BY COREY McLAUGHLIN
Greetings from Stony Brook University where a new Suffolk Division III champion will be decided tonight. It’s comfortable and warm here in the press box, but the conditions on the field are really frigid. The Newsday weather station says the wind chill is 26 right now before kickoff.
Both teams are 9-1. Sayville, of course, lost its only game of the year in controversial fashion to Kings Park, but the Golden Flashes and quarterback Dillon Boos avenged that early October overtime loss by defeating the same Kings Park team in the semifinals last week.
Harborfields was ranked No. 11 in the preseason out of 14 Division III teams. The Tornadoes sure proved that prediction irrelevant during a strong regular season that qualified them for the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. Now they have a shot at winning a county title. Watch for running back Randy Tillman, who enters with 1,577 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground.
These two teams didn’t meet during the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Back with game updates then…
7:12: Harborfields won the toss and started on offense. Tillman ran the ball on four of the first seven plays and gained 20 yards total, but the drive stalled at the Harborfields 45 and it punted.
7:20: A 16-play Sayville drive ended on a 1st-and-goal at the Harborfields 9 when Corey Caulfield fumbled and Harborfields recovered. Sayville had converted two fourth downs during its drive before the turnover.
END OF FIRST QUARTER
7:31: After a 61-yard punt by Harborfields' Kyle Phillips, Sayville went three and out and also punted.
7:34: Two Tillman runs, an incomplete pass and a punt by Harborfields.
7:37: Boos completed a pass to Nick Stover, but Stover fumbled after the catch at the Harborfields 25. Ryan Barth-Dwyer picked it up and returned the ball 48 yards down the right sideline for Harborfields. Big play.
7:41: Harborfields went four and out and couldn't take advantage of Sayville's second turnover.
7:44: Sayville was forced to punt but Barth-Dwyer fumbled the return and it was recovered by Sayville's Doug Meehan. Two plays later, though, Boos tossed an interception.
7:52: Two sacks forced Harborfields into a 3rd-and-27 at its own 10 and quarterback Kyle Phillips threw an interception to Meehan on a deep pass attempt. That's the fifth turnover of the game and we're not at halftime. Sayville takes over just inside Harborfields territory with about 3 minutes to go before half.
7:55: We have a score. Nick Meo scored on a 9-yard run up the middle to cap a 7-play, 40-yard drive that took 3:20. The extra point failed. Sayville - 6, Harborfields - 0 with 1:09 left in the second quarter.
8:00: The half ends with another turnover, an interception by Meehan on a Hail Mary-type pass by Phillips from the Sayville 40.
HALFTIME
Some stats for you:
Sayville - Boos is 9-for-15 passing for 75 yards with an INT. Meo, who didn't start at running back, has 43 yards on eight carries with the touchdown.
Harborfields - Tillman has 63 yards on 11 carries.
Each team has three turnovers.
8:30: Sayville's drive to open the half ends with a fumble after a completed pass by Boos. But Tillman fumbles on Harborfields' first play and Sayville recovers at the Harborfields 39. Eight turnovers now total. Sayville ball.
8:34: Facing a 3rd-and 36 at midfield after a botched shotgun snap, Sayville's Stover is intercepted by Tillman at the Harborfields 10. It was an end around pass play that didn't quite work. Nine turnovers now.
8:40: Harborfields punts to Sayville, but Meehan drops the return and fumbles. This is turnover No. 10, recovered by Harborfields' Dan Sweeney at the Sayville 28.
8:49: After the turnover, Harborfields ran seven plays and has a 1st-and-goal at the 6 as the quarter ends.
END OF THIRD QUARTER
8:53: Tillman scores on a 1-yard run on the first play of the fourth but a penalty after the touchdown pushes the extra point to a 24-yard attempt. The kick is wide right. Sayville - 6, Harborfields - 6 with 11:56 left in the fourth quarter.
9:00: Boos hits Charlie Podgurski for a 58-yard TD pass. Extra point is good. Drive was nine plays, 91 yards in 4:09. Sayville - 13, Harborfields - 6 with 7:34 left in the fourth quarter.
9:06: Harborfields has a 4th-and-3 with 5:23 left and calls time out.
9:08: Harborfields tries to draw Sayville offsides, is unsuccessful, and calls time out again. The Tornadoes punt. Sayville takes over at its own 34.
9:12: On 4th down, Boos punts down to the Harborfields 1. A great clutch kick and he got a nice bounce.
9:15: Harborfields advances to its own 30 behind the running of Tillman, but its fourth down with 49.3 left in the game now.
9:18: Phillips is sacked. Sayville ball. The Flashes will run out the clock and win.
FINAL SCORE: Sayville - 13, Harborfields - 6