Blue Devil Sports News
New Blue Devil girl's basketball varsity assistant coach Marissa Bergmann can't wait for Huntington's games to begin. She helped out with the program for several years and has now officially joined the staff.
"I am very excited to be part of this season," she said. "I have coached many of these girls for almost three years and know what they are capable of. I trust in our returning varsity players to lead the pack and know our freshmen will be up for the challenge. They are all very talented players. They not only have outstanding athleticism, but they have a great deal of knowledge for the game of basketball."
The Blue Devils open the season at home on Friday (Dec. 2) at 6:15 p.m. against Half Hollow Hills East in a non-league contest. The team has come together nicely. "They are understanding things much faster than in previous years," Bergmann said. "This group of players is clicking very well. Although the season has just begun, there are great things to come from this team."
Galloping Troy Greene
Troy Greene is quickly becoming a special football player. The Huntington High School freshman starred at running back and linebacker for the Blue Devil JV this past fall.
Greene rushed 175 times for 1,001 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also caught eight passes for 137 yards and recorded 53 solo tackles, including 14 for a loss and assisted on 11 tackles. He blocked a punt, too.
Ron Wilson, who coaches the JV squad along with Todd Jamison, called Greene "a phenomenal athlete with unlimited potential. Troy allowed the team to ride on his shoulders this season with the loss of our quarterback and outside linebacker to the varsity. He had to step up his game and I, for one, believe he gave us everything he had week in and week out."
Velasquez & Gowani Receive Honors
Huntington High School boys' varsity soccer players Ricky Velasquez and Adil Gowani earned All-Conference honors after helping the Blue Devils finish with a 9-5 league record and overall mark of 10-7.
Jon Pena, Andone Pleitez and Jeremy Gelb won All-League recognition. Norman Gomez-Vasquez was named Academic All-County.
Velasquez scored 20 goals and assisted on eight others. "Ricky is one of the premier players in Suffolk County," head coach John Pagano said. "He is only a sophomore and will continue to get better."
Goalkeeper Ari Moskowitz was another of the team's standout players, recording six shutouts in the net. "We won 10 games and scored a total of 37 goals and gave up 17 goals in 17 games," Pagano said.
The Blue Devils put together a very fine season, playing exceptionally well down the stretch. Pagano called the squad "perhaps the most positive, unified group that I have had in 13 years."
Huntington will lose nine players to graduation in June, but the JV team won 10 league games and the Blue Devil varsity will look to some of those players to fill in the holes and keep the team competitive in 2012.