Heyman leads Newsday's All-Long Island flag football first team

Samantha Heyman threw for 4,369 yards and 70 touchdowns to headline Newsday's 2026 All-Long Island flag football first team, and the Half Hollow Hills quarterback was named the paper's Player of the Year on June 27. The senior finished 19-0 and became a four-time First Team All-Long Island selection, putting her season among the most complete quarterback campaigns in the region's flag football record book.

Her pace was already heavy by early May, when Half Hollow Hills was 9-0 and averaging 38.7 points per game. Heyman had 2,226 passing yards and 34 touchdowns at that point, which meant she added 2,143 yards and 36 more scoring throws over the stretch run as Hills closed with a perfect record.

The team season carried extra weight in Cortland, where Half Hollow Hills won the NYSPHSAA Class A state championship on June 8 after losing the previous year's state final. Newsday later said Hills outscored opponents 679-126 and that Heyman accounted for 87 combined touchdowns, a production line that matched the team's dominance and gave the quarterback honors real statistical teeth. Newsday also said Heyman won the National Football Foundation's top scholar-athlete award.

The rest of the first team showed how concentrated the Long Island talent pool has become. Steve Fazzolari, Taylor Garro, Joeyce Forero, Zoe Franks, Hazel Carlson, Gina, Taylor Gabel, Victoria Valdes, Samantha Hovanec, Brian Heyman, Marissa Dauria and Jen Lapinski joined Heyman on the list, underscoring a sport that now produces multi-year award winners and full seasonal résumés. NYSPHSAA staged its third annual girls flag football state championships in the Cortland and Homer area on June 6-7, and USA Football says flag football will debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics with men’s and women’s six-team tournaments, a backdrop that makes Heyman's senior year look less like a one-off and more like an early benchmark for the game’s next level.