"The Red Raiders return 11 players from last year's squad which was 31-5," Jakbowski said. "We will have an athletic group of players who will put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses.

The Red Raiders achieved two events championships by Alex Johnson in the long jump and triple jumps. Sister Dominique Johnson's runner-up in the triple jump. The 4x200-meter relay squad was seventh and Ally Panzloff ended 10th the discus. All of the above led to a fifth-place team finish at the Class 3A IHSA State Meet. The contingent also won the Fox Valley Conference meet and their Class 3A Sectional Championship.

Seniors Jessie Ozzauto and Sammi Campanelli and sophomore Anna Campanelli gained first-team All-FVC as voted by the league's head coaches.

Ozzauto, who reached 1,000 career points for the Red Raiders, also was honored by the Associated Press Honorable Mention All-State and Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Honorable Mention All-State.

Sammi Campanelli was named IBCA Honorable Mention All-State. Ozzauto is committed to play at Leigh University in 2023-24 and Sammi Campanelli has selected Lewis University.

Andy Jakubowski has coached baseball at the prep and junior college level for two decades.

Meanwhile, wife Michelle directs the volleyball program at Barrington High School while Taryn played soccer in college and assists at Northern Illinois University. Daughter Taylor, a volleyball standout for HHS's 2019 squad, is a junior spiker at Seton Hall University. Jake is on the Heartland junior college team at Normal.

Thomas and “A View from Two Benches” author Doug Feldmann, an Algonquin native spoke about the book and Thomas’s career to the group at Huntley Public Library March 4.

Thomas told of the bright spots of his 10-year NFL career with the Bears, which included a field goal for an overtime win over the New York Giants the week before Christmas in 1977.

In the finals, the Red Raiders finished with a 94.13 score, just behind champion Buffalo Grove's 94.57. HHS was thrilled with its qualifying score in sixth place from the night before the finals to make the list among the state's best at Bloomington.

"We were ecstatic, that we were able to overcome injuries and showed resiliency. It was amazing to be in the top 10,then go from sixth to second is huge," HHS head coach Payton Cariato said.

Slaughter, 27-5 record, earned a third place medal Feb. 25 competing at 100 pounds. Rohrbacher placed eighth at 125 pounds with one win and Casey gained one win at 110 pounds.

“Overall, the girls wrestled great,” HHS coach BJ Bertelsman said. “Slaughter did great, of course.

"I don't think I've ever jumped that high as when Noah Only made the interception," Benson said. "I think I'll watch that play a lot."

Dramatic plays executed in the closing minute sent the Red Raiders on to the Class 4A Rockford Jefferson sectional following a 49-48 thriller over Rockford East in the Hononegah Regional Final Feb.

HHS played solid on both ends of the court in pulling away from Machesney Park Harlem to a 57-34 for a IHSA Regional Semifinal victory Feb. 23. Rockford East is up next for the Red Raiders at the Hononegah Regional final in Rockton at 7 p.m. Feb. 25.

Senior Ian Ravegenie scored 23 points to lead the Red Raiders. Junior Omare Segarra tallied nine points, Lucas Crosby added seven and Noah Only had six.

The Middle School Bowling Club will be for grades six through eighth and will meet at Bowl-Hi Lanes begin Feb. 27. Both boys and girls may participate.

The Middle School Bowling Club will consist of a six-week session. Coaches are Jacob Wagner, HHS boys bowling head coach; Asheley Boudreau, girls head bowling coach and Jason Waters, parent volunteer coach for boys and girls' teams.

All three departments will have teams in the SOILL Polar Plunge Saturday, March 4. The site is at Carpentersville's Public Works facility, 1075 Tamarac Drive, from 10 a.m. to noon.

"We have participated in Polar Plunge for many years," Algonquin Police Chief Dennis Walker said. "In addition to the Polar Plunge, they have raffles and games.

The Red Raiders fought back from an 11-point deficit to one point on a three-pointer by senior Morgan McCaughn for a 41-40 game in the closing seconds. But the Vikings made clutch free throws and shocked the HHS squad. Huntley, with eight seniors leading the way, ended at 28-5 and many accomplishments along the way.

HHS head coach Will Benson gave a scouting report on the Huskies (13-18. Harlem downed Hononegah in the regional quarterfinal to advance.

“Harlem has nice depth and are very athletic and play hard,” Benson said. “They have 10 seniors and a lot of them play.

The girls basketball regional final game with Rockford Guilford was postponed until 7 p.m. Feb. 17 at the east gym of HHS.

The boys varsity game against Burlington Central will take place at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at HHS's central gym. Senior cheerleader and dance team members will be recognized at halftime of the varsity game.

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It’s so far, so good in that regard as HHS turned back a gritty effort by DeKalb, 59-38, in the Class 4A regional clash Feb. 14. The Red Raiders move on to their regional final, scheduled for Feb. 16 against a tough Rockford Guilford (23-9) squad. The winner moves on to the Hampshire sectional semifinal Feb. 21.

“It feels good to come away with a win and we’re excited to get to play in the regional final game,” HHS coach Steve Raethz said.

Pena ended fourth at sectional. He improved his season to a 32-14 record. The IHSA Class 4A State Individual Meet is Feb. 16-18 at the University of Illinois' State Farm Center in Champaign.

"His focused has changed 180 degrees," HHS coach BJ Bertelsman said. "I think COVID-19 delay may have helped him in wrestling. He is much more focused in the wrestling room and the classroom.

Earlier, the Red Raiders received good news from the IHSA that they are the top seed at the Rockton Hononegah regional.

The win at CLC gave the Red Raiders a 20-win season and regained momentum for the regular season's final week. HHS stood at 20-8, 12-4 FVC.

The Red Raiders who qualified to advance to the Feb. 24-25 at Bloomington event are: second-place won by freshman Janiah Slaughter at 100 pounds; returning state qualifier Taylor Casey clinched second at 110 and Aubrie Rohrbacher, who was third at 125.

"I've been wrestling for four years," Slaughter said.

That's what Huntley senior Jessie Ozzauto accomplished in a 30-point effort as Huntley's girls basketball team topped Dundee-Crown, 51-38, on Feb. 8. On Feb. 6, Ozzauto reached 1,000 career points with  a  29-point game in a 68-39 win over Burlington Central. The win over the BC clinched a share of the Fox Valley Conference championship and then the victory over the Chargers clinched the trophy with a 17-0 record, 26-4 overall.

"Jessie would be out playing basketball in the driveway in the ice and snow," dad Joe said.

Joe Ozzauto was speaking 1,000 Huntley points later on another winter's day. Ozzauto, a senior, joined the school's 1,000-point club, exactly, on a three-pointer from the top of the key.

HHS ended with a third place team finish at 160 points at regional.

Earning top three finishes and advancing to sectional are: Aiden Lira, first at 120 pounds; Adam Pena, first at 126 pounds and Markos Mihalouplos was the champion at 285 pounds. Finishing second were Rafael Sobprena at 138; Wyatt Theobald at 195 while Shane McGuine, third at 145 and Zach Hornickel, third at 113.