Sayville Stops Blue Devils, 41-14
A great run ended last Saturday afternoon as the Huntington High School football team fell to Sayville, one of the top teams in the state, 41-14.
The Blue Devils fumbled the opening kickoff and the Golden Flashes quickly capitalized by scoring the game’s first touchdown. Still, Huntington’s defense played well through the first quarter in the face of a furious Sayville ground attack.
Trailing 7-0 in the second frame, Blue Devil running back Levar Butts scampered 40 yards before being brought down near the goal line. Quarterback Ben Kocis took it from there, rushing into the end zone on the next play. Patrick Reilly followed with the extra point to tie the game.
Sayville (10-0) responded by scoring 34 unanswered points to build a 41-7 lead before Kocis connected with Christian Jamison on a 52-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Flashes wore Huntington (7-3) down with a ferocious running game. All six Sayville touchdowns came on the ground. “They are a very well coached football team and they have an awful lot of talent,” said Huntington head coach Steve Muller. “We gave them everything we had.”
The Blue Devils had trouble moving the ball on the ground, but Kocis managed to thread several passes through the Golden Flashes’ secondary and into the hands of Jamison and Tyler Greenhill, who caught the balls in sometimes acrobatic fashion.
Huntington reached the semi-final round by upending visiting Kings Park a week earlier, 27-12. Sayville advanced by topping Amityville, 48-8. The Blue Devils entered the season as one of the lowest seeded teams in its division, but gained the respect of its opponents with a string of victories.
“Our players have every reason to hold their heads high after winning seven games,” Muller said. “We had a great year. While we fell one game short of reaching the county final, everyone on the team has a lot to be proud about.”
Sayville will now face Westhampton Beach in the Suffolk Division III finals on Saturday at Stony Brook University at 4 p.m.