The Huntington varsity football team topped host Copiague last Friday night, 44-0 to improve the Blue Devils’ record to 5-2 heading into the final game of the regular season.
Huntington jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Blue Devils are battling for a playoff spot. “We have no room for error right now,” head coach Steve Muller said. “We are in a good spot, but need to keep playing well.”
Huntington hosts Lindenhurst (6-1) on Saturday at Blue Devil Stadium at 1:30 p.m. The Bulldogs are coming off a 28-21 victory over Centereach.
“There’s no doubt that Lindenhurst has some great players,” Muller said. “They are well coached and they will be ready for us. We need a really good practice week. Our players are hungry. It should be a great game.”
Lindenhurst has scored 145 points in six games and surrendered 139. Huntington has 197 points for and only 70 against. “We are proud of everything we’ve done so far, but we have a long way to go,” Muller said. “Against a team as good as Lindenhurst, you cannot take anything for granted.”
Against Copiague, Josiah Melendez rushed eight times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Robbie Smith had 140 yards on 13 carries and he, too, found his way into the end zone twice. Lucas Petrizzi (five carries for 40 yards) and Christian St. John (four carries for 50 yards) also scored touchdowns. Placekicker Jack O’Brien converted five of six extra point attempts and added a 30 yard field goal.
Quarterback Anthony Annunziata competed two-of-three passes for 20 yards before giving way to Jayden Taylor who connected on two-of-two passes for 20 yards. John Chirico caught three passes and Auggie Abbatiello snagged another.
Liam McDonald had four quarterback sacks in the game. Smith and Petrizzi both sacked the quarterback twice.
“While the score looks lopsided, I have to say that Copiague has some great athletes who played very hard against us,” Muller said. “They have a strong coaching staff. That team is going to win games in the future. The Copiague players are great competitors and their fans always treat us very well.”
