Defense rests: Northport football drops high-scoring finale to Hills East
By Steven Zaitz
In an offensive extravaganza not seen in years, the Northport Football Tigers dropped their regular season finale to Half Hollow Hills East 63-41 on Saturday Oct. 28.
Hills East quarterback Jordan Heyman tied a Long Island record by throwing eight touchdown passes and Northport running back Michael Campoli had five total touchdowns in the highest scoring game of 2023.
The Thunderbirds got on the board early when Heyman scrambled to his right and connected with halfback Lucas Martin for a 33-yard score with only three minutes gone by in the first quarter. It was just the beginning of what was to come.
Heyman would loft one to receiver Tyler Sanders on Hills East’s next possession that would be good for 60 yards and another score, and the T-birds were up 15-0 with 4:49 remaining in the opening period.
Northport would be in scratch-and-claw mode for most of the game and Campoli would pull the Tigers to within a single point, 29-28, with a short TD run and two-point conversion with 1:19 remaining in the second half.
But in one of the most glaring defensive lapses in a game full of them, Heyman threw up a Hail Mary Pass as the horn sounded to end the first half that would settle in the stomach of receiver Max Futter in the end zone. It was 35-28 for the Thunderbirds at the break, and Northport would never recover.
Tiger Sophomore QB Simon Blissett had the most prolific game of his career throwing for 242 yards and two touchdowns. Campoli had 181 yards on the ground and three rushing TDS. He had two catches for 44 yards and both of those went for touchdowns. His brother Christian had 72 yards receiving and Giancarlo Valenti had 111 yards rushing on only 14 carries – which is 8 yards per carry. Heyman, who threw for 475 yards, took advantage of a Northport fumble to start the second half and opened up a two TD lead just 27 seconds into it. They would increase it 49-28 four minutes later, on another Heyman TD strike of 52 yards again to Martin, as most of the second half was now rendered a formality.
Heyman’s octet of touchdown passes has only been done once in the modern high school football history of Long Island. Charlie McKee of Oceanside threw eight touchdowns in 2018 in the Sailors’ 62-33 win over Farmingdale.
The loss ended Northport’s three game winning streak and they finish the year an even 4-4 and earned the 5th seed in Suffolk Division II playoff bracket. They will play on the road at West Babylon on Friday Night. The Tigers lost to this team 36-0 on Sept 30th and hope to improve upon that performance.
Hills East (7-1) is seeded third and will host Bellport on Saturday afternoon. The Thunderbirds easily handled the Clippers, beating them 38-6 in the regular season.
