Half Hollow Hills East football's Noah Reinstein kicks winning FG in OT to beat Northport
Noah Reinstein of Half Hollow Hills East send his field-goal attempt through the uprights for the 17-14 victory over Northport during a Suffolk Division II football game in Dix Hills on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Half Hollow Hills East kicker Noah Reinstein admitted he was a little nervous. That would be completely understandable.
Reinstein lined up to attempt the biggest kick through the first four games of the 2026 high school football season. He watched Northport storm back with 14 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime against top seed Half Hollow Hills East.
The pressure was on. All the big pass plays, hard hits, interceptions, defensive stops and key first down runs, brought them to this point.
Everyone was focused on the kick – in overtime.
And this is what kickers dream about. A shot at making that final kick and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
Center Adonis Owen sent a perfect snap to holder RJ Peters, and Reinstein kept his head down and drilled the game-winning, 27-yard field goal just inside the left upright to send Half Hollow Hills East to a 17-14 win over Northport in Suffolk Division II on Saturday afternoon in Dix Hills.
Reinstein was mobbed after the kick as the RedHawks remained undefeated at 4-0.
“I was trying to stay stretched and ready on the sideline,” Reinstein said. “I’d never had the chance to kick a game-winner. I was ready.”
Junior defensive tackle Michai Crump, the 6-0, 245-pound emotional leader of this RedHawks team, bearhugged his kicker after the win.
“This was one of my favorite games of my life,” said Crump, who had 11 tackles. “I couldn’t wait to hug Noah. We got out slow and flat and Northport is well-coached and loaded with athletes. That was a very tough game.”
It certainly was. How's this for a first-place showdown of undefeated teams? Half Hollow Hills East and Northport (3-1) played to a scoreless tie through the first half. Both teams could only muster three first downs apiece. Hills East had 49 yards on 19 plays and Northport managed 42 yards on 22 plays. There were seven consecutive punts, and both teams were penalized four times in a clean, hard-hitting affair where it felt like the first turnover would decide a winner.
Late in the third quarter, junior defensive back Kaylib Merchant intercepted a deep pass at the Hills East 45-yard line and returned it 37 yards to the Northport 18. Three plays later, quarterback Vin Banculli scored from one yard out, and Reinstein added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 1:02 left in the third quarter.
Northport answered with a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, keyed by a Sean Morrissey 33-yard reception off a tipped pass to the RedHawks' 18.
Senior Tristan Magro caught a 10-yard TD pass on a ball that was tipped into the air at the goal line with 6:37 left. Ty Hamada made the extra-point kick to tie the score at 7.
“Ball was bobbled or tipped and I dove for it,” Magro said.
It was the first points allowed by Hills East through four games.
The game was tied for all of 54 seconds.
Banculli fired a 51-yard touchdown pass to Peters, who beat man coverage to give Hills East a 14-7 lead with 5:43 remaining.
“Perfect back shoulder throw and a great read by Vin,” Peters said.
On the ensuing kickoff, a jarring hit forced a fumble which was recovered by Hills East’s Christian Sivo at the Northport 32.
The Northport defense led, by linebacker Chuck O’Brien, dug in and forced a fourth-and-6 at the Tigers' 28.
Banculli’s pass floated over the intended receiver’s head and was picked off by Ryder Maag. The senior defensive back raced down the visitor’s sideline for a 77-yard pick-6 to make it 14-13 with 2:39 left. Hamada’s kick tied it at 14.
“I just didn’t want to get caught from behind,” he said. “Hills has athletes all over the field.”
The RedHawks' defense stopped Northport on the first possession of overtime. A 39-yard field goal attempt clanked off the crossbar.
That miss set up the Reinstein kick.
“Hills took the lead and we battled back twice,” Northport coach Pat Campbell said. “We cannot lose sight of what we accomplished today. I know we feel bad and it’s a loss. We played a little shorthanded with a few key injuries. But guys stepped in and played hard. We will pick each other up and stick together.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
