Blue Devil Football Back in Action

Will this be another magical year for the Huntington High School football team? The Blue Devils are back on the field, preparing for the season-opener at Harborfields on Wednesday, September 11 at 4 p.m. The coaching staff said the squad will be ready for action when the whistle blows.

Head coach Steve Muller leads an experienced staff that includes assistants Ron Wilson and Jim McCabe and junior varsity coaches Jim Byrnes and Tim Madden. Todd Jamison will handle strength and conditioning responsibilities.

“Year in and year out, Suffolk Division III football is one of the strongest and most competitive conferences on Long Island,” Muller said. “From top to bottom, these teams come to play.”

Huntington was seeded No. 12 in the division last fall before finishing regular season with a 6-2 mark and then topping Kings Park in the first round of the playoffs, 27-12. The Blue Devils were knocked out of the post-season by perennial state power Sayville.

Quarterback Ben Kocis will lead Huntington. The 6’3, 195 lb. senior enjoyed a sensational junior season with Newsday ranking the veteran play-caller as the No. 1 quarterback in Division III, No. 4 in Suffolk and No. 6 on Long Island based upon his statistics.

Kocis led the division in passing in 2012 with a dazzling set of stats. He completed 96-of-166 passes for 1,715 yards and 16 touchdowns, throwing just three interceptions. He also rushed 35 times for 269 yards and five touchdowns.

“Ben has great arm strength and great vision to scour the entire field and make plays,” Muller said. “His ability to be mobile makes it very difficult for defenders to get to him. He’s able to scramble under pressure and still make the perfect pass to his receivers.” 

Unfortunately, most of those passes went to Tyler Greenhill and Joshua Long, who both graduated last June and who were among the top receivers on LI. “That doesn’t count us out,” Wilson said. “Senior Christian Jamison did an outstanding job for us last year as receiver as well. He may not be as fast and shifty as Greenhill and Long, but his hands are just as great.” 

At 6’3, 190 lbs., Jamison offers Kocis a big target to hit with passes. “He caught some great passes in the loss against Sayville in the playoffs,” Wilson said. “He secured a win in the first season contest last year against Harborfields when he caught a pass from Kocis and then scooted 16 yards into the end zone.” 

Complementing the passing game will be rugged running backs Levar Butts (5’9, 210 lbs.) and Troy Greene (6’2, 200 lbs.), both experienced ball-carriers “who will get the job done on the ground,” Muller said. “They are explosive and powerful. Greene is tough and will try to run you over. Butts will use his quick feet to break away from you. 

Butts, Greene, and Jamison are just as talented on the defensive side of the ball. Last year, Butts was nominated for the Collotta Award, which honors the top linebacker in Suffolk. He ended the season with 118 solo tackles, 33 tackles for a loss and 18 assists. “That’s pretty impressive,” Muller said.

Juniors Matteo McNeil and Jimmie Nelson are also expected to be among the team’s leaders. “They are the two strongest athletes we have on the team,” Wilson said. “Both are linemen and are not at all that big in size. However, they are explosive for a balanced offense that scored over 260 points [last year] and a fast-attacking defense that was ranked amongst the best on the Island.”

Junior running back/linebacker Tim Mattiace, who was promoted from the junior varsity late last season, has grown in size and looks to be “a bit more explosive,” Wilson said. Several younger players will also be counted upon by the Blue Devils, who are seeded No. 2 in the division.

“Although we have two of the county’s top athletes, we are still inexperienced in a few positions,” Muller said. Huntington’s JV football team ended its season last fall with a 5-3 mark behind quarterback Exayvian Crowell, who will back-up Kocis this year, receiver Infinite Tucker and linemen Amaru Jones, Michael Lonergan and Cameron Knox. All five players are talented sophomores who are expected to immediately contribute on the varsity field.

“We’re hoping to improve after losing to Sayville in the semi-finals last fall,” Muller said. “Coach Jamison, along with other coaches in the program from both the high school and middle school worked four days a week over the summer with many of our boys in speed training and weightlifting. We feel this is going to help us gain an advantage over our opponents in the fourth quarter. Many of our athletes are two-way starters, so we’ll have to be in the best shape possible.”

Miller Place is seeded No. 1 in Suffolk Division III and defending champion Sayville is No. 3. “However, we know that pre-season rankings are non-essentials because either way, come Friday night or Saturday afternoon, you have to pull your socks up and buckle up your chin strap and play,” Wilson said. “There are no easy wins in Division III.”