Flash forward 13 years later, on a sun-splashed Thursday at Huntley High School. Starting with captains Ryan and Brayden Bakes, sons of Melissa and Chris and concluding with Aiden Zimmerman, son of Laura and Brian, the 17 Class of 2023 members enjoyed senior day traditions. A total of 14 players will be playing baseball next year at Midwest colleges, while Ryan Bakes will attend South Carolina University.

The players are seniors Ryan and Brayden Bakes; senior Dillon Putty and sophomore AJ Putty and senior Mike Dabe and sophomore Ryan Dabe.

"I have never had three sets of brothers on the same team," Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. "The one thing that all sets of brothers have in common is that they are all character guys and they show up each and every day."

"We're 7-3 and three losses have all come to teams in the top five," Red Raiders coach Dominic  Saccomanno said. "It definitely prepares us to be in a good position and to fine tune our whole system."

HHS had not played since an 8-6 win over Barrington April 18 due to weather postponements, but through 10 matches, Saccamanno has a good idea of the team's dedication.

Ferrara joined an elite group as she gained her 100th goal in two varsity seasons. She went on to add two more goals in a hard-fought 9-8 overtime loss to Stevenson. Ferrara tallied a school record 59 goals last season and had 39 goals this season before the match against the Patriots.

It all began in fifth grade when Ferrara, daughter of Nicole and Sam, discovered lacrosse.

Geske He has posted a 14-1 overall record, 6-0 in the FVC and just one win went to three sets. Geske earned five victories over conference opponents in a two-week span, including one three-set triumph.

"Geske has had an excellent start to the season," HHS coach Barry Wells said. "Playing No. 1 singles as a freshman is hard to handle, but he has a lot of experience outside of high school so I was not surprised by his success so far.

The Red Raiders head coach for the past 17 seasons, Andy Jakubowski, was about to make history. When the third out of the sixth inning was recorded, Jakubowski gained his 500th career triumph after a 12-2 HHS win. The team's 15-3 record also meant an 8-2 league mark.

"I've been blessed with great players, supportive parents, coaches and administration for 28 years, 23 as a head coach," Jakubowski said.

The Red Raiders earned their third victory of the season in a 20-5 rout of Plainfield April 21. That followed a strong effort in a 6-3 loss to Crystal Lake Central April 19 in a Fox Valley Conference battle.

"We have a lot of young new talent and every game that we play we get closer and closer as a team," Huntley coach Joe Domka said.

Doors open for bidding at 6 p.m. and the event runs until 9 p.m. Raffle winners will be drawn about 8:45 p.m.

"The auction is our primary source of fundraising for spring," HHS Booster Club President Shannon Corso said. "Every ounce of funds raised will go directly back to our student athletes in one form or another."

Auction items that could draw interest, club officials said, include several "basket" prizes: golf course prizes for foursomes packages to six different area golf courses; reserved student parking spots; BBQ baskets; gym memberships; sporting events and museums; many baskets with gift cards to local establishments.

The Red Raiders moved to 9-2-1 record, 2-1-1 FVC with a 1-0 victory at Prairie Ridge April 18. A second half goal from junior Gabi Farraj was the match winner.

The Huntley squad is led on offense by senior forward Grace Helzer, who has chalked up 28 total points on 12 goals and four assists (before the win over the Wolves).

This is the first year in Huntley history where every single varsity athlete on the boys volleyball team has experience in the sport, making a huge difference in the success of the program.

“I think it's hard for any varsity coach to imagine having a lineup with 20 to 50 percent of the team having never played the sport before,” Head Coach Gerald Marchand said.

The Red Raiders improved to 10-1 on the season, gained two Fox Valley Conference victories and a milestone win for their head coach Andy Jakubowski. HHS improved to 3-1 FVC as it downed McHenry 13-6, Crystal Lake Central 4-3 in eight innings and Prairie Ridge 15-3 April 12.

The final win of the trio secured the 400th win in 600 games at Huntley for Jakubowski. He moved up Jacobs.

"The Springfield trip was a great experience for our team," HHS girls track coach Jason Monson said. "It was a great opportunity to travel with a large varsity team and simulate the process of an overnight stay and competition, similar to the state meet.

"I play tennis year-round," Hein said. "I'm excited for the season and want to help the young guys on the team. We have a great future."

Hein and No. 1 doubles partner Matt Grubbs qualified for the Class 2A State Tennis Meet last season. This season he is teamed with senior Jon Stec in the doubles lineup.

"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.