Sachem North Football Season In Review

As the college football bowl season came to an end this week, let's take a look back at how Sachem North's squad did this year.

Sachem football coaches, players and fans are usually a confident bunch, but not even the football gods could have predicted the extraordinary success the Flaming Arrows had this year.

Finishing the season 10-1, with the most points in school history (358) under its belt, Sachem North traveled to the Division I Suffolk County championship and lost to William Floyd, 27-6, at Stony Brook University in November.

The loss aside, North was one of the most dominant offensive teams on Long Island and won its first 10 games of the season.

Game-by-game

North opened its season with a monumental task, having to play Floyd. The Colonials, who lost to Freeport in the Class I Long Island championship, tied the score against North at 14 with 3:03 remaining in the contest after Kevin Lacey was successful on a two-point conversion attempt.

Sachem drove on its final possession and Travis Nardello kicked the game-winning 30-yard field goal with 2.1 seconds left to win, 17-14. Davon Lawrence rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

It beat its cross-town rival, Sachem East, 33-7, in Week 2. Lawrence again changed the game with 176 yards and three touchdowns.

Things were a little closer when North escaped a 21-0 deficit and beat Longwood, 25-21, after scoring 25 unanswered points in the second half of Week 3's game.

North beat Ward Melville, 29-13, in Week 4. The entire rushing core erupted for more than 470 yards. Lawrence had 270 and one touchdown, Mike Adreassi had 128 and one score, Jesse Scanna rushed for 58 yards and quarterback Angelo Armine rushed for 14 yards and one touchdown.

North made history against Brentwood in Week 5 when it won, 42-41. It was the highest combined score in program history. Fans were relatively quiet at Fred Fusaro Alumni Stadium as the Indians outscored Sachem 27-7 in the second half. Brentwood would have tied the score late in the fourth quarter had it gone for the typical PAT, instead of the two-point conversion which failed.

Central Islip had no chance in Week 6, losing to the Arrows, 54-6, and ending the game before standard regulation. Lawrence scored two touchdowns and rushed for 195 yards.

The 54 points was the second most Sachem scored in a game and the 48 point gap is the second largest margin of victory in school history.

Some thought Connetquot would give Sachem trouble, but North beat the defending Class I Long Island champions, 35-7, in Week 7.

The Arrows finished up the regular season with a 47-7 win over Commack. Sachem's 26 points in the first quarter were a county high and its 47 points in the first half was a school record.

Lawrence rushed for 257 yards and five touchdowns, tying James O'Neal, who set the record for most scores in a game twice in 1995.

Since Section VIII and XI expanded their playoff brackets to include eight teams per division, top-seeded Sachem played No. 8 Central Islip in the first round.

North only led C.I. 7-0 at halftime, but the Arrows pulled away and won, 28-6. Lawrence rushed for 182 yards and two touchdowns.

History was made when Sachem won its 10th straight game and beat Brentwood in the Suffolk County semifinals, 42-6.

Gusting winds and heavy rain nixed Brentwood's passing game. Armine threw two touchdown passes and ran for another.

In the county final, Floyd had Sachem's number. Lawrence ran for 86 yards, but Sachem's offense never really got off the ground. Turnovers also hindered the Arrows' ability to gain any momentum.

Other records

-The 42 points scored against Brentwood in the Suffolk County semifinals are the most Sachem has ever scored in a playoff game, breaking the record of 36 set in 1994 vs. Lindenhurst.

-Sachem's 84 points against Brentwood this year are the most the Arrows have scored against a single team in one season.

-Against Commack in Week 8, Sachem's 47 points scored are the sixth most in a single-game, tying the 47 scored against Northport in 2001.

Food for thought

-Davon Lawrence recorded 22 touchdowns and finished the year with 1,755 rushing yards, the second highest total for a single-season at Sachem.

-The last time Sachem won two playoff games in the playoffs in the same year was in 1995, when it beat Lindenhurst and Longwood in the Suffolk playoffs.

-Sachem was the only undefeated team from Division I during the regular season.

-With a win over Central Islip in the first round of the 2009 playoffs, Sachem recorded its first playoff win since 2002, an 18-12 victory over Lindenhurst in the Suffolk semifinals.

-These are the most wins Sachem has had since 1996, when the Arrows finished 9-1. The only other teams at Sachem to reach the 9-win mark are the 1983, 1986 and 1996 squads.

-Sachem is 7-7 all-time in Suffolk County championship games.