Floyd scores late to edge East Meadow

Down by 21 points after William Floyd’s Devante Smith returned the second-half kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, East Meadow stormed back with four touchdowns in the third quarter to deadlock last Sunday’s Long Island Class I championship game in front of more than 6,000 spectators at Stony Brook University.

But the Jets couldn’t find their way into the end zone in the fourth. The Colonials did with 3:16 remaining on A.J. Otranto’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Corey Banks that provided the difference in a 54-47 win.

“The kids gave it their all,” East Meadow head coach Vin Mascia said. “I think a lot of teams would’ve waived a white flag after they brought back the kickoff to start the second half, but our guys rallied around each other and we took them down to the wire.

“This loss is going to hurt a while and that’s OK,” he added. “The sting will go away and everyone will remember what an amazing year we had.”

The Jets (10-2) couldn’t get a handle on Floyd’s star running back Stacey Bedell, who shattered the LIC record with 412 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 29 carries. His touchdowns came from 80, 51, 59 and 80 yards. The old mark of 303 yards, set by Omar Palmer of North Babylon in 1999, was history with 6:40 remaining in the third quarter.

“He’s exceptional,” Mascia said of Bedell, who averaged 14.2 yards per carry. “Our defense saw speed and moves it’s never seen before. There’s a reason why he’s a Division I-AA scholarship kid. He might get a couple of I-A offers after this game.”