Friday Night Lights as Blue Devils Ready for Battle
Blue Devil fans are expected to turn-out in droves when the Huntington High School football team travels to Islip for a Friday night Suffolk Division III semi-final game against the Buccaneers. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. Tickets will be sold at the gate for $6.
Huntington (7-2) knocked Islip (8-1) from the ranks of the undefeated in the regular season finale with a bruising 14-7 victory before a frenzied crowd at Blue Devil Stadium.
The Blue Devils will be led into this week's titanic battle by Dan Plant, Calvin Bollar, Trayvon Toney, Dante Allen and Richie Fernandez. The hungry and well-balanced Huntington team has an above-average passing attack with Plant calling signals. Bollar and Toney are counted among Suffolk's top backfields.
"Islip is a great football team that is very well coached," said Steve Muller, who owns a 91-48 record in 15 seasons as Huntington's head coach. "We will come ready to play. Our guys are excited."
The Buccaneers advanced to the semi-final round by topping Kings Park, 34-13. Huntington bested Harborfields, 35-14 to earn its spot in the semi-finals. The winner of Friday night's game will advance to the finals and meet the winner of the Sayville-Westhampton Beach semi-final game.
Huntington has an arsenal of weapons at its disposal, including one of Long Island's top placekickers in senior Matt Curley. The regular season match-up between Huntington and Islip was a defensive struggle that came down to the final seconds of play.
"It should be a great game," Muller said.
Directions to Islip: Route 111 from either the Long Island Expressway (exit 56) or Sunrise Highway (exit 45). Take Route 111 (Islip Avenue) south to the end. Make a right turn onto Main Street and go past five traffic lights to the high school on the right.