Lynbrook Owls take Long Island!

For the first time since 2003, the Long Island Class III champions reside in Nassau County.

Trailing Sayville by a point early in the fourth quarter last Friday night at Hofstra, Lynbrook’s defense forced a key turnover and its offense did the rest. Senior Kendall Bruton’s interception set up senior Travis Lock’s go-ahead 2-yard touchdown run with 7:28 remaining and the Owls went on to beat the Golden Flashes, 42-27, for their first L.I. crown since 1992.

“When you win a championship, it’s not about two or three players — it’s about everyone wearing a uniform and everyone on the coaching staff,” Lynbrook head coach Steve LoCicero said. “It’s a special group.”

Bruton, who also had a fumble recovery in the second half to keep a scoring drive alive, picked off Sayville junior quarterback Steven Ferreira at midfield and returned it 43 yards to set up a first-and-goal. Two snaps later, Lock put the Owls ahead for good with his 11th touchdown in four playoff games. Lynbrook (11-1) drove 77 yards on its next possession and sealed the title with 1:36 left on senior quarterback Paul Magliore’s third touchdown run.

“Our linemen do an incredible job blocking,” said Lock, who had 174 yards and two scores on 19 carries. “Everyone just stepped up. This is something we all dreamed about.”

Sayville, which has won three Long Island championships since 2004, led for the first time three seconds into the fourth quarter, 27-26, after sophomore John Haggart (27 carries, 123 yards) scored from a yard out on fourth down and added the game’s only successful extra-point kick.

“I thought it could be a high-scoring game,” LoCicero said. “Both teams do a lot of things well. We did a good job with the game plan and the kids executed it well.”

After a Lynbrook punt, the Golden Flashes took over at their own 11 with 10:20 to go and faced a third-and-5 from the 35 when the turning point took place. Pressured by senior Brandon Cheney, Ferreira flung an errant pass to Bruton, who was untouched until he was forced out of bounds inside the 10.

“I was hoping to get into the end zone and give us the lead,” said Bruton, “but I had so much confidence in our offense I knew we’d get there eventually.”

After Lock’s touchdown regained the lead for the Owls, Magliore ran in a two-point conversion to make it 34-27. But Sayville, which beat Islip in triple OT in the Suffolk Division III final, returned the ensuing kickoff to its 43 and was knocking on the door for the tie when Ferreira (9 for 22, 109 yards) threw incomplete on fourth-and-8 from the Lynbrook 22.

“We mixed up our man and zone defense in the second half and got better results,” LoCicero said.

With 4:47 left, the Owls went to their bread and butter — the ground attack. A week after totaling 441 yards rushing in their Nassau Conference III championship win over Lawrence, they produced 371, with 77 coming on the game-sealing drive. The signature play of the last possession was provided by senior Mike Kozlakowski (77 yards, one touchdown), who barreled up the middle for a gain of 32, while carrying half of Sayville’s defense along with a few teammates on his back. 

“That’s Koz,” LoCicero said. “I can’t count how many times he’s had a run of that nature.”

Lynbrook averaged 44.2 points in four playoff wins and allowed 14 second-half points.