Change continues to work well for Huntley with second-round blowout victory

Prior to the season, Huntley football coach Mike Naymola did not mince words when discussing his team’s outlook.

“The last two seasons haven’t sat well with us, and we’re looking to change that this year,” Naymola said.

Sometimes change is a good thing.

Senior Carson Rowe set the tone with a 77-yard return on the opening kickoff, and junior tailback Chase Hojnacki scored the first of his three first-half touchdowns from nine yards out as the Red Raiders (11-0) built a 28-0 halftime lead on their way to a 42-0 victory over Lane Tech (8-4) in Friday’s second round of the Class 8A playoffs in Huntley.

While establishing a new single-season victory for wins, the Red Raiders punched their ticket to next week’s state quarterfinals for the first time since 2016.

“During the offseason, a bunch of seniors and younger players — we sat down and decided we needed a culture change,” said senior linebacker Noah Hanson, who helped the Red Raiders’ defense post its fifth shutout in 11 games.

“We focused on the process rather than the outcome. I didn’t think this (11-0) would happen, but we put all the pieces together and here we are.”

Huntley found the end zone on its first four possessions.

Hojnacki scored on an 11-yard run, extending the Red Raiders’ lead to 14-0 after one quarter, then tallied his 30th touchdown of the season from four yards out to cap a seven-play, 57-yard drive.

Junior quarterback Malik Carter, who threw just two incompletions in the first half, provided a highlight of his own late in the second quarter.

Avoiding a pair of Lane defenders, the 6-foot-6 Carter used some nifty footwork before delivering an 18-yard strike to Jacob Marx in the back of the end zone for a 28-0 halftime advantage.

“Every once in a while, Malik does something where you say, ‘Wow, that was cool,” Naymola said. “His playmaking ability is one of the reasons why he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the state.”

Carter, who finished 15 of 20 for 166 yards, capped the night with his second touchdown pass — a one-yard toss to sophomore Preston Frey, starting a running clock with 6:44 remaining.

Hojnacki, meanwhile, carried the ball 31 times for 245 yards and four touchdowns.

“It means a lot,” Hojnacki said of the school record for wins in a season. “We just made history. It’s kind of unbelievable — I’m really proud of all of these guys.”

Hanson had plenty of defensive help from his teammates, including Dominick Savino, Tulowani Ajayi, Micah Hood, Coleson DeLaPaz, Dechawn Jones, Easton Garifo and Ethan Albertson.

With the win second-seeded Huntley advances to face No. 7 New Trier in the quarterfinals.

“At the start we weren’t sure what we had and then we started piling wins on top of each other,” Naymola said. “We’re in a pretty good spot now.”