Sachem Loses Suffolk County Championship

Jesse Scanna barreled towards the end zone, and came within yards of tying the game. But William Floyd's Stacey Bedell nudged him out of bounds and ended Sachem's 2010 campaign.

That was a mild highlight compared to the knockout punches Bedell threw all game, rushing for 242 yards on 22 carries and scoring four touchdowns in William Floyd's, 41-34, win over Sachem in the Suffolk County Division I Championship Friday night at Stony Brook University's Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

The Colonials (9-2) ousted Sachem, who won a school record 10 games for the second consecutive season, and will play Freeport (10-1) in the Class I Long Island Championship next Friday at Hofstra University.

Bedell ran for scores of 64, 49, 22 and 1 yards, blowing through Sachem's offensive line and wracking up most of Floyd's 378 yards of total offense himself.

Most of the game, he rotated with Luke Miller, who finished with 85 yards on 20 carries and scored one rushing touchdown himself.

Michael Andreassi's fumble at 4:47 of the second quarter proved to be costly after Floyd capitalized on the turnover and scored two minutes later when AJ Otranto hit Kenny Grimm with a 23-yard pass, just beating Dalton Crossan in the end zone.

The touchdown put Floyd up 14-0 and was the first time a team scored on Sachem in the second quarter the entire season.

Angelo Armine, who was remarkable with 265 yards on 21 carries, scurried for 66 yards on the following play for Sachem, allowing Scanna to bust an easy touchdown in from three yards out.

Sachem would have tied the score on its next possession, this time in the third quarter, but Crossan's 75-yard touchdown run was called back because of a holding penalty. Scanna would later have an 11-yard run called back for holding as well.

"The penalty hurt us," Armine said. "That depleted us. We punted, gave them good field position and once they were up two scores up it was very hard to come back."

Andreassi, who finished with 52 yards on 14 carries, scored his first touchdown of the game at 3:31 of the third when he broke through traffic and sprinted 29 yards to the end zone, cutting Floyd's lead to 21-14.

Floyd and Sachem continued to exchange touchdowns throughout the rest of the contest. Bedell ran for a 64-yard touchdown, and Crossan matched it with a 43-yard blast in which he cut around the line and hugged the sideline for most of the run en route to a touchdown with 1:01 left in the third.

Andreassi and Crossan scored again in the fourth, but Bedell added two more as well.

In the final minute, Sachem took over at the 45-yard line because Scanna manned the ball out of Bedell's hands.

"That was amazing," Armine said. "Jesse was out of his mind. Me and [Alex] Katos were talking and saying 'we got a shot if we strip the ball.'" 

The Arrows manufactured a comeback drive that reached the 10-yard line before a false start pushed them back to the 15. Scanna's final burst wasn't enough and Sachem's ride came to an abrupt end.

Armine's performance should be noted as one of the most outstanding in Sachem playoff history. At times, the game was on his shoulders as he hurdled through leaps and bounds, carrying Sachem every bit of the way. 

"I play every game the hardest I can," he said. "The blocking was good, Jesse came around the edge. We out manned them in that sense."

He passed the 600-yard rushing mark for the season and was an indefatigable element to Sachem's overwhelming offensive success this year.

News & Notes

-Sachem out gained Floyd, 432-378, in offensive yards.

-Other Sachem stats: Scanna rushed for 35 yards on 1 carry and scored one touchdown. Dalton Crossan rushed for 90 yards on eight carries and scored two touchdowns.

-Other Floyd stats: AJ Otranto was 7-for-8 passing for 52 yards and one touchdown.

-Sachem is now 6-9 all-time in Suffolk County title games with its last win in a county final coming in 1995.

-Sachem scored a school record 422 points, breaking into the 400-point plateau for the first time in school history.

-Sachem's 34 points are the most it has ever scored in a county championship game, win or lose.

-WF - Luke Muller 12 run (kick)

-WF - AJ Otranto to Kenny Grimm (kick)

-SN - Jesse Scanna 3 run (Bryan Morris kick)

-WF - Stacey Bedell 22 run (missed kick)

-SN - Michael Andreassi 29 run (Morris kick)

-WF - Bedell 64 run (kick)

-SN - Dalton Crossan 43 run (Morris missed kick)

-WF - Bedell 1 run (kick)

-SN - Andreassi 4 run (Morris kick)

-WF - Bedell 49 run (kick)

-SN - Crossan 11 run (Morris kick)