Round-up: Huntley, Johnsburg win
The taste of victory is something that hasn't been felt very often for the Huntley football team this fall.
On 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 and 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.
Johnsburg 33, Grayslake Central 6: Johnsburg overcame an array of mistakes to begin its Fox Valley Conference schedule with a victory and keep Grayslake Central winless on the season.
On a warm, rainy Friday evening, the struggling teams battled to gain an early foothold in the Fox Valley Conference standings with Johnsburg prevailing 33-6.
The Skyhawks flew out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter. A 25-yard pass from quarterback Jerad Grundy to wideout C. J. Fiedorowicz gave Johnsburg a touchdown on its first possession and was followed minutes later by a Thomas Kinney 25-yard field goal.
The Rams answered before the quarter's end with a 60-yard hookup between signal caller Greg Bey and receiver Jahr'y Johnson. The 6-2 senior wideout ran a fade route down the sideline and easily beat two defenders in the secondary for a catch and run cut the score to 10-6. The extra point try failed and neither team scored again before halftime.
Grundy was very effective in the passing game as he threw for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns while completing 11 of 22 attempts.
A series of errors by both teams accounted for the majority of third-quarter action. Bey was intercepted at midfield by Johnstown's Joseph Fanella. But on the ensuing play from scrimmage, Skyhawk running back Steve3 Conroy fumbled the ball away after a 17-yard run and Central took over at its own 33.
The Rams failed to move the sticks, however, and a botched snap on a punt gave the Skyhawks the ball at the Rams' 16.
Conroy atoned for his earlier mistake two plays later with a game-breaking 12-yard touchdown run over right tackle. The extra point gave the Skyhawks a 17-6 lead at the end of the third period.
Johnsburg coach Todd Winter said his team said he was pleased with his team's performance despite 2 turnovers and 94 yards of penalties.
"We definitely felt like we were playing against ourselves at times," Winter said. "We don't have time to celebrate. I felt we came out with intensity, lost it for awhile, got it back and made some plays."
Johnsburg poured on the offense as the rains came down in the fourth quarter.
One bright spot on offense for Grayslake Central was the play of senior running back Rich Smith, who carried 20 times for 83 difficult yards. But the Rams managed only 10 first downs as they failed to notch a win this season on their fifth try.
-- Andrew P. Peck