Huntington's Yasir Jones, defense rise to the occasion in Suffolk II football quarterfinal win over North Babylon

Huntington’s Yasir Jones saw the opportunity to break the game wide-open.

Huntington had just gotten a fourth-down stop on a North Babylon drive that took more than seven minutes to open the second half.

On the very next play, Jones broke through. The senior running back exploded up the middle on an 81-yard rushing touchdown with 4:28 left in the third quarter.

“After failing earlier, I just kept my head up,” Jones said. “When we got back on the field, I said, ‘We’re going to get this next drive and go down and score,’ and that’s what we did.”

Jones had nine carries for 120 yards and three touchdowns to lead host Huntington over North Babylon, 41-14, in a Suffolk II quarterfinal on Saturday.

Huntington held North Babylon to its second-lowest point total of the season, thanks to a defense that was ready for the run.

“We knew we had to get some extra guys in that box to slow them down,” coach Ron Wilson said. “That’s exactly what we were able to do. North Babylon is a great team and very well coached, and we just needed to slow them down.”

Frankie Algieri, normally a defensive back, was one of those extra players in the box and sparked the Blue Devils’ defense with his physicality.

“They put me in the box this week, and I was like, good,” Algieri said.

“Because I like to hit, and I wanted to match that physicality. And we were all able to do our jobs and stop that offense.”

On the first drive of the game, Huntington ran the ball six straight times for 51 yards. On the eighth play of the drive, Jones rushed for a 5-yard touchdown to give Huntington a 7-0 lead with 8:13 left in the opening quarter.

On North Babylon’s second drive, the Bulldogs went for it on fourth-and-3 from their own 43-yard line, but the pass fell incomplete.

Three plays later, Huntington capitalized.

Jacob Guzik launched a pass downfield to Jack Kamenstein for a 33-yard score, and the Blue Devils led 14-0 after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, North Babylon was lifted by TJ Shaw, who had a 29-yard run to put the Bulldogs at the Huntington 30-yard line. Eight straight run plays later, Dominic Prestano found the end zone from 4 yards, trimming the deficit to seven.

Prestano finished with 23 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

On Huntington’s next drive, it was more of the Guzik-Kamenstein connection.

Facing third-and-12 from their own 32-yard line, Guzik delivered a short strike to Kamenstein, who shed his first defender and accelerated downfield.

Kamenstein’s catch and run went for a 68-yard touchdown, giving Huntington a 21-7 lead at halftime.

“Practice makes perfect,” Kamenstein said. “That’s been a big thing for us because all that work has translated to the game.”

Kamenstein finished with five catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

After Jones’ touchdown in the third quarter, Geovonne Henderson intercepted a pass on the first play of North Babylon’s next drive.

Huntington will now face Half Hollow Hills East in the Suffolk II semifinals.

“It’s a great win against a great program,” Wilson said. “Enjoy it a little bit, but now you have to set your eyes on the next game, and that’s what we’re going to do.”