No Heidi Moment for
Blue Devil Football
With images of the infamous "Heidi game" dancing through the heads of Blue Devil fans old enough to remember the famed Nov. 1968 meltdown the New York Jets suffered against the Oakland Raiders, the Huntington football team held off late-charging Kings Park last Saturday afternoon, 28-21 before a crowd of about 1,200 at Blue Devil Stadium.
"It was a wild game and we were happy to get the victory," said Steve Muller, Huntington's head coach. "There were momentum shifts and there were some mistakes, too. But, we did enough things right to win. It was a big game for us. Kings Park always plays hard right to the end."
With less than two minutes remaining and Huntington holding a seemingly secure 28-14 lead, the Kingsmen scored on a 15 –yard pass play, converted the extra point and then recovered an onside kick to set the stage for one of the most dramatic game finishes in at least a decade.
With Kings Park driving as the clock ticked down, Blue Devil senior Calvin Bollar intercepted a pass in the end zone to finally put the game on ice. "What can you say?" Muller asked rhetorically. "Our defense stepped up when we needed it most. Calvin was at the right spot at the right time."
Bollar scored the afternoon's first touchdown on a 10-yard pass from junior quarterback Dan Plant. The Huntington lead grew to 14-0 after Plant and senior Ryan Mulligan teamed up on a 42-yard pass. Then, just like that, Huntington's offense started to struggle. Kings Park finally put its first points on the scoreboard in the second quarter when quarterback Nick Borkowski scampered 15 yards for a touchdown.
Plant's third touchdown pass of the game came on a 60-yard reception by senior Will Coffey. It put Huntington up, 21-7. Although manyt in the crowd thought the game was essentially over, Kings Park wasn't ready to call it quits. Instead, Borkowski marshaled the offense and quickly drove downfield, firing a four-yard touchdown strike to Nick Venier to narrow the Kingsmen's deficit to a single touchdown, 21-14.
Kings Park then tried an onside kick, but the play ended disastrously for them as junior Frank Caravetto came up with the ball and sprinted 55 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to give Huntington a 28-14 advantage with time remaining in the game quickly evaporating.
The Kingsmen responded again. This time Borkowski found 6'3 tight end Joe Going open for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 1:33 left on the clock. Trailing 28-21, Kings Park tried another onside kick and this time recovered it setting the stage for the dramatic ending.
Huntington's defense appeared to have stopped Kings Park on a 4th-and-10 from the 27-yard line when the Blue Devils broke up a pass play, but a pass interference call gave the Kingsmen a first down inside the red zone. Four plays later on fourth down from the three yard line, Bollar intercepted Borkowski's pass near the back of the end zone to give the Blue Devils a hard-fought, if nerve-wracking, victory.
Extra Points: Huntington's Dante Allen had the biggest game of his career as the 6'6 senior recorded three sacks and five tackles for a loss . . . Allen chased the quarterback out of the pocket several times . . . Huntington fans took delight in Plant's performance and are especially happy the quarterback is only a junior . . . The Blue Devil marching band performed its field show at halftime . . . Former Huntington football coach Joe Crocco was on the sideline during the game . . . Placekicker Matt Curley converted all four extra points the 5'8 junior attempted . . . There were few fans in the bleachers for the 1:30 p.m. kick-off, but a short time later, the stands were nearly full. . .The Huntington Highsteppers also performed at halftime.