Lawrence drops record shootout to Sayville

For the second time in eight days, Lawrence’s explosive offense put on a show with more than 60 points on the board but stunningly it wasn’t enough for the Golden Tornadoes to overcome Sayville in last Sunday’s record-setting Long Island Class III championship game at Stony Brook University.

The Golden Flashes won the highest-scoring game in Long Island football history, 78-61, behind 224 yards and six touchdowns from seldom-used junior running back Zach Sirico and a pair of touchdown passes from senior quarterback Steven Ferreira. Sirico, who averaged 13.2 yards per carry, scored twice in the second, third and fourth quarters.

“If someone told me on the way here we’d score 61 points and lose, of course I wouldn’t believe it,” Golden Tornadoes head coach Joe Martillotti said. “We had a great year and the kids played hard, but we just couldn’t get a stop. Obviously Sayville’s a great offensive team, but we didn’t tackle anyone.”

The 139 combined points shattered the previous LIC record of 97 set in last year’s Class I game when Freeport topped William Floyd, 62-35. The new mark was established with 3:33 remaining in the third quarter when junior John Haggart (141 yards, two touchdowns) scored on a 2-yard run and Sayville led 64-36 after Brandon Halton tacked on the extra point.

“It was one of those days where the offense could do wrong,” Golden Flashes head coach Robert Hoss said. “Lawrence is such a dangerous team and we knew we’d have to score a bunch. We’ve made a living with the passing game, but today it was the offensive line and the running backs.”

Lawrence (10-2), which beat Plainedge 64-34 for the Nassau Conference III title, got remarkable offensive performances from sophomore quarterback Joey Capobianco, who threw for a record 541 yards and seven touchdowns, and from junior receiver Eddie Robinson, who had eight receptions for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Tyler Fredericks (119 receiving yards, four total touchdowns) and freshman Jordan Fredericks (138 receiving yards, one touchdown) also took part in the fireworks.

“They did a nice job stuffing the box and blitzing in certain situations,” Martillotti said. “We’ve been more of a passing team the last three weeks and Joey couldn’t have been any better. He’s surrounded by guys who make plays and he does a great job checking down if the first option isn’t there.”

Ferreira, who added to his record passing marks, finishing with 73 touchdowns and 6,407 yards for his career, completed 10 of 14 attempts for 225 yards. Both of his scoring tosses came in the first half — 43 yards to senior Tom Hannan and 25 yards to Haggart.

Capobianco’s third touchdown pass of the first half — a 3-yard strike to Jordan Fredericks — came with seven seconds to go and cut Sayville’s lead to 35-29. The Golden Flashes (12-0) never trailed but didn’t gain breathing room until Matt Ali’s 12-yard interception return for a touchdown gave them a 57-36 lead with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter.

Down by 28 points two minutes later, Lawrence showed no letup. Tyler Fredericks caught a long tipped pass that went for a 79-yard touchdown, and with 10:49 remaining Robinson hauled in a 43-yard scoring toss. But on the next play from scrimmage, Sirico raced 55 yards for a score and Sayville’s advantage was a basketball-like 71-49.

The teams combined for 1,276 yards. Lawrence had 667.

“We knew we had to stay strong and keep scoring because no lead was safe,” Sirico said.