Blue Devil JV Rolls
A splendid early fall day was made even more so for the Blue Devil football team as Huntington passed and rushed to a 36-13 victory over visiting Eastport-South Manor before a crowd of about 350.
“This was by far the most difficult game I've coached in quite sometime,” said Ron Wilson, who coaches the Blue Devils along with Todd Jamison. The game was an exciting contest with a variety of big plays, tense turnovers and hustling players.
The final score might have been lopsided, but the game really wasn’t that way at all. When Huntington was forced to punt on fourth-and-three from its own 47 yard line, Conor Reilly booted a beauty, with the ball rolling all the way down to the five yard line. But, it didn’t take long for the Sharks to bite, as one of their running backs scooted 95 yards for a touchdown. “This kid was legit,” Wilson said. “He made our defenders miss several times on this one carry.”
After Huntington took possession of the ball, Reilly, the team’s quarterback, threw an interception, giving ESM the ball on the Blue Devils’ 33 yard line. “This made me a bit nervous because this now affected our game plan, which was to keep the ball out of the Sharks’ hands,” Wilson said.
But, Huntington’s Danny McQuade stepped up on the very next play and caused ESM to fumble. The Blue Devils recovered but couldn’t do much with it and were again were forced to punt again.
Late in the first quarter Jamison called a few dazzling plays, which the offensive unit executed to perfection, culminating with a 13 yard touchdown strike from Reilly to Jared Thorbourne.
Huntington’s offensive struggles reignited in the second quarter. McQuade caused another ESM fumble and recovered it but a series of forced plays and miscues stymied the Blue Devils’ attack. Fortunately the defense was up to the challenge and held the Sharks at bay. Thorbourne did his part on the other side of the ball by picking off a pass. Huntington trailed at halftime, 7-6.
The third quarter saw the Blue Devils’ offense finally come to life. Utilizing several screen plays and strategic rushing, Huntington marched 64 yards for its second touchdown of the afternoon when Josh Long scored on a 13 yard run. Reilly then hooked up with Thorbourne for a two-point conversion to give the Men in Blue a 14-7 lead.
But, ESM wasn’t done just yet as that same fleet footed running back broke out into open field and sprinted 74 yards for another touchdown to narrow the score to 14-13. “He made us look as if we never played defense before,” Wilson said. “We just couldn't tackle him. When it seemed as if we had him boxed in, he would find some way to get loose.”
Huntington quickly responded. “Our offense started to fire on all 11 cylinders,” Wilson said. Reilly found Long on a screen pass play that turned into a 23 yard touchdown. Reilly then spotted McQuade in the back of the end zone for a two point conversion to put the Blue Devils up 22-13 after three quarters.
Huntington’s defense continued to hum in the final frame, intercepting three more passes, including two by Long and another by freshman John Mallouk. “We were able to contain their shifty running back by having our safety spy him,” Wilson said. “This prevented some of those long runs he was getting. He had to have run over 300 yards against us. He's going to be a problem for many teams to defend in the near future.”
The Blue Devils pumped in two more touchdowns en route to a satisfying victory. But, it wasn’t easy. “I didn't feel secure with the win until the final minute of the game,” Wilson said. “That's how much I respected Eastport. They are definitely a program on the rise.”
All graphics, photographs, and text appearing on the Huntington Public Schools home page and subsequent official web pages are protected by copyright. Redistribution or commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. Comments or Questions? email the Public Information Office