem until 1991.
• Sachem has played Northport twice in the playoffs: a 27-24 win in 1989 and a 35-0 loss in 1991.
• Of the 15 wins against the Tigers, Sachem has scored 28 or more points against Northport six times.
• Sachem leads in all-time scoring against the Tigers, 498-237.

Introduction by Chris R. Vaccaro, Blog by Jonathan Walter

First Quarter

12:00: Sachem has the ball first. It'll start at its own 33-yard line.

11:20: Quarterback Angelo Armine starts things off with a 6 yard keeper.

11:00: Michael Andreassi follows that up with a 4-yard carry for a first down.

10:35: Dalton Crossan slips through a hole in the Northport defense and motors his way into the end zone for a 55-yard touchdown.  Bryan Morris's kick is good and Sachem has an early lead. Sachem 7, Northport 0

10:26: A big return by John Benitez gets the the Tigers good field position at their own 46 yard line.

9:38: Quarterback John Laurine's pass is tipped and nearly intercepted by the Sachem defense.

8:46: Sachem forces Northport to punt after 3 plays.  The Arrows will take over at their own 34 yard line.

6:50: Armine is sacked, bringing up a fourth-and-14 for the Arrows.  Brendan Garry's punt is down at the Northport 34 yard line where the Tigers will take over.

6:00: Laurine completes the first pass of the night, a five yarder to Jack Delahunty.

5:42: Running back Ryan Kokell picks up another seven and a first down for Northport.  The Arrows also give up another 15 yards on an unnessacary roughing penalty.

4:43: Laurine goes deep to Delahunty and the Tigers are set up with first-and-goal at the Sachem 5 yard line.

4:24: Kokell finishes off a gritty drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.  Pat Oertel's kick is good and the score is tied, 7-7.  There's still 4 minutes left and this is already the best first quarter and team has played against Sachem this season. Sachem 7, Northport 7

4:21: A bobbled kickoff return gives Sachem mediocre field position.  They'll start at their own 18.

3:33: Jesse Scanna weaves in and out of running lanes and picks up 5 yards en route to another Sachem first down.

1:37: Michael Andreassi's hard running gets the Arrows down to the 50 yard line.  He carried a Tigers defender about 5 yards on that one.

1:06: Jesse Scanna breaks about 3 tackles and goes 50 yards for another Arrow's touchdown.  Morris's kick is good. Sachem 14, Northport 7

58: Another nice return gives the Tigers good field position.  This time they start at the 41.

30: Laurine completes another pass to Delahunty for 5 yards.  All three of his passes tonight have found Delahunty.

End 1st Quarter, Sachem 14, Northport 7

11:18: The Tigers are forced to punt and it's a deep one.  The Arrows will start at their own 23 yard line. 

11:00: Armine runs hard to the outside and picks up about 13 yards and a first down for the Arrows. 

10:23: Dalton Crossan fights for a tough 3 yards and a first down. 

8:21: Armine keeps the ball on third-and-two, following his blockers up the middle for a first down. 

7:51: Jesse Scanna seemed to have a big touchdown run, but the Arrows are called on a holding call, making it first-and-25 for the Arrows.

7:20: Crossan picks up about 7 of those lost yards back on the next play.

6:14: Crossan went up the middle for 46 yards to score another Arrows touchdown.  A little bit of misdirection on a passing down had the Tigers defense fooled.  Morris's kick is good. Sachem 21, Northport 7

6:03: The Tigers stay hot on kick returns.  The Arrows tried to slow the return game down with a squib but Donovan Devaney still found a hole in the Sachem special teams and returned the ball to the 48 yard line.

4:40: Sachem got a big stop on third-and-four yards to go. The Arrows have to do it again for good field position as it looks like the Tigers will go for it at Sachem's 46 yard line with 4 yards to go.

4:31: Laurine ran to the outside, but couldn't pick up the first down. The Arrows take over at their own 40.

4:21: Armine kept the ball for a big run down the far sideline to pick up 23 yards.  It's a first down for the Arrows.

2:50: Armine completed a long pass on third-and-two for what looked like a big touchdown for the Arrows, but it comes back on a holding penalty.

