Huntley tops Wauconda
For a season opener Jordan Neukirch didn't want to cramp his style, and he led Huntley past host Wauconda 35-14 in a nonconference game Friday night.
Neukirch, a two-way player, pulled up with cramps on Friday night in the middle of the third quarter after making his only catch for 7 yards.
Neukirch couldn't move, lying on his back and was fed mustard out of a bottle by the Red Raiders' trainer.
"It was the mustard stuff, so you can get rid of the cramps," Neukirch said. "It's mustard on a stick. It's pretty nasty, but I had it last year and I'm sort of getting used to it. I was hoping I could get it with a hot dog. It's definitely not good."
What was actually better was the performance of the senior Neukirch (6-foot-4, 220 pounds). He rushed 12 times for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns -- runs of 55 and 63 yards.
"I know my offensive line did a great job and you've got to give a lot of credit to them," Neukirch said. "We run the ball hard with a lot of returning guys on the line. This is what we expected and we should do it all year. They were the ones to do the dirty work and not me."
The Red Raiders jumped out to a 13-0 advantage behind the running efforts of Neukirch into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs responded back off a Red Raiders turnover when Charlie Balfour recovered a fumble at the Huntley 22-yard line. Wauconda's Colin McKenzie (18 carries, 76 yards) scored on a 1-yard run six plays later and cut the lead to 13-7.
Huntley broke the game open and the backs of Wauconda early in the third quarter. Red Raiders quarterback Brandon Luczak connected with Marcus Popenfoose on an 81-yard touchdown pass. The pass went through a couple of Bulldogs and was nearly picked off.
"It would've been a pick and we could've been in the red zone," Wauconda coach Glen Kozlowski said. "But it didn't happen. Last year, we had a ball that we caught in the end zone. It swung the game. This was part of the game and they just over powered us."
Huntley added two other scores, David Conrad's 9-yard run and Chris Cunningham rushed in on a 20-yard run.
"It was a good win for us and we did what we had to do in controlling the line of scrimmage," Huntley coach Steve Graves said. "If we do that things go well for us."
Wauconda's Kevin Jones had a late touchdown run from a yard out.