BY BEN STRACK
As Plainedge quarterback Davien Kuinlan scurried to the left sideline for a nine-yard touchdown less than three minutes into the Nassau III championship, he fielded some high fives, walked to the sideline and quietly sat by himself. After all the game was young and his dominating first drive was nothing out of the ordinary.
Glen Cove would not let Kuinlan rest, as running back Tim Hogan took the first play 65 yards for the answering score. He didn’t need any, as he one-upped the Big Red with a one-play drive of his one, taking it 72 yards to the melody of an ecstatic crowd at Hofstra’s James M. Shuart Stadium.
That would set the tone, as the 6’ 1” senior set the Long Island rushing yards record with 484 on 39 carries, adding seven touchdowns to lead the Red Devils to a 56-34 win Saturday.
“He’s got something in him that nobody else has,” head coach Rob Shaver said. “There are some runs that he makes that aren’t great, and we don’t even say anything because he makes so many that are great.”
The 215-pound presence was light on his feet all day, taking direct snaps out of the shotgun as well as handoffs and pitches from fellow senior Nicholas Checchica. Kuinlan extended the Devils’ lead late in the first quarter, taking runs of 10 and 31 yards to complete a two-play touchdown drive to go ahead, 21-7. But Glen Cove would not relent as Hogan—who finished with 183 yards—took the first play all the way for the second time of the quarter, an 80-yard statement to cut the advantage back to one possession.
That’s as close as the Big Red would get though, as touchdowns on the next two Plainedge drives, including yet another 65-yard touchdown on the first play of the series by Checchia, seemed to be putting the game out of reach. Kuinlan added two more touchdowns on runs of 57 and 51 in the last three minutes of the half to push the halftime lead to 49-20.
Kuinlan snapped the Nassau County single game record in the third quarter, as he broke the all-time Long Island mark—a 467-yard showing by North Babylon’s Jason Gwaltney in 2003—during the game’s final stanza.
“I wasn’t even aware of it,” said Kuinlan. “They are the best offensive line on Long Island and those guys do all the work up front. I just run through the holes just like every other week.”
Glen Cove stormed out in the third quarter, scoring on a three-play drive that lasted just 1:23. Kuinlan would fumble in Big Red territory on the ensuing possession as the underdogs followed up the turnover with a 75-yard, sub-two minute series that made it a game again at 49-34.
Facing a fourth-and-8 in long field goal range, Kuinlan used his arm for one of just four times on the day to connect with Checchia, who hauled in a sliding grab for 22 yards. Kuinlan’s 12-yard run with 11 minutes left ended the scoring for both teams, capping off the rushing specialist’s historic day full of broken tackles, field-reversals and remarkable vision.
“It has a lot to do with trust in the other guys because I know they’re going to have my back and I have their back so if I was to cut back, I know they are going to be there for me,” Kuinlan said.
The win was sweet, but in Shaver’s post-game talk with his players, the message was clear: They aren’t done. After all, Plainedge (11-0) has not reached the Long Island Championship with this group, suffering defeat in the Nassau III finals the last four seasons.
“It’s definitely been on my mind,” said Kuinlan. “It was a great feeling to finally get it done because we’ve been a part of so many losses in this game.”
The Red Devils face off against Suffolk champs Sayville in the Long Island Class III Championship Nov. 29 at Stony Brook University.
“It’s something we haven’t been a part of yet,” the record-holder said. “We just need to work hard every day and focus on the next one.”
