Area teams – Kaneland, Jacobs, Hampshire, Burlington Central and Lake Zurich, gathered to compete at Huntley's Field House one more time before heading outside, but more importantly, saluted a legendary coach.

Popenfoose, aka “Coach Pop” and the great memories was evident through the classic rock songs playing, the t-shirt with his picture and one of his favorite characters – big foot.

Five of the 2000-01 Redskins still live and work in the area. Brett Borchart and Andrew Mohney reside in Huntley, while Pat Kalamatas, Dave Marshall and Nate Berndt live in Crystal Lake. As the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments kicked off, the players and their head coach Jay Teagle shared memories.

“It was a lot of fun, the time flies by fast,”  Kalamatas, a senior that season, said.

The Red Raiders are poised to defend their Fox Valley Conference crown and once again vie for a regional title which they gained last season in a 29-8 campaign. Some familiar players return with college baseball in their futures.

"The Red Raiders return 10 players from last season's squad," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "We will have an athletic group of players who will put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses.

Campanelli was named to the IBCA Class 4A basketball team's special mention list. Campanelli, also named all-league for the second time, finished as the leading scorer with 14.1 points per game, 3.7 assists per game and 2.5 steals per game, all areas leading the Red Raiders.

"Campanelli was very deserving of the IBCA recognition and she had an outstanding season," Red Raiders head coach Steve Raethz said.

HHS Class of 2025 member Kylie Kachan was surprised with a $40,000 Big Future Scholarship by College Board representatives. A small gathering took place at Huntley High School Principal Dr. Marcus Belin's office where Kochan was presented the check. Kochan is the daughter of Krystie and Gary Kachan of Huntley, who were on hand for the ceremony.

Through this program, two $40,000 and hundreds of $500 scholarships, which totaled more than $3 million in 2022, are awarded each month.

Locally, the St. Baldrick's Foundation effort is known as “Battle of the Bald” as teams try and out fund-raise each other. In addition to Marlowe's event March 1, another session was held the next day at Pinecrest Golf Club.

“We have about 40 people signed up this year,” organizer Sean Cratty said. “St. Baldrick's is in its 25th year and 10th year here.

The Scots have locked up the Skyway Conference championship, with a 12-2 league record. After team leader Quinton McCullough garnered player-of-the-year honors and head coach Rashim Lettsome was named coach-of-the-year, it was time to seek Region IV playoff advancement.

The Scots, 23-8, were able to move on with a hard-fought 80-71 victory over Carl Sandburg at MCC's gym in Crystal Lake Feb. 29. The squad advances to play Waubonsee (whom they beat for the league championship) March 3 at 2 p.m.

A Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament will be hosted by Club 400 March 3 at The Breakers restaurant, 7726 Route 14, Crystal Lake. The event has in-person registration at 9:30 a.m. Its start is at 10 a.m., and the event will benefit Crystal Lake Girls Fast-pitch Softball and Baseball Organization.

“My daughter plays in the program, and they always need materials, so we decided to give something back to the league,” Club 400 founder Stewart McVicar said.

Mihalopoulos ended his prep career Feb. 17 with two wins at the IHSA State Individual Wrestling tournament while Dvorak gained a first-round triumph. Mihalopoulos finished 2-2 for the tournament at State Farm Center in Champaign, for a 41-11 season record. He concluded his prep career with 105 victories and will wrestle at Campbell University in North Carolina next year.

The coach informed the team that the first day of IHSA's spring season will be outside.

"It's been more than 20 years," Jakubowski said of opening outdoors after the Feb. 26 workout.

The temperature was down-right summer like, with record-breaking 70 degrees enabling softball, track and field, lacrosse and tennis to have at least one day outside. In fact, the warm day was just about equal to the weather in Arizona for Cubs and White Sox Spring Training.

Huntley unfortunately was on the losing end of one of those instances, in a 33-32 season-ending loss to host Rockford Guilford in the Class 4A Regional final game Feb. 15. The Red Raiders finished at 24-7 overall this season.

Red Raiders head coach Steve Raethz summed up the final minutes of play against the Vikings in the low-scoring battle.

“It was very unfortunate for the game to end in the manner that it did,” the coach said.

A Huntley resident has a keepsake of that glorious 100-win year in team history, a print, and showed it at a White Sox Fan Club gathering Feb. 19.

The original photo was taken on a glass negative, printed, and hung at the former Chicago White Sox neighborhood bar Jimbo's restaurant.

“This is our sixth year since I came up with this wild idea. I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Glenn Grobli, club founder, said.

The White Sox Fan Club met for the first time, at Huntley American Legion Post 673's Hall for 2024 on the day that all players had full squad workouts at the team's spring training facility in Glendale, Arizona.

The Red Raiders achieved a 20-10 regular record season as they edged McHenry, 53-47, Feb. 16. HHS finished in sole possession of second place in the Fox Valley Conference with a 13-5 league record, behind unbeaten Crystal Lake South.

HHS will also go into a Feb. 21 clash in the Class 4A Rockford East regional against Rockton Hononegah as winners of eight of their last nine games.

Senior Markos Mihalopoulos, the 285 pounder, and freshman Radic Dvorak, at 157 pounds, advanced to the IHSA Class 3A Individual State Tournament as they finished second and fourth, respectively, at the Barrington Class 3A Sectional Feb. 10. The IHSA State Individual Tournament is Feb. 16-17 at State Farm Center in Champaign.

Huntley head coach BJ Bertelsman described the qualities which led Mihalopoulos and Dvorak to qualify for the state tournament.

Slaughter and Rohrbacher earned second place spots at 105 and 130 pounds, respectively, at the Schaumburg Sectional Feb. 9-10. The state meet is Feb. 23-24 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Huntley had a total of five girls compete in the two-day sectional and coach Gannon Kosowski was pleased with the effort. Huntley placed fifth in team scoring with 68 points.

"It was in third grade," the Huntley senior said. "I was playing in a game at a Barrington school and I made a shot from the top of the key. My feeder system was great - I remember looking up to players like they look up to us today."

Flash forward some nine grades later. It was a Tuesday night in early February against first place and soon to be Fox Valley Conference champion Crystal Lake South.

The Red Raiders have won six games, two with more than 60 points, since they lost their long FVC win streak at 37 games to Cary-Grove. Moving to within a tie of the loop title came with a 64-21 Red Raiders win over McHenry on Feb. 5. This followed a 68-41 HHS victory over Burlington Central Feb. 2. Huntley reached a 21-6 overall mark, 15-1 FVC, two games ahead of Hampshire with two remaining.

The Red Raiders, outlasted Burlington Central in a seven, yes seven period marathon, 73-68 on Feb. 2. The win followed a last-second shot win over Jacobs, 52-50, Jan. 26.

The game winning 8-3 Huntley run in the final OT was made possible by rebounds and winning loose ball battles to lead to scoring opportunities. Bryce Walker made six free throws and Ethan Blackmore two and Omare Segarra made a lay-up with six seconds remaining to ice it as Huntley moved to 17-9, 10-4 in the FVC.