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Huntley powers past Dundee-Crown for first win
Updated: September 24, 2011 1:00AM
Thanks to an improved effort by the offensive line and the workhorse performance of Ethan Connor, Huntley cruised to a 33-14 victory over Dundee-Crown in Friday’s matchup of previously winless teams.
Connor racked up 135 yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries to help the visiting Red Raiders improve to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the Fox Valley Valley after having come up short against four previous opponents who combined for an 11-1 record in the first four weeks of the season. For young and undersized Dundee-Crown (0-5, 0-3), the defeated extended its losing streak to 22 games.
Huntley’s John Walker gave his squad an immediate boost by returning the opening kickoff 56 yards to give the Red Raiders possession at the D-C 34. Jordan Hyatt broke off right tackle for a 15-yard gain and quick first down, but on the next play, the senior not only lost two yards but injured his right knee.
After another gain, Connor sliced his way 18 yards into the end zone for the first score at 10:13. With the PAT kick sailing wide left, the score stood 6-0 in Huntley’s favor.
“We’ve practiced so hard and I knew we needed a spark to keep our season hopes up, so that first quick score was big,” Connor noted. “Knowing we had a hard schedule, we were waiting for this moment.
“When I saw Jordan’s knee bend, I knew it was bad. So I knew I had to step up, but the offensive line really pounded it out for me. The more carries I got, the more the adrenaline kicked in.”
As the second quarter began, the Red Raiders were gambling on a fourth-and-1 from the D-C 49 only to be whistled for a false start. Backed up five yards, Huntley instead decided to punt and the host Chargers were flagged for a personal foul, with that 15-yard walk-off allowing Huntley to continue a drive that ended with Connor carrying it in from five yards out. Kameron Salee’s successful PAT kick made it 13-0 with 9:40 left before halftime.
“Unfortunately we continue to make mistakes and the other team scores, it’s a frustrating pattern,” Dundee-Crown Vito Andriola. “There’s no way to say what we would have done, but in this case it leads to them going up 13-0. It’s still a learning process for us. We’ve got to avoid breakdowns.”
Huntley quarterback Jake Brock found Walker open for a 25-yard gain that set up a first-and-goal from the 4. That meant it was time for Connor to cover the distance remaining and with another successful PAT kick, the Red Raiders enjoyed a 20-0 halftime lead.
“It’s tough any time you get to 0-4 because everyone is upset over those outcomes,” Huntley coach Matt Gehrig said. “It takes a lot of perseverance and it’s important to keep refocusing on your strengths.
“I’m glad these guys finally got the reward for all the weeks they’ve grinded away, going back to last spring and all summer in the weight room.”
Due to a shanked punt, Huntley’s initial possession of the second half was a began at the Chargers’ 35. After the Red Raiders netted a few yards from an exchange of penalties, Brock completed his third pass, a 28-yard end zone strike to Brandon Doty to make the score 26-0.
Dundee-Crown put together a fairly solid series on its next possession as the Chargers covered 72 yards in eight plays with Cody Lane going around left end for a 39-yard touchdown scamper. T.J. Moss’s PAT kick resulted in a 26-7 contest with 5:32 left in the third quarter.
After Huntley started the fourth quarter missing wide on a 35-yard field goal attempt by Salee, the Chargers were forced into a punt. Another personal foul tacked on to the return set up the Red Raiders at the D-C 36, and Connor slipped a tackle to gain 29 before covering the last seven yards for a 33-7 lead.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys on the offensive line, so we tried to simplify our game plan and run the ball up the middle,” Gehrig said. “Thankfully we were pretty successful. Defensively I thought we read our keys pretty well, flowed to the ball and tackled with more consistency.”
In addition to Brock going 3-for-3 in passing for 85 yards, the Red Raiders gained 232 yards on the ground.
Dundee-Crown never gave up the fight as Charger quarterback Garrett Ryan found teammate Adrian Asani for a 52-yard completion inside the final minute to bring up a first-and-goal from the Huntley 4. After an incomplete pass, Asani ran it in from four yards out in order to finish with 92 yards on 14 carries.
Dundee-Crown compiled 155 yards rushing on 31 carries and Ryan was 3-for-8 for 59 yards passing.
“We battled much better in the second half,” Andriola insisted. “Obviously they’re not a bad team, especially knowing who they’ve lost to, but the reality is we’re not a strong team physically. Even when we hit people behind the line, they carried us for a few more yards.
“After five games, we’re no longer mentally young, however, we are physically young and that’s something we have to improve as a program.”
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