Huntington 101 Claims Post-Season Awards

The Huntington High School football team’s 101st season is now in the history books after the Blue Devils won five games and had eventual county champion Half Hollow Hills East on the run late in a 33-21 playoff loss.

Led by head coach Ronald E. Wilson, assistant coaches Kevin Graham, Antoine Swain, Dareus Smith and Chris Taylor and volunteer assistants Malcom Eugene and Anthony McDonald, the 32 player team featured 10 post-season honorees.

Timothy McDonald and Thomas Kline captured All-Division and All-County honors and Keegan Malone, Titan Elysee, Jordan Thorbourne, Yasir Jones, Ethan Lawless, Thomas Smith, Frank Algieri and Jacob Guzik were named All-Division.

Wilson outlined next season’s goals: “Continue to teach fundamentals of the game; win one game at a time; win the county and the Long Island championships.”

The veteran coach offered pithy comments about his top players. “Timmy McDonald is a warrior and a real competitor who put the team on his back and led us into the post-season. Tommy Kline is an outstanding athlete with great leadership abilities. Yasir Jones is a multi-talented athlete who we are glad will be returning. Jacob Guzik is an exceptional QB who has an arm and can be very dangerous for us next year. Jordan Thorbourne played every game with heart and courage and was out big playmaker. Ethan Lawless is a top lineman with the greatest strength and tenacity.”

After dropping its first two regular season games, the Blue Devils won five straight contests to propel Huntington into the playoffs. “We unfortunately fell short in the quarterfinals, losing to a very talented Half Hollow Hills East team,” Wilson said.

The coach tipped his hat to his players and assistants. “We were a small team both in size and numbers, but we showed the greatest amount of courage and heart during every game,” Wilson said.

Looking ahead to Huntington 102, the Blue Devils will return many linemen with experience, including Ethan Lawless, Banny Soc Concua, Jean Riboul and Edgar Castro. Additional linemen expected to fill in some gaps include Kenny Gilhuley, Will Peters, Zack Matthews and Joe Rivers.

“We are losing to graduation some very skilled receivers and running backs, however Yasir Jones, Titan Elysee, Frank Algieri, Jack Kammenstein, Chase Northrup, Henry Gerberg, Rasiere Blizzard and Zayvion McDoy should be able to step in and be impactful for the Blue Devils,” Wilson said.