Blue Devils Play for Suffolk Title on Thursday

It’s didn’t matter to Dylan Hayden if anyone doubted him as he stood in the goal at East Hampton and prepared to have five penalty kicks drilled at him with the season on the line. The Huntington senior believed in himself and he was up to the task, stopping three rockets to carry the Blue Devils to victory and give them a berth in Thursday afternoon’s Suffolk Class AA championship game against Smithtown West.

Hayden was sharp at East Hampton. He had to be. Huntington was counting on him and he delivered, making several diving saves and punching several other shots high and away from the net.

What was going through Hayden’s mind as he prepared to take his place for the best of five penalty kick phase after Huntington (15-2-1) and East Hampton (11-3-1) had battled to a 2-2 standoff over 110 minutes of often fierce play?

“We have been practicing penalty kicks for the past two weeks,” Hayden said. “I had my confidence up and knew I had to pull through for the team.”

The team. The team. The team. It’s what’s been motivating Huntington to overcome injuries and cast aside personal agendas and statistics. No one player more important than another. The only way to win is for all 11 on the field to work together as one unit.

Huntington staked out a 2-0 lead at East Hampton on goals by Alan Wilberger and Jerson Contreras, both off assists by Bryan Lizama. But the Bonackers didn’t give up and when they pulled even with 1:30 remaining in regulation, the Blue Devils didn’t have the luxury of hanging their heads, not with the season on the line.

Both teams had close calls in the two 15 minute overtime periods, with Huntington coming within a proverbial whisker of scoring on three separate occasions, but it didn’t happen.

As darkness began to descend, the game went into the best of five penalty kick phase. Huntington’s Lizama, Jonathan Morales and Edwin Marroquin all scored to give the Blue Devils a 3-2 win and a spot in the county Class AA finals.

As Marroquin stepped up to the ball with a chance to put Huntington ahead, what were his thoughts? “Nothing was going through my mind besides putting the ball in the back of the net,” Marroquin said. “I did just that. It’s an amazing feeling to move on to the county finals with my team. I hope to see all of Huntington there.”

Huntington needed to play hard for all 110 minutes against such a skilled foe as East Hampton. “The key to victory was definitely communication, urgency and being everyone stepping up and being a leader,” Contreras said. “We never backed down. We gave them war until the very end. It’s an amazing win. It feels great being able to compete in the county finals again. “We’re closer than ever to our goal.”

Lizama played his usual gritty game. The senior is a workhorse who continually makes things happen on the field.

Carlos Gutierrez, Huntington’s leading scorer, was defensively smothered for most of the game. He credited the win to “the boys leaving their hearts out on the field and their determination. We still need to fix some things, but we are working hard and we will go for everything on Thursday.”

Senior Dante Salgado repeatedly came up with big plays on defense. “Everyone played with their heart and dug deep down to win this game,” he said. “It’s no secret that Dylan was a complete wall during PKs and saved the game for us. Everyone kept their head up. Even when we got scored on we had our heads up and were determined to win. We have one thing on our mind and that’s the county championship we have all been working for.”

The Blue Devils square off for the Suffolk Class AA title against Smithtown West (11-0-2) at Patchogue-Medford on Thursday at 3 p.m. Tickets are only available online at this link: https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAAXI

Cash will not be accepted at the gate to purchase tickets. Children 12 and under will be admitted free.