The Blue Devils' Dream is Over
Buoyed by a noisy crowd of more than 300 Blue Devil fans, the Huntington football team engaged in a knock-down, drag-out battle last Friday night in Islip before falling to the Buccaneers in the Suffolk Division III semi-finals, 16-14.
Despite having a very difficult time containing Islip quarterback Jeffrey Craig during the first half, Huntington held its own. The Blue Devils took a 7-6 lead on a spectacular pass reception by Tyre Brown near the goal line. Quarterback Dan Plant followed with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Placekicker Matt Curley nailed the extra point.
But, Craig kept Huntington's defense off-balance with his double-threat offensive abilities. He mixed a strong passing game with explosive speed. "We had to make some adjustments to keep the game from getting away from us," said Steve Muller, who has been the Blue Devils' head coach for 15 seasons.
Huntington (7-3) trailed 13-7 at halftime and was down 16-7 in the third quarter before Plant hit Bollar with a 35-yard strike and scored a short time later on another one-yard run. Curley followed with the PAT and all of sudden the game was back on as the Blue Devils were nipping at Islip's heels, 16-14.
Huntington's fortunes rose in the second half as the team did enough on both sides of the ball to keep the game close. Some inopportune penalties, a fumble and a handful of botched plays stung the Blue Devils, yet they kept on coming.
With the clock ticking down, Huntington managed to drive the ball down to Islip's 36 yard line before turning it over on downs with about five minutes remaining in the game. The Blue Devils would never get another chance.
Huntington is a proud team and the Blue Devils played like it. Plant completed 8-of-19 passes for 124 yards. Ryan Mulligan caught four passes for 41 yards. Calvin Bollar (20 carries for 87 yards) and Trayvon Toney (12 carries for 40 yards) comprised most of the ground game. Will Coffey and Tom Mulligan picked-off Islip passes. Peter Kingston picked up a sack.
Islip (9-1) had its undefeated season ruined by the Blue Devils in the regular season finale as Huntington won a thrilling contest, 14-7. Big Blue clearly felt it could duplicate the feat under the stars last Friday night. But, it wasn't meant to be.
"I'm very proud of every single one of our players," Muller said. "They gave it everything they had. Islip is a tough team. We are a family and we win or lose like a family. We are going to remember all the good things these guys did this year. They put together a great season."