The Huntington High School varsity football team will take the field against Lindenhurst on Friday night for the first time since 1971. The season opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Lindenhurst went 12-0 last fall while winning Suffolk Division I and Long Island Class I championships. The Bulldogs are seeded No. 1 this season after dropping into Division II.
The two teams have met 31 times since 1935 with Huntington holding an all-time series edge of 18-11-2. The Blue Devils won the first three matchups by 21-0, 21-0 and 6-0 scores before Lindenhurst finally toppled Huntington in 1938 by a 13-0 margin.
Huntington hasn’t beaten the Bulldogs in 54 years. The Blue Devils toppled Lindenhurst in 1964 by a 20-7 score.
Lindenhurst has prevailed five of the last six times the teams have met. The 1967 game ended in a 13-13 tie. Huntington’s last victory came in 1964 by a 20-7 score.
The most lopsided Huntington victories came in 1949 (64-0) and 1957 (52-0). Lindenhurst’s victories include six shutouts and many close wins. The most one-sided of all the Bulldog’s victories was a 26-0 shutout of the Blue Devils in 1965. Huntington’s 18 victories include 13 shutouts.
In the last meeting between the schools in September 1971, Lindenhurst prevailed in the first game of the season, 6-0. The Blue Devils won their next seven consecutive games and were crowned league co-champs with a 7-1 record.
Note on Friday night’s game
The Lindenhurst varsity football team plays its home games at Lindenhurst Middle School located at 350 S. Wellwood Ave., Lindenhurst, NY 11757. (Lindenhurst Middle School was previously utilized as the high school building.)
Lindenhurst is known for drawing large crowds to its games, so Huntington fans intending to attend the game should plan on arriving early to secure a parking spot and seat in the bleachers. The Bulldogs play on a synthetic turf field.
Lindenhurst School District Superintendent Daniel Giordano is a former J. Taylor Finley Middle School music teacher and band director.
