Huntley comeback topples Bartlett
The wait was worth it for Huntley.
One day after thunderstorms postponed the debut of Huntley’s new football stadium complex, the Red Raiders scored 2 touchdowns to overcome a fourth-quarter deficit and defeat Bartlett 23-12 on Saturday.
Two factors stood out for Huntley: an aggressive, blitzing defense and the hard-pumping legs of senior running back Mitch Kawell.
The Huntley defense registered 5 sacks, 3 take-aways and limited Bartlett to 40 rushing yards. Tim Ryan picked off a Jordan Flint pass in the first quarter and Mike Andrews sealed the victory with an interception at his own 10-yard line with 1:02 to play.
“Our defense was so aggressive,” Huntley coach John Hart said. “We feed them a lot of red meat.”
In between, the Red Raiders fed Bartlett a regular diet of Kawell and fellow senior running back Jack Scalise. Scalise ran for 68 yards on 15 carries while Kawell battered the Hawks with 16 carries for 125 yards and 2 scores.
Huntley drives of 11 and 13 plays each bogged down in the red zone, thanks to a combination of Bartlett’s stingy defense and 11 Huntley penalties for 100 yards. That allowed the Hawks to not only stick around but to take a 12-10 lead when Flint connected with 6-foot-4 senior tight end Clint Zierke on a quick 2-yard slant on fourth down with 2:12 left in the third quarter.
But the Red Raiders relied on a big offensive line to make room for Kawell down the stretch. After the teams exchanged punts twice, Huntley drove 42 yards in 5 plays, capped by Kawell’s 17-yard rumble with 6:48 to play, which gave Huntley a 16-12 lead after the 2-point conversion pass failed.
The Bartlett defense then registered back-to-back sacks to force a Bartlett punt. Senior linebacker Jordan Kabb had 2 sacks and a tackle for loss, senior lineman Brandon Dranka notched a sack and senior lineman Marcus Wright II had 1½ sacks and forced fumble as Huntley won the turnover battle 3-0.
“We wanted to really hit them hard, hit them in the mouth and play at a high level today,” Wright II said.
“We wanted to split our gaps and play hard,” Dranka added. “We turned it up at halftime and bumped the effort up even harder.”
Scalise and Kawell put the game away on the ensuing scoring drive. Scalise gained 24 yards on 3 straight carries. Kawell then burst through the seam for a 20-yard touchdown with 2:18 to play.
“I don’t want to go down after just one or two (tacklers),” said Kawell, who converted 3 fourth-downs in the game. “I just want to keep going and moving my legs.”
Bartlett was held to 40 yards rushing, but Flint completed 18 of 33 attempts for 226 yards and a touchdown. The Bartlett defense allowed 319 total yards, 225 on the ground.
“I thought the defense kept us in the game,” Bartlett coach Tom Meaney said. “I was hoping we’d score more. We had opportunities to score more. Our screen passes were there but we dropped them. But we have to tackle better, catch the ball better, run better and block better. There are a lot of things we have to work on.”