Red Raiders click on all areas, gain 4th win
HUNTLEY — Huntley put together a solid effort in all phases as the Red Raiders recorded their second straight victory with a 38-12 dominating win over Crystal Lake South Oct. 4.
Huntley improved to 4-2 Fox Valley Conference, 4-2 overall ahead of a key clash with league leader Cary-Grove Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at Red Raider Stadium.
Quarterback Braylon Bower ran for three touchdowns and threw for another as Huntley put together a 21-0 second half spree against the Gators. It was a close first half, with the Red Raiders up only 17-12 at halftime.
“I thought we were consistently good which was our theme this week,” Huntley coach Mike Naymola said.
The game on a cool Friday night at CLS was Bower’s 16th at quarterback and Naymola is thrilled with his work so far. Bower completed 15 of 21 pass attempts with one touchdown thrown to Wyztt Fleck, for 165 yards in a 394-yard day for the offense.
“Bower has been a great quarterback for a couple of years now,” Naymola said. “He can run the ball and if you stack the box, he’ll throw on you. Sometimes as coaches, we demand a lot of time and effort from the players, but don’t enjoy what they can do. Bower will be missed when he graduates, but right now I’m trying to enjoy the moment.”
“I thought our run game worked well,” Bower said. “I have to give a shout out our offensive line.”
Bower already had two touchdowns on four yards and 12 yards when Huntley sent a message that the game was essentially over with a scoring drive one minute into the second half. Bower’s third touchdown of the night, a 24-yard run, capped a 77-yard drive. A 16-yard pass to Wyatt Fleck, who would later add a score, set up Bower runs through the Gators’ secondary.
Bower, in addition to completing 70 percent of his pass attempts, led the ground game with 12 carries for 94 yards and his two touchdowns. Reichen Dvorak carried the ball 13 times 89 yards and one touchdown. Also contributing were senior Ari Fiebig, who is a new weapon and also plays defense. Senior Noah VanDeVoorde had four carries for 16 yards.
“Fiebig did a nice job and we were looking to help take the pressure off Dvorak,” Naymola said.
On the defensive side, the Red Raiders completely stopped the Gators, with the exception of a 70-yard pass play that gave the hosts an early 9-3 lead. CLS tried to get a second touchdown late in the game, but the Red Raiders’ defense was up to the task.
Charlie Condon III led the defense with eight solo tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. Also, Mason Maldonado contributed five solo stops, one assisted tackle and one tackle for loss. Ethan Albertson pitched in four solos and three assists and Jonas Owens had four solos and one assist.
Next up is Cary-Grove, on Oct. 11, who is 6-0, 6-0 and FVC leaders. Huntley won 29-28 on a two-point conversion as time expired, plus an officials’ review, last season. The Trojans went on to win the Class 6A championship, their third (fourth total), to go with 11 playoff appeances, under head coach Brad Seaburg’s direction. Running back Logan Abrams leads the Trojans.
“We have had a good rivalry with them over the past 10 years,” Naymola said. “I have the utmost respect for coach Seaburg. He does things the right way.”
