All-FVC football players help lead charge
HUNTLEY — A trio of Huntley seniors – Haiden Janke, Zack Garifo and Jack Crudele, gained recognition last season as All-Fox Valley Conference football players. Now they, along with other team leaders, are preparing to show the way as the 2023 season opener nears here versus Crystal Lake Central Aug. 25.
“It’s nice to have those three players back for another year,” Red Raiders head coach Mike Naymola said. “We have a group of eight to 10 team leaders who were selected, based on performance last year, to communicate our expectations as coaches, to help with the culture and police the locker room. They can give someone a shoulder so it’s not always coming from the coaches.”
Janke returns as the leading rusher from last season’s co-Fox Valley Conference champs and 8-2 playoff squad. He chalked up 1,257 yards and scored nine rushing touchdowns.
Garifo is back as a player in the defensive secondary who had 25 total tackles and running back. Crudele plays offense and defensive line spots.
“It feels good, things are coming together well. We lost some leaders like QB Sam Deligio from last year, but our quarterbacks, (Cole Coperschmidt or Bylon Bower) are dedicated. The offensive line, the hogs, is just amazing,” Janke said.
Janke played baseball for HHS and hit the weight room before summer football camp started. “I did a lot of cardio work and to get my legs stronger,” he said.
“He is a D-I player in a 5-10 body. He has such a big heart and a full motor,” Naymola said.
Janke credits his older brother Alex, a Class of 2020 alumnus and a baseball standout at McHenry County College, who helped his gridiron career. “I became more mature and learned that you have to be smart, not just play,” Haiden said.
“It feels great to get started for another year,” Garifo said. “We talked to last year’s seniors after the season about what we can do to improve and raise to the next level.”
Garifo said football began for him as a fifth grader in the Red Raider Youth Football program. He was mostly on offense back then but started on defense as a freshman.
“I remember we made it to a youth super-bowl my first year,” he said. . “I still have some photos. I did not know it at the time but was playing with some future teammates.”
As his senior he hopes this fall will prepare him for opportunities in college football. “I went to Florida Atlantic University this summer,” he said.
The visit included a chance meeting with a well-known player, Je’Quan Barton. “We went to the wrong building and met Barton as he was coming out. He was so nice and showed us all the facilities,” Garifo said.
Crudele specialized in the discus and shot put throws before a knee injury canceled his junior track and field season. The setback did not slow him down.
“I worked in the weight room, did physical training and had doctors visits,” Crudele said. He reports the injured knee is back to 100 %.
The lineman had a relatively late start to football. “I didn’t play until my freshman year, was a little scared but some teammates showed me the way,” he recalled.
He is glad he stuck with the work, learning the sport, as the line players “have a great chemistry.”
“Go to the ‘H’,” the team was told, signifying the end of another summer camp day. Seven-on-seven tournaments and the annual Brownsburg, Indiana trip beckoned this week. Less than a month remained until the first official day of practice on Aug. 7.
