Huntington Football 102 Confident of Success

Seeded No. 3 in the 14 team strong Suffolk Division II, the Huntington High School football team is confident heading into the program’s 102nd season.

The Blue Devils are led by head coach Ron Wilson; varsity assistants Kevin Graham, Antoine Swain, Dareus Smith and Christopher Taylor; JV coaches Dennis Scruggs and Cole Rudnick and volunteer guest clinician Clay Jamison; strength and conditioning coach Malcolm Eugene and volunteer assistants Fred Fusaro and Anthony McDonald. The J. Taylor Finley Middle School staff includes Joseph Crocco, Patrick Reilly and Ivano Naccarato

The Blue Devils will run a spread offense and utilize a 3-4 defense. “A relentless spring and summer training program coupled with experience keeps us optimistic and moving forward,” Wilson said. “We know obstacles will be plenty, but we remain hopeful for a successful fall campaign. We will look to rebuild, recharge and find our way back to a winning edge and mindset. We wanted to make the playoffs last year and we did. Now we want to go all the way, holding that LIC (Long Island Championship) title in our hands in November.”

This marks Wilson’s 29th year with the program. The Blue Devils have an eight game regular season schedule evenly split between home and away games.

“After falling in our first two games last fall, we won five straight, one of which was our first win over North Babylon in 31 years,” Wilson said.

The key returnees include:

Ethan Lawless: 12th grade; OL/LB; 6’2, 215 lbs.

“He possesses great strength and size,” Wilson said. “He was our team’s top offensive lineman and defensively he was our best edge rusher. We’re expecting great things from this big machine.”

Yasir Jones: 12th grade; RB/LB; 6’2, 195 lbs.

“Yasir combines strength, power and acceleration on both sides of the ball,” Wilson said. “He’s a deep threat on offense and can go up and get 50-50 balls. He blocks well on offense and makes great tackles on defense.”

Jones rushed 73 times for 700 yards and 10 touchdowns last fall.

Jack Kamenstein: 12th grade; WR/DB; 5’9, 165 lbs.

“Jack is very crafty and skillful and he will provide a quality target for our quarterback, whether from the slot or out wide,” Wilson said. “Defensively, he boasts remarkable versatility at either defensive back position.”

Jacob Guzik: 12th grade; QB; 6’1, 195 lbs.

“He boasts incredible potential with pocket poise and accuracy,” Wilson said. “Jacob started as a sophomore and is much improved and mature to carve apart defenses from the pocket with his great arm strength and can surprise you with his leg speed after two years of track and field.”

Guzik rushed 54 times for 512 yards and five touchdowns last fall and completed 75-of-112 passes for 1,225 yards and nine touchdowns.

Banny Soc Concua: 12th grade; OL/DL; 5’10; 240 lbs.

“Banny has great strength and decent feet and will help anchor the offensive and defensive lines,” Wilson said. “He was a huge part of our ground attack last fall, leading the way for our quarterbacks to have games of well over 250 yards on the ground.”

Titan Elysee: 12th grade; RB/DB; 5’9, 175 lbs.

“Titan possesses great speed and agility,” Wilson said. “In track and field he was the runner-up in the Suffolk 400m intermediate hurdles, qualifying for the New York State Championships.”

Frank Algieri: 12th grade; WR/DB; 5’7, 160 lbs.

“Frankie is an all-around great athlete that works very hard on the field,” Wilson said. “His knowledge of the game coupled with his skillset will add to our offense and defense.”

Huntington opens the season with road games at Half Hollow Hills East and East Islip. The Blue Devils play at home on Saturday, September 20 at 1:30 p.m. when they take on North Babylon.