Blue Devil Football Starts Planning for Huntington 101

Ron Wilson and his assistants have started planning for Huntington 101; the Blue Devils’ 101st varsity football season. With the review of the 2023 campaign complete, attention has turned to 2024.

Huntington finished ninth in Suffolk Division II, one place out of the playoffs. The top eight teams qualify for the post-season.

Huntington juniors Thomas Smith, Thomas Kline, Timmy McDonald and Keegan Malone and seniors Kei Shan Miller, Jahmar Francis, David Dax, Christian St. John, Joey Zink and Navado Petro were named to the All-Division team. Francis also captured All-County honors.

Wilson is already recruiting for next fall’s team. He is on a quest to identify newcomers who are “ready to contribute” and he’s looking to “teach athletes to compete in practice so it may be easier in a game.”

There are 20 underclassmen on the varsity roster who are eligible to return in 2024. Wilson said he’s striving to “build team morale and spirit.” He hopes an anticipate new high school weight room will also make a positive difference in the team’s performance.

Huntington 100 was led by Miller (running back, wide receiver, safety), Francis (running back, wide receiver, cornerback), Smith (running back, linebacker), Dax (running back, safety) and St. John (running back, linebacker).

“Kei Shan was a playmaker on both sides of the ball,” Wilson said. “He has a great football IQ. Jahmar was elusive and fast and become one of our leading scorers and tacklers. Thomas Smith is a man of very few words, but he packs a great punch. He has sure hands that catch everything.”

Dax, who saw his season cut short by a broken collarbone, is the “hardest working kid in the program,” Wilson said. “David is the life and spirit of the team. Christian is one of the hardest hitting athletes on the team.”

After dropping their first five games, the Blue Devils rallied to best Deer Park on its home field on Homecoming Day. The game played out in a driving rainstorm. “Injuries occurred during the game and the players from the bench to the field began to play and encourage one another to keep fighting,” Wilson said. “That type of encouragement resulted in a game winning tackle by Thomas Smith, who caused the kid to fumble and Gabe Abreu who recovered it to seal our win.”

Miller’s offensive stats included 12 rushes for 119 yards and a touchdown and 15 receptions for 241 yards and three touchdowns. He also made 28 solo tackles, five tackles for a loss, three assists, two caused fumbles, one quarterback sack and an interception that he returned for a touchdown.

Francis rushed 19 times for 164 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 25 passes for 289 yards and six touchdowns. The senior made 36 solo tackles, three assists, two for a loss and six pass deflections.

St. John tallied 49 carries for 367 yards and a pair of touchdowns along with four receptions and 46 yards and a touchdown. He also notched a two-point conversion. The teenager made 17 solo tackles, six assists, six for a loss, two caused fumbles, two quarterback sacks and one fumble recovery.

Before he was injured, Dax rushed 59 times for 501 yards and two touchdowns. He made six solo tackles and had two pass deflections.

Kline caught seven passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. The junior also made 17 solo tackles, including one for a loss, four assists, five pass deflections and one interception.

Smith rushed five times for 14 yards and a touchdown. He also had six receptions for 139 yards and four touchdowns. The junior added 38 solo tackles, four for a loss, three assists, two caused fumbles and four pass deflections.

“This was a team that just never gave up,” Wilson said. “We were outmatched every game due to our size up front. We had a lot of new faces that never played varsity football and some who never played football at all. They worked hard during the week and put their best efforts forward. That’s all you can ask for.”

Wilson laments the loss of the three-sport athlete in Huntington athletics and he hopes that increasing numbers of Blue Devils will suit up for all three seasons.

“Next year and the years beyond will be a challenge,” Wilson said. “It will continue to be a challenge until [everyone associated with] Huntington athletics get on the same page and encourage student-athletes to return back to three sport athletes. When this occurred [in the past], all programs were successful and our student-athletes were thriving.”

Huntington’s top returnees look to be Smith, Kline, McDonald (RB/LB), Malone (TE/LB), Jacob Guzik (QB), AJ White (RB/LB), Titan Elysee (RB/DB) and Ethan Lawless (RB/DE). “These young men developed and showed great maturity in the sport,” Wilson said. “They will have their hands full in leading this team to a winning campaign. We will once again be young and undersized upfront. However, we have a few linemen who developed and matured. Jean Riboul and Dylan Heller both held their own starting for the first time on a varsity squad. We will look to the JV for some help. They had a few linemen who had some success on that level. Banny Soc Concua and Erick Anariba will have to work hard in the off-season to help this team grow.”

Wilson said he plans on “working more with assistant coaches for bring the vision of the program more alive.” He also intends to “encourage participation on a younger level and continue working with the community youth league.”

The goal for next year? “Win, win and win again,” Wilson said.