Blue Devil Sports News
The Huntington JV football team’s first loss of the season came at the hands of Sayville, which downed the Blue Devils, 34-22. “Sayville had a great game plan,” said Ron Wilson, who coaches Huntington along with Todd Jamison. “They knew we throw the ball quite a bit, so they played a ‘cover two’ defense and took away our sprint outs. We're an offense that has been averaging 200 plus yards a game in the air. This game we only had a total of 84 yards passing.”
Wilson said he initially thought the game was going to be a high-scoring one “because you have two offenses that can score at will.” The Golden Flashes returned the opening kick-off to Huntington’s 30-yard line and on their first series went their "smash-mouth toe-to-toe football and we did a great job shutting it down,” Wilson said. On fourth-and-seven Sayville went to its spread package and threw a pass downfield. The Blue Devils had it covered by their outside linebacker didn’t make a play for the ball, resulting in a touchdown for the Golden Flashes.
After Huntington took over on its own 20-yard line, the blue Devils marched 80 yards on a series of passes and daring runs that culminated with Dan McQuade diving for a pass from quarterback Conor Reilly in the end zone for the team’s first score. A pass to Davon Nelson for the two-point conversion was also completed giving Huntington an 8-7 first quarter lead.
Sayville's offense continued to fire on all cylinders in the second frame while the Blue Devil engine stalled. “We had a great goal line stand when Sayville had the ball on our 4-yard line,” Wilson said. “A fumble was forced by our outside linebacker, Javon Robinson and was scooped up by inside linebacker Frankie Caravetto. However, our offense continued to stall and we were forced to punt the ball again.”
When the Golden Flashes took control of the ball in the third quarter they capitalized on a broken coverage in Huntington’s secondary to score another touchdown and then still another one, eventually building an imposing 34-8 advantage.
“Our boys' heads began to go down and stay down,” Wilson said. “We then gathered the whole team around us on the sideline to pep them up.” It worked as the Blue Devil offense finally started to hum. Reilly scooted 62 yards on a quarterback-keeper for the team’s second touchdown and after Huntington’s defense forced Sayville to punt, Nelson found the end zone again to cut Huntington’s deficit to 12 points.
“No one likes to lose, however I believe this loss has drawn us closer as a team,” Wilson said. “Our success as a team depends on all of us working together and helping each other whether it’s on the field or in life.”
Catching up with Julie Forster
Julie Forster, who scored 1,020 career points for the Huntington girls’ basketball team en route to becoming one of the program’s all-time greats, is in the first week of her first season on the NCAA Division I women’s basketball squad at the University at Albany.
Pre-season workouts were strenuous and the season kicked off last Friday night with a fun workout and celebratory event on the Albany campus.
“College has been going great,” Forster said. “I'm majoring in business and am currently taking Introduction to Sociology, Macroeconomics, Business Law, Diversity Voices in Literature and Arts and World Views.”
Pre-season training has involved workouts in the weight room and extensive physical conditioning, along with pick-up basketball games. “I've really been enjoying it here at Albany and can't wait for the season to start,” Forster said.
Season Ends on High Note
The Blue Devil varsity girls’ tennis team closed out its season on a high note, nipping Smithtown West, 4-3. Huntington’s Sara Lustberg, Alexandra Ottas, Olivia Ammirati and Marissa Schedler swept the four singles matches to give the team a one-point victory. The young squad finished the year with a 6-5 record.
Best Times of the Fall
Celine Takekoshi finished in second place in a time of 20:44 to pace the Huntington girls’ cross country team in a dual meet against Harborfields at Sunken Meadow State Park. Takekoshi’s time over the three mile course was the tenth fastest in school history. Teammates Amber Linder, Kerri-Ann Giambruno and Margaret Petryk finished ninth through eleventh, respectively, turning in their best times of the fall.
A series of dynamic saves by Huntington goalie E.J. Connell preserved a hard-fought 1-1 tie for the Blue Devil boys’ soccer team in a classic game against Islip.
Carlos Marquez scored off a corner kick in the first half to give Huntington the early lead. After Islip tied the game early in the second half, neither team could put the ball in the net the rest of the way, including two overtime periods. Connell was sensational in goal, making 11 saves, including several acrobatic stops.
Tough Loss
Upsets are a part of sports and the Huntington varsity girls’ soccer team’s 2-1 loss to West Babylon definitely qualifies as one. The Blue Devils entered the game undefeated in League IV play with a 7-0 mark. The Eagles came into play with a record of 1-5. None of that matter as West Babylon rallied from a 1-0 deficit to pull off the upset.
Meredith McCourt scored Huntington’s lone goal. Lori Messina made four saves in the net. The Eagles goalie Melissa Guglielmo stopped 20 Blue Devil shots on goal.
Kimchy Scores but Blue Devils Lose
Alexandra Kimchy scored off an assist by Kianna Freitag, but the Huntington field hockey team dropped a 2-1 verdict to high-flying Smithtown East. Isabel Sorrentino made five saves in goal for the Blue Devils. The game was essentially a defensive struggle.
Takekoshi Runs Strong Race
The Blue Devil girls’ cross country team continued its season-long improvement at the Suffolk Officials’ Invitational meet. Huntington’s Celine Takekoshi finished 14th in the huge race and qualified for the county championships with her best time of the season. Amber Lindner and Samantha Martinez also turned in “strong performances,” according to head coach Debra Cheskes.
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