“I put a small dent in the drywall,” Elm said of the golf simulator room.

Elm led the Red Raiders to a third place finish at the Class 3A Hampshire Regional with a 75 score, which tied for second place Sept. 27. Huntley edged Crystal Lake Central, 319-322, for the third and final team advancing spot, moving on to the Mt.

Minooka, whom the Red Raiders battled in the previous week's meet, narrowly edged Huntley, 54-55 for the team title.

“We had our girls team get into ultimately a dual meet with Minooka,” Huntley coach Matt Kaplan said. “Our girls did a nice job getting four in the top 11 finishers. Haley Rahman did a great job in the last mile closing out her race getting fourth overall.”

Their Class 2A regional is Sept. 28 at Atwood Golf Course near Machesney Park with the sectional at Whisper Oak in Huntley Oct. 2.

The Red Raiders finished in fourth place with a 380 score as a team for the FVC tourney. Dingbaum ended with the best Red Raiders finish at fifth with an 89 score; Sloan was ninth at 94 Lackovic and Busky each  shot a 99.

The Red Raiders attack was a varied one, with equal doses of Haiden Janke rushes, Braylon Bower's passing and a defense that held the Whip-Purs to two missed field goals when it was close and a consolation touchdown. Huntley improved to 4-1, 4-1 in the Fox Valley Conference.

"Each Monday we establish a theme of the week," Huntley coach Mike Naymola said.

Seniors Zach Rogers, left and Taylor Casey were named winners when Huntley's homecoming court royalty was recognized at halftime of the Sept. 22 football game.

Court members were also: freshmen class Kaitlin Bower and Isabella Fulk; sophomore class Amani Herrera and Jeniah Slaughter; junior class Victor Adeoye and Braylon Bower; senior class Casey, Gabriel De La Paz, Vicky Evtimov, Zack Garifo, Jack Laughlin, Ashlyn Pauwels, Sophie Thompson and Zach Zuzzio.

It was fitting that senior Lizzy Williams led the Red Raiders through a celebration with volleyball fans after an emotional win over Barrington Sept. 20. Williams delivered the first blow with three straight first set aces and concluded it with a match-securing kill.

Williams delivered the first blow with three straight first set aces and concluded it with a match-securing kill. Huntley outlasted Barington in three sets, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-20 for an 11-0 record.

Williams finished with seven aces, while Marni Rodriquez added three, Georgia Watson had two and Joycelyn Ehlring one. Williams said serving has long been her best part of her game, and she enjoys finishing off a match.

"We will have our fabulous beverage cart out there and parading around in the fabulous way she should be showcased. We will rock the disco theme for the homecoming parade," HHSAB President Shannon Corso said.

The HHSAB concession stand will be stocked with goodies and staffed by the Boosters members.

The Red Raiders edged Hampshire, 149-153 in dual match action Sept. 14. Then it was a strong outing for the Dundee-Crown Charger Invite Sept. 16.

“It was a really encouraging week for our guys,” head coach Collin Kalamatas said. “We finally had our lineup at full strength and we really proved that we can be one of the top teams in the Fox Valley Conference.

Formed in 2013, the Independants (spelled that way in a newspaper article more than 150 years ago) follow 1858 rules. That means no gloves, lemon-peel baseballs (stitches meet at the top), no pitched balls from the “hurler” and called strikes only if “striker” swings and misses. A ball caught on the first bounce is considered an out and a ball is ruled fair or foul based solely on where it first touches the ground.

McHenry didn't know what hit it as Huntley forward Hudson Nielsen got things going on his way to a hat trick Sept. 14. Nielsen scored his first goal 22 seconds into the Red Raiders' 7-0 win which began Fox Valley Conference play.

"It was off the kickoff, we sent six players on top and took up a lot of space. I got behind them and Isaac Jacobo made the pass," Nielsen said.

“Homecoming is an exciting time but it can lead to distractions,” Huntley head coach Mike Naymola said. “We just want to keep our focus and prepare our best for Hampshire. They've proven to be much improved and we will need to be ready for them. I have faith in our team that after the last game they can't wait to get back out there to get rid of the bad taste of that game.

The county tournament is named for the retired HHS girls golf coach Christensen, who led the program for 14 years. The FVC tournament is Sept. 20-21 at Crystal Woods Country Club.

Senior Aubrey Dingbaum led HHS at the county meet at Bull Valley Sept. 14 with an 82 score for fifth place and junior Maddie Sloan shot a 90 for 10th in the 18-hole format.

Huntley head volleyball coach Karen Naymola once was a Trojan for coach Patty Langanis. Langanis is in her 29th year at C-G, but this night went to Naymola's Red Raiders in a 25-12, 25-10 win.

It was a milestone win for the Red Raiders, now 8-0, 7-0 FVC, as it was Huntley's 25th straight league victory.

"I played for C-G all four years.

Nitz, a junior and defending Fox Valley Conference meet champion, won first place by three seconds, with a time of 14:52.1. The achievement followed two second-place efforts from Nitz.

“Tommy's start to the season has been going as expected,” Kaplan said, “We set plans for week to week and he's been executing them very well. Lake Park is a quality meet and where we do plan to compete for the sectional meet so we do talk about this meet is our dress rehearsal for that future meet.”

Garifo, a football team captain and defensive back, accomplished a defender's dream when he raced an interception back 90 yards for a touchdown against rival Jacobs, for a 33-7 Huntley lead. The Red Raiders added one more score for a convincing 40-21 rout of their neighbors Sept. 8. Huntley secured a 3-0, 3-0 Fox Valley Conference record with equally outstanding efforts on offense and defense.

The Red Raiders secured a 10-stroke win over McHenry Sept. 7 at Boone Creek Golf Club in Bull Valley, 170-180 for a perfect start in dual matches.

“Dingbaum is playing well and we expect her to peak right at the start of the post-season,” Huntley coach Lindsey Allen said. “She has been a wonderful mentor to our younger players and a great teammate to all.”

Junior Georgia Watson committed to Division 1 University of Kentucky Wildcats. She will have a chance to reunite in college with teammate senior Morgan Jones, who will be at another Southeastern Conference school, the University of Missouri Tigers.

“I made the decision for Kentucky on Aug. 21,” Watson, a 6-foot, 2-inch outside hitter, said.

The Red Raiders defeated McHenry, 167-178 at McHenry Country Club Sept. 6. Nooa Hakala shot a 38 score and Tyler Lodewyck was next at 42, while Nathan Elm had a 43 and Sam Locascio contributed a 44.

“Nooa Hakala had a great round,” HHS boys head golf coach Collin Kalamatas said. “It's a tough course where you really need to be solid all the way through the (golf) bag and Hakala did just that.

“Saturday our goal was to make improvements from the county meet in terms of our team racing together,” Red Raiders head coach Matt Kaplan said. “Both boys and girls field of teams were some great competition. Our girls taking fourth overall was a great effort against some of the best teams in Illinois.

Tennis was not the first sport for the three daughters of Rita and Pleush Patel. Gymnastics got that nod before tennis took over.

“The Patel sisters are both doing great to start the season,” Red Raiders head Coach Barry Wells said. “Ari is successfully transitioning to doubles and Gia has been fantastic at No.