Kevin Wilson, Farmingdale use Wildcat against Freeport in Nassau Conference I final
Farmingdale running back Kevin Wilson was used in Wildcat as a quarterback and threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to usual signalcaller Nick Lundin (not in picture) during the second quarter of Nassau Conference I final against Freeport at Hofstra Thursday night. Credit: James Escher
Kevin Wilson wasn’t having his usual success on the ground, so the Farmingdale football team spiced up his role a bit.
The 6-1, 205-pound running back has imposed his will throughout Nassau Conference I this season. But after being bottled up in the opening half against Freeport in the final, Wilson found himself in the backfield alone.
Farmingdale coach Buddy Krumenacker had Wilson in the Wildcat midway through the second quarter. But the senior didn’t just run. After some unsuccessful rushes, Wilson and Nick Lundin flipped their roles and the senior running back found Lundin — the team’s starting quarterback — for a 47-yard touchdown pass in the middle of the field for Farmingdale’s first score of the contest with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter.
“We practiced it this week just for them and I saw my quarterback Nick out there and I just heaved it up there,” Wilson said. “I believed in him after playing all those games in the backyard and everything and I just trusted him.”
That would be the only score for the Dalers, as Freeport won, 30-7, in the Nassau Conference I championship at Hofstra Thursday evening. But even in defeat, Wilson was proud of how the team performed against a program that has won 23 straight games and three county titles in the last four years.
“We knew Freeport was a tough team, we had to get through them all the way to get here,” WIlson said. “And every day since June, we came out here and practiced our butts off every single day and it meant a lot just to be here.”
Krumenacker echoed Wilson’s thoughts.
“We knew they were great defensively and they are a great football team but I knew we’d own up to the challenge,” Krumenacker said. “We’re pretty much the only people that owned up to the challenge during the season — we played two full games against them, I don’t think anyone else accomplished that — but that doesn’t get you a win.”
Freeport (11-0) contained Wilson to 11 rushing yards on 14 carries after the senior rushed for 188 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-7 win over Oceanside in the semifinals last week. Farmingdale (8-3) finished with 102 yards of total offense Thursday night.
“They are just so fast,” Wilson said. “They fill the gaps so hard. They are well coached and they are just great players in general.”
And although it wasn’t the result the Dalers wanted, the defense held Freeport to its lowest point total of the season and closest score differential in a contest.
“Very resilient,” Krumenacker said. “We preach keep playing every down, play one down at a time, and that’s what they did.”
