Blue Devils March to Victory behind Formidable Ground Game
With more than 400 yards rushing last Saturday, the Huntington football team’s offense was unstoppable as the Blue Devils built a 20-0 halftime lead en route to a 41-9 victory over Eastport-South Manor in Suffolk Division III.
It was an afternoon to savor for Blue Devil fans as Huntington received remarkable performances from three of its running backs: Quillian Respass, Eric Santos and Dashaun Thomas. The trio ran for 401 yards on 24 carries. The performance helped the Blue Devils improve to 3-1 at the halfway mark of the regular season.
Respass (five carries for 164 yards) put the game’s first points on the scoreboard with a 21-yard touchdown run. Paul Aramanda’s extra point made it 7-0 and Huntington was on its way. Before the first quarter was over, Santos (12 carries for 164 yards) found the end zone, too, carrying the ball in for a 17-yard touchdown. Thomas (seven carries for 76 yards) was the third Blue Devil back to score in the first half when he burst through the line for a 6-yard touchdown.
With the Blue Devil defense having a big day, the offense often found itself with good field position. “This was a good effort all the way around,” head coach Steve Muller said. “We were making the blocks and making the tackles. Our backs were finding the holes to run through.”
The third quarter saw the Blue Devils score 21 more points on a six-yard run by sophomore Leon Barnett, and 25 and 57 yard runs by Thomas and Respass, respectively. Aramanda booted all three extra points to complete Huntington’s scoring.
With three wins in its first four games, the Blue Devils are surprising many in Suffolk who thought it would be a long year for Huntington. Right now, the team is in the thick of the playoff hunt. But, real threats loom in each of the next three weeks, a stretch that will make or break Huntington’s season.
Huntington hosts Sayville this Saturday at 1:30 p.m., travels to Comsewogue next Saturday (Oct. 20) for a 6 p.m. game and then hosts Rocky Point on Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. The Blue Devils finish the regular season at Hauppauge on Fri. Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
“With so many new players having to learn our varsity system and needing time to gel as a team, we are seeing improvement from week-to-week,” Muller said. “We want to continue cutting down on our on-field mistakes and continue capitalizing on every opportunity we are given.”
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