Westhampton Beach Offense Hits A Wall

When Westhampton Beach and Sayville faced each other in week three, it was a back-and-forth contest that found the Hurricanes within six points in the fourth quarter, before ultimately dropping a 32 – 18 decision.

But in Sunday’s Division III final at Stony Brook’s Kenneth LaValle Stadium, there would be no tug of war, no nail biter for Westhampton fans. Sayville took command with three first-half touchdowns and the Hurricanes could never get their offense going, losing 28 – 6. It was the second-consecutive season that the Hurricanes were defeated by Sayville in the post season.

“It’s all about making plays, and today we didn’t make them,” Westhampton coach Bill Parry said. “We got beat today by a better team. I hate to say that, but they played better.”

Defense Creates Opportunities Early

The Westhampton defense came up big early in the game, as Dan Gomez recovered a John Haggart fumble less than three minutes in. But the Hurricanes coughed it up on the ensuing play, with Sayville taking over at the Westhampton 41. The Golden Flashes drove to the 28, but again, the Westhampton defense stood strong, sacking quarterback Steven Ferreira three times.

“[Westhampton] was bringing pressure,” Sayville coach Robert Hoss aid. “Give them credit. They played hard.”

The Hurricanes weren’t able to move the ball, and on Sayville’s next drive, Ferreira hooked up with James Rupp for a 33-yard strike, giving Sayville a 7 – 0 lead with 2:04 remaining. That lead was extended early in the second when Ferreira found Tom Dieckhoff down the left sideline. The pass was tipped by a Westhampton defender into Dieckhoff’s hands, who ran untouched into the end zone.

“They caught us in miss matches on three long plays,” Parry said.

Red-Zone Offense Hits Wall

Trailing 21 – 0, Hurricanes quarterback Jack Murphy engineered his best drive of the half. With 2:00 remaining and starting at their own 34, Murphy found Brendon Eckart downfield for a 51-yard gain to the Sayville 15. Murphy would move his team down to the Sayville 1-yard line. But that’s as far as the Hurricanes got. Movement on the offensive line, a running play that went for negative yardage, and an interception in the end zone erased any hopes of capturing momentum before halftime.

That series of plays loomed even larger midway into the third quarter, after Murphy’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Connor Raynor, who outran Sayville’s defense down the right sideline, closing the score to 21 – 6. Had the Hurricanes converted in the final moments of the first half, it might have been a different game.

After Raynor’s touchdown, Westhampton’s defense forced Sayville to go three-and-out, at their own 30. With just the hint of a momentum swing in the air, the Hurricanes ran into punter Zach Sirico deep in Sayville territory. The Golden Flashes maintained possession and drove down the field, ultimately scoring on Haggart’s second touchdown run of the game.

“It was a penalty, we ran into [the punter],” Parry conceded.

Last Game For Seniors

So the Hurricanes (8-3) end their season and now say good-bye to 19 seniors. None will be missed more than Dan Gomez, Westhampton’s start fullback and linebacker. “He’s done everything for us,” Parry said. “He makes plays. He makes things happen for us.”

But Parry points to a number of underclassmen at skilled positions, such as Murphy, as reason for Hurricane fans to be optimistic. “We’ve got some good kids coming back,” Parry said.