Click here for Greater Long Island newsletters. Click here to download the iPhone app.
Walt Whitman’s glorious fall season fell just a little short of a perfect on Friday, as the Wildcats lost 38-35 to Massapequa in the Long Island Class 1 football championship at Hofstra University.
Whitman (11-1) was behind 35-21 to the Chiefs deep in the fourth quarter, but the Suffolk Division I champs rallied to tie the game with just over four minutes remaining. The Wildcats lost on a field in the closing seconds of the game.
Below is the 10-yard touchdown pass that narrowed Massapequa’s lead to 35-28 with six minutes remaining.
Whitman tied the game with 4:10 remaining, much to the delight of the loud contingent of Wildcats fans. Below is the extra point play that knotted the game, 35-35.
Whitman players and their fans were crushed when Massapequa scored the game-winning 20-yard field goal with two seconds remaining.
The loss brings to a close what was a historic run for the South Huntington school district high school. In 12 games, Whitman scored a whopping 422 points.
Their 11-win march to a Suffolk title included two wins over perennial powerhouse William Floyd — outscoring the Colonials 69-7 in the two contests. The second of which secured Whitman’s first Suffolk football championship since 1984.
Before Friday, Whitman football had never played in a Long Island Championship game.
