Nassau’s Lawrence is a perennial contender in the Long Island championships, while Suffolk’s Westhampton Beach is making its first trip to the dance. Let the games begin!
The game will take place at Stony Brook on Sunday, November 26 at Noon.
Things you should know:
- Like Lindenhurst fans with Jeremy Ruckert, you’ll want to earmark the Class III championship as a must-watch so you can get one last glimpse of Westhampton star, Dylan Laube. The All-Long Island running back and New Hampshire-bound recruit will go down as one of Long Island’s all-time greats.
- This year the Hurricanes won their first Suffolk County championship since 1989. The Long Island championships originated in 1992.
- The Hurricanes have not scored less than 23 points this season in a game, and have scored more than 35 in eight of 11 games.
- This is the ninth county championship and appearance for Lawrence in the Long Island championships since 1992. Their last LIC victory was against Sayville in 2014, a 40-35 win.
- The Golden Tornadoes are balanced and have threats on both sides. From cornerback Jordan Alexander to running back Chris Collier – 30 carries, 217 yards, 2 touchdowns in semifinals – to two-way threat Chris Duran to Christian Fredericks, they bring a heavy punch.
- Quotable: Westhampton guard, Kurt Mion on Laube in a Newsday article: “He gets through the tightest gaps in the defense and makes big plays. He finds holes that aren’t there and creates opportunities.”
- Quotable: Westhampton linebacker/full back Liam McIntyre on their defense: “We have a bend-don’t-break mentality on our defense. We seem to dig deep when teams get near our end zone.”
How they got here?
- Westhampton beat Rocky Point, 56-21, West Babylon, 61-21, and Hills West, 28-14.
- Lawrence beat Hewlett, 41-7, Bethpage, 35-13, and Wantagh, 21-10.
Catch updates and follow the action via Section XI on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, @SectXISuffolk, and SectionXI.org.