2:43: Armine's incomplete pass to Vincent Provenzano brings up fourth down for the Arrows, who will punt.  The punt went out of bounds at the 16 yard line.

1:07: Donovan Devaney picked up a first down for the Tigers by the nose of the football.

48: Laurine sticks with his favorite target Delahunty for another 10 yards.

31: Kokell then runs straight up the middle for 15 yards. 

22: It's Laurine to Delahunty again as they pick up 15 yards through the air for another Tigers first down.

11: Devaney fought through tackles and picked up 13 yards to get down to the Sachem 20 yard line.  It's another first down for Northport with 11 seconds left on the clock.

:03: Michael McCarthy intercepted Laurine's pass to end the Tiger's scoring threat.  The Arrows will take a knee and head into the half.

End Half: Sachem 21, Northport 7

11:56: The Tigers get the ball first and they'll start at the 20 yard line. 

11:51: Sachem recovered the Tigers fumble at the 23 yard line.  This is not what the Tigers needed to start this half.

11:41: Dalton Crossan and the Arrows offense make the Tigers pay for their mistake quickly with a 23-yard touchdown run.  Crossan fought off defenders and barely stayed in bounds for the score. Morris's kick is good. Sachem 28, Northport 7

11:35: Sachem bottles up the Northport return this time.  The Tigers will start at their own 24 yard line.

11:26: Devaney got the carry and went for 16 yards and picked up a first down.

10:01: Laurine completed a deep pass to Tom Cordts.  That sets up the Tigers with another first down at the Arrow's 33 yard line.

8:05: Northport's Laurine completed a deep pass over the middle on a crossing route to Tom Cordts for a 32-yard touchdown.  Oertel's kick is good as Northport tries to claw their way back into this game.  Sachem 28, Northport 14

7:00: Armine keeps the ball himself, motoring his way down the sidelines to pick up a first down.

6:40: Scanna breaks some tackles to pick up 11 yards and another Arrows first down.

6:00: Michael Andreassi carries some tacklers and picks up another 11 yards for the the Arrows.  The Arrows running game seems to be wearing down the Tigers defense.  Their runs are getting longer and longer.

6:11: Scanna picks up 9 yards on another first down carry.

5:40: Dalton Crossan is the ball carrier.  He went 10 yards this time to score another Sachem touchdown.  Morris's kick is good. Sachem 35, Northport 14

4:43: Laurine completes a pass for 12 yards to Tom Cordts as he scrambled towards the outside for a Tigers' first down. 

4:00: Devaney picked up another 12 yards on the ground for the Tigers, then gets the ball again to pick up another 9.  He's getting them in big chunks and the Sachem defense is having a tough time wrapping him up.

2:19: Sachem committed a 15-yard facemask penalty, handing Northport a first-and-10 from the 11 yard line.

1:00: The Sachem defense stepped up and tackled Laurine as he tried to scramble for the touchdown.  It's fourth-and-six to go for the Tigers. 

:18: Laurine's 4th down pass falls incomplete and the Arrows will take over on downs at their own 6 yard line.

End 3rd Quarter: Sachem 35, Northport 14

11:47: On the first play of the 4th quarter, Trent Crossan takes the handoff and runs 84 yards for another Arrows touchdown.  Morris's kick is good. Sachem 42, Northport 14

9:45: Laurine completed a deep pass to Tom Cordts, bringing the Tigers offense all the way down to the Arrows 31 yard line. 

8:50: Devaney gets the carry and picks up a first down for the Tigers by the nose of the football.

6:52: Devaney picks up a short game but it's good for a first down at the 4 yard line for the Tigers. 

5:05: John Benitez picked up a 5-yard touchdown for the Tigers.  Oertel's extra point is good and the Arrows lead 42-21.  The Tigers have at least been able to score points against the Arrows, which is something that every team has struggled to do against them all season. This is the most points Sachem has allowed since the Suffolk County title game last season when Floyd put up 27. Sachem 42, Northport 21

4:45: The Arrows running game will try to run out the clock here with time running out in the fourth quarter. 

:00: That's it. Sachem will player the winner of Saturday's Longwood-Floyd battle in the Suffolk County Championship Friday night at Stony Brook University.

End of Game: Sachem 42, Northport 21