AIR SHOW: Hun School quarterback Blake Searfoss airs out a pass last Saturday as the Raiders hosted Poly Prep (N.Y.) Post-graduate Searfoss connected on five touchdown passes to help Hun post a 47-28 victory over the Blue Devils. The Raiders, now 1-1, are next in action when they host the Blair Academy on October 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

While lacrosse may be Blake Searfoss’ first sporting love, football is starting to grow on him.

Searfoss, the all-time assists leader for Hunterdon Central, was set to play college lax but then he got to start at quarterback last fall for the Red Devils.

As a result, Searfoss put his lax plans on hold and opted to do a post-graduate year at the Hun School to focus on football.

“I was going to play lacrosse and then I realized that I wanted to do the football thing,” said Searfoss. “By that time, it was too late to get an offer. That is why I came to Hun.”

Last Saturday, Searfoss showed that he may have a bright future in football, passing for five touchdowns and 212 yards as Hun rolled past visiting Poly Prep (N.Y.) 47-28.

In the wake of suffering a tough season-opening 17-14 defeat at Seton Hall Prep on September 15, Searfoss and the Raiders were primed to break loose.

“After the loss, we just had to go back to work,” said Searfoss. “We had a real nice week of practice; everyone was working real hard. This was a new game and we couldn’t dwell on last week. We came out today and played hard. Everyone showed a lot of heart; I thought we had a great day.”

The Raiders showed great balance, mixing the pass and run effectively. “Today, they both opened up each other real well,” said Searfoss.

“When we started passing, it opened up the run. When we started running a lot, that opened up the play action. We had a pretty balanced set coming into the week and we knew that we should probably be able to do both.”

Searfoss opened up the Poly Prep defense as he connected on touchdown bombs of 71 and 48 yards to sophomore Christopher Sharp.

“We were working this summer,” said Searfoss of Sharp. “I know he is a good player; he is just young. He has got wheels. We were working during the week and we connected a couple of times today. It was real nice.”

Hun head coach Dave Dudeck had a nice feeling about the effort he got from his players in the win over Poly Prep.

“Our numbers are very thin; that is no secret,” said Dudeck. “On a hot day when most of your kids are going both ways and playing on special teams; our kids came up with a phenomenal, phenomenal effort. They showed so much heart.”

The Raiders produced a superior effort on offense as Searfoss’ heroics in the air were augmented by a balanced ground attack featuring Kylan Baker, Chris Cardinali, and Abdul-Malik Majeed.

“We just felt we got into a rhythm offensively and that we had a counter to what they would show us defensively,” said Dudeck.

“It worked out. But don’t give too much credit to the coaches and the play calling, it is the kids on the field.”

Searfoss is developing a good rhythm in triggering the Hun attack. “Blake has a bit of that loose swagger,” said Dudeck.

“He is a fun kid. He likes to sling it and get after it. We only have two PGs with him and Greg Golden. They have come in and have just fit in great with our team.”

Dudeck had fun watching Sharp produce a breakout performance. “Today was Sharpie’s coming out party,” said Dudeck.

“He had a big day for us. He is a young sophomore; he has a ton of potential. He is just learning how to play football. His future is bright. He is a great kid too. He listens and he is easily coached and he has a great attitude.”

If Hun is going to keep in the winning track, it is going to need to display a hard-nosed attitude.

“We are going to be a team that has to grow and mature,” said Dudeck, whose team is off this Saturday and returns to action when it hosts Blair Academy on October 6.

“We are not the type of team that can just show up and win football games. Every week we have to work hard and watch film. We have to understand; we have to execute.”

Searfoss, for his part, has reached a good understanding of how the Hun program works.

“Everybody works so hard here; we don’t have that many guys but everyone is working their butts off everyday,” said Searfoss.

“No. 5 [Golden] and I are the only PGs; they brought us right in and showed us the way. We meshed together pretty well. We have a good bunch of guys.”