The Huntington football team was a model of efficiency as it went about cruising past visiting Smithtown East at Blue Devil Stadium last Saturday, 36-14.
The victory evened Huntington’s record at 1-1. The Blue Devils will play at undefeated Northport on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Against Smithtown East, the Huntington offense got started early. Quarterback Anthony Annunziata tossed a 13 yard scoring strike to John Chirico for the first touchdown of the afternoon and then Josiah Melendez raced 31 yards for the second touchdown, which gave the Blue Devils a 12-0 lead.
Melendez, who rushed 10 times for 186 yards, scored again on a 65 yard run in the second quarter and then was successful on a two-point conversion to put Huntington ahead 20-0.
Smithtown East burned the Blue Devils on a long pass play that covered 64 yards and resulted in a touchdown in the second quarter, but the Blue Devils shrugged it off. “It’s something we have to work on defending against,” Huntington head coach Steve Muller said. “We played well, but we weren’t perfect. No team is perfect. What we need to do is reduce our mistakes and cut down on penalties.
Leading 20-7, Huntington scored again on a 36 yard run by Robbie Smith. Placekicker Jack O’Brien converted the extra point to send the Blue Devils into halftime with a 27-7 lead.
“I thought we did a good job in the first half,” Muller said. “We did well on both sides of the ball.” The third quarter saw Huntington notch a two-point safety before the two teams traded touchdowns in the final frame. Lucas Petrizzi tallied the Blue Devils’ final points with a seven yard touchdown run followed by another extra point kick by O’Brien.
Annunizia completed four of six passes for 61 yards. Smith gained 81 yards on seven carries with Petrizzi rushing six times for 30 yards. Leo Martinez (four carries for 19 yards) and Christian St. John (three carries for 10 yards) also contributed to Huntington’s ground game. Melendez also caught a pair of passes for 28 yards.
“We need a very good week of practice,” Muller said. “Northport is a great team with fine players and coaches. We need to be ready to play them on their field.”
Blue Devil Notes: The Huntington Blue Devil marching band performed a halftime as did the Huntington Highsteppers competitive dance team . . . Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky took in the game from the sidelines . . . The Blue Devil junior varsity nipped Smithtown East on Saturday morning, 14-13.
