Sofia LaSpina, Gabby Hanellin lead Bellmore-Merrick to inaugural Nassau girls flag football title

Bellmore-Merrick had scored only one particular landing and trailed by one particular place with 7:49 remaining in the Nassau girls flag soccer championship activity. But now the Chargers experienced the ball back, 55 yards from the conclude zone and they had believers in their midst.

“I understood that we ended up likely to come back again,” mentioned Gabby Hanellin, their senior slot receiver. “There was not a doubt in my brain if they received me the ball, I was likely and scoring.”

Junior quarterback Sofia LaSpina bought her the ball on fourth down from the 4. Hanellin turned it into a generate-closing, match-profitable, 4-garden touchdown reception with 4:24 on the clock as Bellmore-Merrick defeat Lynrook, 12-7, at Mepham on Thursday night time. 

So Bellmore-Merrick became the very first Nassau champion in this activity, which arrived on Lengthy Island this spring as portion of the Jets X Nike Substantial Faculty Ladies Flag Soccer League.

“It’s this sort of a great experience,” Hanellin reported. “I simply cannot even describe it in terms . . . It is historic. It is going to go down in record eternally for us.”

And the year isn’t about nonetheless for a crew which is 9–1, which include the postseason. It will be dealing with the Suffolk winner — Whitman or Sachem East — in the Extended Island championship match at 3:30 on June 4 at the Jets’ schooling complex in Florham Park, New Jersey.

“It was just amazing to know that we’re going to Jersey,” LaSpina mentioned.

LaSpina threw for 195 yards and two scores. She was also picked off by Kaelyn O’Brien and Amelia Doyle in the initial 50 %.

On the determining perform, the lefty passer seemed for Adriana Iemma. She was lined. LaSpina drifted still left and threw still left to Hanellin, who took it in for the get.

“I experience like all people was a minor anxious and trying to wrap their heads close to in which we are appropriate now,” LaSpina mentioned. “But once we all got it jointly and we began doing work as a workforce, we ultimately did what we have been supposed to.”

The Owls (7-2-1) experienced a few vital accidents and did not engage in perfectly when the Chargers conquer them, 41-22, on May well 16.

“Today we had all people again,” coach Rob Kolb claimed. “We had a number of wrinkles in to alter it up for them … I imagined we ended up the far better athletes, but they designed much more plays than we did.”

O’Brien was his quarterback. In the 1st 50 %, the junior scored on a 1-lawn operate, then threw a conversion go to make it 7-. LaSpina quickly countered with a 10-garden TD go to Iemma, but the conversion go failed. Lynbrook’s defense was alternatively formidable.

But the Chargers succeeded in the stop.

“These girls have labored extremely, quite difficult,” coach Anthony Cracco explained. “To be a section of a heritage-earning year — this is just a capper on a fantastic period. It’s been such an unbelievable experience to be close to these young children just about every working day.”