Last season, William Floyd won its 14th Suffolk County championship, but fell to Massapequa in the Long Island championship.
This year, the Colonials not only want to win back-to-back county championships. They also want to win a Long Island championship, which would be the seventh in program history.
The Colonials, a No. 1 preseason seed in Division I, got off to a good start on Saturday in a season-opening 36-29 victory at home against No. 3-seed Longwood in the Parkway Bowl. It was their 12th consecutive win over Longwood.
“Our goal, as always, is to win a Long Island championship,” longtime Colonials head coach Paul Longo said Thursday, two days before the season opener.
The Colonials are stacked on offense with a pair of topflight quarterbacks in starter AJ Cannet and 6-foot-4, 220-pound backup Jack Molini, who could start for “95 percent of teams,” Longo said.
Running backs Aisays Wallace and 6-foot-2, 225-pound Ja’Quon Thomas give the Colonials a balanced offense that will keep opposing defenses on their toes. Thomas scored three touchdowns, including the game winner, in Saturday’s win.
All-county linemen Derek Amato and 6-foot-2, 275-pound Aaron Fisher will open up holes for Thomas and Wallace and give the quarterbacks time to connect with talented wide receivers Josh Jordan, Kris Wallace and Geo Alvarez.
On defense, Floyd lost eight of 11 starters to graduation, including linebackers Wally Crane (now playing at SUNY Cortland) and Javon Delaney (SUNY Brockport) and safety/kicker Caden Lesiewicz, a two-time all-New York State and all-Long Island selection who is now playing at Cornell.
“That’s tough to replace,” Longo said of losing so many starters.
Longo, who is in his 30th season as Colonials’ head coach, is geared up for another great season.
“I’m just as excited for games now as I was 30 years ago,” said Longo, who was watching game film when the Long Island Advance called him for a phone interview. “I’m as excited as I’ve ever been.”
The Colonials’ next game is Saturday, Sept 21, against Lindenhurst at Lincoln Avenue Sports Complex.
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