Huntley's defense deserves plenty of attention

Steve Graves is doing what opposing defenses can't, apparently.

Huntley's football coach is shutting down Jordan Neukirch.

Well, Graves has declared his star off-limits to the media for the next couple of weeks, anyway.

"The defense has been playing really, really well and they just never get any ink," Graves said. "They know it's the nature of the beast."

While Huntley's "beast," the Illinois State-bound Neukirch did his usual thing against host Grayslake North on Friday night in the teams' Fox Valley Conference Fox Division opener, so did the Red Raiders' defense, which includes Neukirch, by the way.

Huntley dominated on both sides of the ball in a 41-0 win that spoiled the first true homecoming for Grayslake North, which graduated its first class this year.

Huntley improved to 5-0 with its second straight shutout, while keeping Grayslake North winless.

"Everyone played a real great game," said senior defensive lineman Kyle Hartline, who had 3 tackles for loss in the first half. "Our D-line played really great, our linebackers of course always do great, and our DBs have really improved since last year. I think, all around, our defense has just improved."

While Hartline, Neukirch and Kevin Doran led a defensive effort that limited Grayslake North to 43 yards of total offense in the first half, Neukirch, David Conrad and quarterback Brandon Luczak took care of the offense.

Conrad rushed for 3 touchdowns (on runs of 4, 2 and 21 yards), while Neukirch gained 111 yards on just 5 carries in the opening half. Luczak's 14-yard TD run and his 9-yard pass to a sliding Neukirch in the end zone had Huntley up 34-0 at halftime.

Neukirch's 36-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half commenced a running clock.

Neukirch finished with 167 rushing yards on 8 attempts.

Grayslake North defensive end Lanre Johnson returned after being sidelined with an ankle injury and was a bright spot, but the Knights were simply overpowered.

"(They're) so big," Grayslake North coach Steve Wood said. "We knew they're big on paper. Film doesn't really give them much justice. It's not that they have the one monster. I mean, every kid is 6-1, 6-2, 210. Our guys, mentally, just can't compete with that."

Huntley visits winless Grayslake Central next, then hosts undefeated Crystal Lake Central in an FVC Fox showdown.

"Everyone knows it's going to be a big game, but we're trying to stay focused - one game at a time," Hartline said. "We've got a lot of perseverance on our team. We realize, next week, if we win, we clinch playoffs. That's probably the most important thing for us right now."