Huntley narrowly misses handing top-ranked Prairie Ridge its first loss
Prairie Ridge defensive back Eli Loeding shrugged, modestly calling his game-saving interception “just one play in a long game.”
Truth be told, there were many plays made, maybe too many to count, on Huntley’s homecoming Friday night. Prairie Ridge might not have made the most big plays, but it made the ones that mattered most, as the top-ranked team in the AP Class 5A poll remained undefeated with a 35-34 win.
Prairie Ridge improved to 6-0 overall and 6-0 in the Fox Valley Conference, while Huntley dropped to 3-3 and 3-3.
“It was not easy,” Loeding said. “Heck of a team [Huntley], for sure. My teammates, you almost can’t put it into words. They’re special. All of them.”
Quarterback Luke Vanderwiel, operator of Prairie Ridge’s triple-option attack, put together another special performance in rallying the Wolves, who never led until his 8-yard touchdown run followed by Landon Moffitt’s fifth PAT kick with 3:47 left in the fourth quarter.
Vanderwiel rushed for 281 yards on 22 carries, busting off TD runs of 69, 65 and 84 yards. It was the senior’s fourth three-touchdown game of the season.
“He’s a top three or four player that I’ve ever seen in the Fox Valley, and there has been some extraordinarily talented people to come out,” Huntley coach Mike Naymola said. “He’s really hard to defend.”
Huntley’s quarterback gave Prairie Ridge’s defense fits. The 6-foot-5 sophomore, who was making his third start in a row since junior Carson Rowe suffered an injury in Week 2, completed 27 of 37 passes for 289 yards and a TD. He also rushed for 66 yards, including a pair of 1-yard sneaks into the end zone.
Carter’s only turnover came when Loeding intercepted him with 30 seconds left. After Vanderwiel’s TD gave Prairie Ridge the lead, Huntley took over at its 24-yard line with 3:39 left on the clock. Carter marched the Raiders to the Prairie Ridge 12, and then on third-and-8, he looked for Jacob Marx (12 catches, 109 yards) near the right pylon.
Loeding had tight coverage all the way and picked off the ball on the goal line.
“A couple of plays before, he threw a little curl route that I wasn’t able to get to,” Loeding said of Carter. “I was banking [on another opportunity].”
“Coach called a great play. He called a comeback route,” Carter said. “It’s a route we work on so many times in practice. ... I just got to be better. I left the ball inside. It’s got to be outside. That’s on me. I know what I got to do to be better, and I’m going to fix it.”
The ending spoiled what was a terrific start by Huntley, which used an up-tempo offense to help build leads of 14-7 after one quarter and 27-21 by halftime.
“I challenged the guys pregame to not just come out and play the game but to compete,” Huntley coach Mike Naymola said. “We didn’t come out on top, but they did follow through, and I was really proud of that.”
Huntley’s Chase Hojnacki rushed for 118 yards, including two 2-yard TD runs, on 29 carries.