Ward Melville nips Floyd in title game

Last Friday night’s Suffolk Division I football championship game lived up to all the hype.

In a battle of contrasting styles and two of the most talented teams in the county, No. 2 Ward Melville outlasted top-seeded William Floyd, 31-28, before a crowd of more than 3,000 at Stony Brook University’s LaValle Stadium.

The Patriots scored a touchdown in every quarter and as it turned out a difference-making 30-yard field goal late in the first half off the leg of kicker Ethan Jargo to capture their fourth-ever county title and first since 2022, while ending the Colonials’ two-year reign.

“It was two great teams, and one had to win,” Floyd head coach Paul Longo said.

Floyd, which finished 10-1, defeated Ward Melville in last year’s championship game, 34-6, and took this year’s regular-season matchup, 28-21, on Oct. 15, thanks in large part to five takeaways.

The Colonials had an answer for every Patriots’ touchdown Friday night, responding four times, but not Jargo’s field goal. Floyd had a chance to pull even at halftime, but had a 42-yard field goal attempt clang off the crossbar.

“We’ve been thinking about last year’s loss to Floyd for a long time,” said Joey Benedetto, who had three of Ward Melville’s touchdowns as they advanced to face defending champion Massapequa in the Long Island Class I title game, Friday at noon at Hofstra University.

The Patriots (10-1) couldn’t stop Floyd senior standout Ja’Quan Thomas, who instead of bulldozing out of the backfield, lined up at quarterback and was dynamic both throwing and rushing. Thomas had three rushing touchdowns and one passing, connecting with Christian Hobson from 26 yards out late in the first quarter to answer Benedetto’s first score for a 7-7 tie.

The teams also traded touchdowns in the second quarter, with Benedetto scoring on a nine-yard run and Thomas from two yards out. Thomas finished with 184 yards on the ground and 143 through the air.

Ward Melville quarterback Hudson Philbrick was equal to the task. He completed 12 of 18 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, including a 28-yard strike to junior wideout Joey Karpowicz midway through the third quarter to extend their lead to 24-14.

Floyd responded with an 80-yard drive on 13 plays, with senior Aisays Wallace and Thomas doing most of the damage. Thomas’s five-yard touchdown run cut the margin to 24-21 with 9:41 to go.

But on the second snap on Ward Melville’s ensuing possession, Philbrick and Karpowicz hooked up on a 47-yard connection to move the ball inside the red zone and Benedetto scored the eventual game-winning touchdown with 6:35 remaining.