Blue Devils Top Harborfields on Homecoming Day, 20-14
Gerrard Henderson’s nine-yard touchdown run in the second quarter broke a scoreless tie and helped send the Huntington football on its way to a Homecoming Day victory over cross-town rival Harborfields, 20-14. The win improved the Blue Devils’ season mark to 2-1 in Suffolk Division III.
Huntington is a much different team than it was during a season-opening shutout loss to Half Hollow Hills West in early September. Just as head coach Steve Muller predicted, the Blue Devils have needed to time to gel together, with many new faces in the lineup after the team was hit hard by graduation last June. While the Men in Blue still are not firing on all cylinders, the squad has evolved into a legitimate playoff contender.
“We’re a work in progress,” Muller said. “We have a lot of new faces out there and a lot of kids without varsity experience. They’re working hard and so is the coaching staff and we’re getting better each week.”
With sunny skies and temperatures in the 70’s, Huntington couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for its Homecoming, which was made even more special by the gritty Blue Devil gridiron team.
Henderson’s touchdown run with 3:30 remaining in the first half and Paul Aramanda’s extra point conversion gave Huntington a 7-0 lead, but it didn’t last very long. Harborfields capped off a quick drive with a touchdown of its own when quarterback Brian O’Connor threw a high-spiral that came down between a pair of Blue Devil defenders and into the arms of Tornado wide receiver Mike Feldman in the end zone as time expired. Sam Shore split the uprights with the extra point to tie the game, 7-7.
Huntington regained the lead when Leon Barnett burst through the line of scrimmage and broke into the open field for a 50-yard touchdown run. Another Aramanda conversion gave the Blue Devils a 14-7 lead after three quarters.
Harborfields stayed in the game with an effective passing attack. The Tornadoes knotted the score at 14 apiece when O’Connor connected with Chris Moro for a six-yard touchdown with about five minutes left on the clock. But then the Blue Devils responded.
A punishing ground attack by seniors Dashaun Thomas (eight carries for 54 yards) and Eric Santos (15 carries for 93 yards) eventually resulted in a four-yard touchdown run by Thomas to put Huntington ahead 20-14 with about 1:30 remaining. The Blue Devil defense made that margin stick.
Harborfields’ final drive ended when the Tornadoes fumbled on Huntington’s 30-yard line and Blue Devil defensive back Sean Whitney fell on the ball. Huntington’s offense then ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
“It was a great day for us,” Muller said.
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