Huntley 48, Grayslake North 21
The taste of victory is something that hasn't been felt very often for the Huntley football team this fall. Friday night at Grayslake North, the Red Raiders and coach Steve Graves got that taste back again.
Huntley scored on each of its five possessions in the first half and never looked back in a 48-21 win over the Knights.
"It really comes down to our offensive line," Graves said as he munched on his favorite butterscotch oatmeal cookies after the Red Raiders improved to 2-3, 1-0 in league play. "Physically, the group has been great, but we have had some moments where we have had trouble mentally focusing on our assignments and that hurt us."
The Red Raiders rolled early as they posted 21 first quarter points. Led by junior running back Jordan Neukirch (9 carries for 96 yards in first half), Huntley built a 21-0 advantage into the second quarter.
"(Jordan) really makes it easy for us on offense," Huntley quarterback Casey Popenfoose said. ‘He is like a second quarterback on the field for us."
Popenfoose and the Red Raider offense initiated two more scoring drives in the second quarter, but Grayslake North (0-5, 0-1) wouldn't let the red raiders pull away.
First, running back Nathan Kalina broke loose for a 40 yard score to start the second quarter to bring the lead to 21-6. Then quarterback Nick Harrington found Drew Doe ring on a slant pattern and Doering took it the rest of the way -- 67 yards for the score and the Knights were within 28-14.
"Offensively we were ok tonight," Grayslake coach Steve Wood said. "Defensively, we need to find some answers because we couldn't stop (Huntley)."
Shortly after the Knights closed the margin again, Huntley had one more answer.
Just four plays after the Harrington touchdown pass, David Martinez carried a few Knight defenders and the ball 13 yards for Huntley's fifth score of the first half and a 35-14 halftime cushion.
"We broke loose today primarily because of our offensive line," Popenfoose said. "That group is the base of our team."
Jason Adams, Brandon McDaniel, Josh Doty, Grant Hamilton and John McDougall allowed the Red Raiders to rush for a 476 yards on the night.
"We felt pretty good that if we could keep the ball moving on the ground we would be fine," Graves said. "Once we got up 14, 21 points we felt like we were in control because of the way we were running the football."
Popenfoose added a 48-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter then Matt Clark capped the scoring with a short run in the fourth quarter.
Grayslake added a 3-yard scoring strike from Harrington to Doering halfway through the final quarter to complete the Knights scoring. At one point in the second half, Harrington completed seven straight passes.