Sayville High duo named Suffolk County’s top scholar-athletes

Sayville High School did something no Suffolk County school had done before: it produced both of the county’s top Butch Dellecave scholar-athletes in the same year. Patrick Coan and Sophia Buffardi were named Suffolk’s top male and female scholar-athletes, a first for the award and a striking marker of the strength coming out of Sayville’s athletic program.

The Butch Dellecave Award honors graduating seniors for excellence in athletics, academics and community service, and each of Suffolk County’s 66 school districts is asked to nominate one boy and one girl. The fact that both winners came from Sayville turned a yearly countywide recognition into a rare local sweep, one that reflects more than individual talent. It points to a school community that has built success across sports, not just in one standout season.

Coan, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound quarterback from West Sayville, has committed to Lehigh University and entered the conversation as one of the region’s stronger Class of 2026 passers. A recruiting source said he completed nearly 75% of his passes for 1,937 yards and 25 touchdowns in 2025, production that helped put Sayville football on a wider radar. His selection as one of the county’s top scholar-athletes also underscored the academic and leadership side of a player whose profile has risen well beyond the South Shore.

Buffardi brought a similarly imposing resume to the honor. The North Carolina commit was ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2026 by Inside Lacrosse and finished 2025 with 59 points, including 41 goals, 18 assists and 89 draw controls. She helped lead Sayville to the New York State Class C title as a sophomore, then added another layer to her profile when USA Lacrosse named her among its High School Girls’ Players of the Week in April 2026.

Sayville Public Schools had already lined up two senior celebrations around the recognition, a Senior Athletes College Commitment Ceremony on June 3 at Sayville High School’s gym and a Senior Athletes and MVP Awards Banquet on June 10 at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook. The county honor now gives those events an even larger backdrop: a school year that sent two of Suffolk’s best scholar-athletes to the top of the same award for the first time.