Sayville quarterback Patrick Coan builds his own legacy
Patrick Coan and Luke Neugebauer of Sayville celebrate a fourth-quarter touchdown in the Suffolk Division III championship against Smithtown West on Nov. 20, 2025. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Sharing a last name with one of the greatest players in Long Island football history comes with sky-high expectations.
Sayville quarterback Patrick Coan has met them and then some.
His cousin, Jack Coan, was a three-time Newsday All-Long Island selection from 2014-16 and the 2016 Hansen Award winner as Suffolk’s most outstanding player. He is Long Island’s all-time leader in passing yards (9,787) and touchdown passes (128). He also ran for 2,551 yards and 23 TDs and led the Golden Flashes to two Suffolk Division III championships and one LI title.
Rather than living in his cousin’s enormous shadow, Patrick Coan has carved out his own legacy. The Lehigh commit has led the Golden Flashes to a 22-1 record and two straight Suffolk Division III titles since becoming the starter last year.
Coan was a freshman backup during Sayville’s run to the Long Island Class III championship in 2022. Now a senior, he has the chance to lead Sayville to its first Long Island title since then when the Golden Flashes meet Wantagh at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Hofstra.
“Patrick is all about winning,” coach Rob Hoss said. “Sometimes I’ll tell him that we’re going to be a little more run-heavy in a particular game and his answer is, ‘I don’t care, Coach. Whatever it takes to win.’ He has had some great games passing the ball, but a lot of times the game plan has called for being more run-heavy. He just puts the team first.”
Hoss also was Sayville’s coach throughout Jack Coan's career.
“They’re both extremely competitive. The offseason grind is no different for both of them,” Hoss said. “Both have a high IQ and a very good arm. Patrick has had to extend plays with his legs more, not that Jack couldn’t, but it’s just what our offense is requiring.”
Coan has thrown for 4,350 yards and 56 touchdowns and rushed for 1,350 yards and 17 TDs in his career. He completed 9 of 12 passes for 177 yards and three scores in Sayville’s 34-7 win over Smithtown West in the Suffolk III final on Thursday.
“I’ve had a bunch of great coaches, mentors and players around me that have helped me do it,” Coan said. “The people around me help me out so much and my cousin helps me out, too. I don’t really focus on the pressure aspect of being related to him. I focus on how I can make myself noticed and how I can ball out with my teammates and go win a championship.”
Speaking of championships, Jack Coan just won the Grey Cup as a member of the Canadian Football League’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Back to Patrick. After Sayville’s win over Smithtown West on Oct. 10 in which Coan threw for a touchdown and ran for three scores, Hoss said the team would go as far as Coan would take them.
That destination is the Long Island Class III championship game. Coan threw for four TDs in the second half of Sayville’s 31-28 loss to Garden City in last year’s title game after the Golden Flashes failed to score in the first half.
“We’re definitely feeling amped up. This is our get-back season,” Coan said. “All these guys experienced a loss last year and we don’t want to experience that again. We’ve got to come out hard and put up points in the first half and keep it on in the second half.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
