Sure, the Lions had been here before. At halftime of a game against William Floyd, the game very much up for grabs.

But all too often, once the second half began, that’s when the game would begin to slip away for Longwood. A mistake here, miscue there and the Colonials would pounce all over it.

ROBERT O'ROURK PHOTO | Longwood sophomore Chris Faison ran 21 yards on a critical third down play that set up Longwood's second touchdown.

Of course, it wasn’t just Longwood. The Colonials did that to just about every team. In most games the Colonials had it all but wrapped up by halftime, rendering the second half a mere exhibition for the team’s second and third string.

Rarely did that happen to the Lions. They were close with Floyd, but so often failed to put together the kind of complete, 48-minute effort it takes to defeat an elite team.

Saturday, the Lions showed it.

It was far from perfect, sure, but the Lions demonstrated a resiliency rarely seen before in their games against Floyd.

The second half proved the perfect example.

The Lions went into halftime holding as tenuous a lead as they get, 7-6. Floyd got the ball to start the second half in position to seize control back from the Lions.

But right away, the Lions didn’t budge. Floyd’s first three plays: incomplete pass, incomplete pass, incomplete pass. And then a punt.

“They’re a great staff,” said Longwood coach John Murphy. “They know how to win. They’re going to make halftime adjustments, so obviously you don’t know what you’re going to get when they’re coming out of the locker room to start the second half. Our kids played well.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS

The Lions never allowed the Colonials to set the tone in the second half. They never became tentative, never backed away, never stopped hitting. Aside from the one touchdown play, the Colonials had a whopping total of two first downs in the second half. One came in the final seconds with the Lions in a soft, preventive defense.

Even with the touchdown allowed, it was as good a defensive half for the Lions as we’ve seen in a long time. No one is saying this Floyd team is the 2007 team that steamrolled everyone to a Long Island championship, but Floyd is still Floyd. And Stacey Bedell is still a heck of a runner, one of the tops on Long Island. And no team has dominated on its home field in Suffolk County over the last decade as Floyd.

“‘Hats off to the defensive coordinator coach [Bernard] Hanson,” Murphy said. “He called a great game. These kids were well prepared.”

Everyone knew the Lions would be a defensive force this year at stopping the run. Darius Greene is one of the top run-stuffers in the county. With Floyd needing to throw the ball, Greene often started on the outside at defensive end, starting from a standing position. He rushed the quarterback almost like a linebacker.

That the Lions could stop Floyd’s passing attack as well as they did is the biggest surprise. Connetquot threw against the Lions in Week 1 with limited success, but Floyd obviously presented a much a greater challenge.

“We kept it together, played hard and made sure nobody was getting behind us,” said corner back Dave Bennett, who led the defense with a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions.

As the game wore on, it became more and more apparent that it was going to be up to the defense to win the game. The Lions’ offense finally provided a little breathing room just before the end of the third quarter. The defense forced the Colonials into a three-and-out and junior Jordan Wesley returned the punt out to the Floyd 33-yard line for a huge return. On third-and-7 from the 30-yard line, sophomore Chris Faison, on his first carry of the game, took a toss right for 21 yards and a first down. Two plays later Davonte Booker punched it in from five yards out.

Junior Paul Aponza booted the extra point to make it 14-6.

Special teams proved to be a huge difference in the game. The Lions converted both their extra points while the Colonials failed on their first attempt, forcing them into the two-point conversion at the end. Had they made the first kick, who knows how things may have ended differently.

Offensively the Lions relied heavily on halfback Kavaughn Wiggins. He carried 23 times for only 67 yards. He hasn’t broken a big one yet, but it’d be safe to assume some are on the way. Corry Wallace carried 16 times for 78 yards. He scored the team’s first touchdown on a 10-yard run.

An almost forgotten point of the game after it was all said and done came in the first quarter. Floyd put together a strong drive to set up first-and-goal at the Lions’ 10. But the defense held firm. Bedell was stuffed on first down for no gain and on second down Booker and linebacker Kevin Parker combined for a sack. It pushed the Colonials back five yards and left them with a 32-yard field goal attempt after an incomplete pass on third down. The field goal was no good, a critical three points kept off the board.

The Lions return home next week for homecoming against Patchogue-Medford before another huge road game at Sachem North.

If the Lions can get to Week 5 with a 4-0 record, they’ll be well on their way to the No. 1 seed in the Division I playoffs.

As gratifying as Saturday’s long-awaited win at Floyd was, it will be a distant memory by the time the playoffs roll around.

For a team as talented and deep as Longwood, its season won’t be defined by one regular season victory, but by how far it advances in November.

It’s been seven years since Longwood won a county title. It’s time to snap another streak.

[email protected]