Huntington football tops Bellport as Jacob Guzik-to-Thomas Kline TD pass puts exclamation point on Blue Devils' victory
Thomas Kline of Huntington, right, gets congratulated by teammate Jordan Thorbourne after making a catch for a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter of a Suffolk Division II football game against Bellport at Huntington on Friday. Credit: James Escher
When a fumbled snap on a punt attempt gave Huntington the ball in the red zone, the Blue Devils struck quickly.
On the first play, Jacob Guzik faked a sweep to Titan Elysee, rolled a few yards to his left and fired a 20-yard strike to Thomas Kline in the end zone before two defenders converged on him with 9:49 left in the second quarter.
It was the final touchdown in Huntington’s 21-0 win over visiting Bellport in Suffolk Division II football Friday afternoon.
The spectacular play was set up by the play-calling and execution on Huntington’s first two drives. On the game’s opening drive, Kline took a sweep down the left sideline 31 yards for a touchdown, capping a 10-play, 73-yard march.
On Huntington’s next possession, Elysee finished a nine-play, 79-yard drive with a 32-yard TD run on a sweep. Tackle Ethan Lawless and tight end Keegan Malone made excellent blocks to set the edge for Kline and Elysee.
“I’m gonna say ‘thank you’ to my line for the good blocking,” Elysee said. “I just had to provide the speed and use my vision.”
Kline said: “All you see is green grass and room to run. That blocking makes it really easy.”
The final key to those long runs was the outstanding downfield blocking by senior wide receiver Jordan Thorbourne, who cleared the path to the end zone.
“It was the greatest game he’s ever had in terms of blocking and it was huge for us,” Huntington coach Ron Wilson said. “Those touchdowns are really his. Without those blocks downfield, there is no touchdown.”
Huntington (3-2) scored on each of its first three drives of the game and held Bellport to three first downs in the first half.
On the first play of Bellport’s drive after Kline’s TD reception, Frankie Algieri forced a fumble that was recovered by Elysee at Bellport’s 46-yard line.
“We practice that all the time,” Elysee said. “When we go to tackle, we’re gonna wrap up and somebody else is gonna come and punch through. We have to be ready for when that ball is loose.”
Yasir Jones and Dylan Heller each recovered a fumble in the second half on Bellport’s side of the field.
“The defense was making our job really easy all day,” Guzik said. “They had a great game from start to finish, but we’ve got to do a better job finishing it out as an offense.”
Timmy McDonald did much of the dirty work with seven tackles, including three for a loss. The senior is 5-7, 180 pounds, but shoots through the offensive line with speed and aggression to blow up plays behind the line of scrimmage.
“[McDonald] has no fear,” Wilson said. “He’s always around the ball. He’s a phenomenal athlete and the heart of this team that gets everyone going.”
Trey’von Holland had 16 tackles, including one for a loss, and Jaheim Talford had five tackles and two sacks for Bellport (3-2).
Kline caught six passes for 74 yards and Guzik completed 13 of 15 passes for 106 yards.
It’s Huntington’s third straight win despite injuries that have piled up in recent weeks. Sophomore Zayvion McCoy was called up from JV for Friday’s game and forced a fumble on a kickoff with a big hit.
“It shows that our team can step up and fill those holes,” Kline said. “We have a lot of talent on this team. I think it’s great that everyone is getting a chance to prove themselves.”