Northport football gets win over Huntington in drenching rain
By Steven Zaitz
It is difficult to determine which was more a bummer for Huntington High School and its football team this past Saturday — the unrelenting rain that drenched players, fans and guests of its Homecoming festivities, or the beatdown the Blue Devils suffered at the hands of the Northport Tigers.
Tiger running back Michael Campoli rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns as Northport defeated Huntington 30-13, Oct. 7. The Tigers improve to a record of 2-3 as the Blue Devils are still looking for their first win of the season as they drop to 0-5.
Northport’s game plan from the very beginning of the game was obvious — run the ball down the Blue Devils’ throats. The Tigers ran 11 straight plays after receiving the opening kickoff and all of them were on the ground. Campoli ran six times for 76 yards, and he finished the drive with a 9-yard score.
Northport would score again in the second quarter but this time it was the defense that registered the points. Linebacker Ben Pipolo would stop Blue Devil halfback David Djebi in the Huntington end zone for a safety and give the Tigers a 9-0 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in the half.
As the rain became more ferocious, Northport got sloppier with the handling of the ball. The Tigers fumbled twice on their next two possessions and the Devils took advantage of the second turnover. Djebi slipped a tackle and sloshed 38 yards down to the Tiger 1-yard line and quarterback Joey Zink snuck it in to make the score 9-6.
But another 11-play drive by Northport to close the half put them up 16-6. Quarterback Simon Blissett completed his only pass of the afternoon on the march, and it was a big one. He threw a rainbow down the right sideline to his brother Calvin for 28 yards to the 4. Campoli slid into the end zone on the next play.
Two explosive plays, one by each side, highlighted the second half. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Djebi broke four tackles on his way to a 91-yard touchdown run that made the score 23-13 but this was quickly negated by kick returner Luke Loiacono who broke a few tackles of his own while bringing back the ensuing kickoff 89 yards to the house. It was the final scoring of the afternoon.
Northport will attempt to win two games in a row for the first time this year when the team travels to Bellport this weekend. Huntington tries again to get into the win column when it hits the road to Deer Park.
