Huntley looking forward to FVC Valley challenge
The Huntley football program has everything it needs.
Almost.
Over the past three years the program has benefitted from millions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades, including new turf, new bleachers, a new press box, a new scoreboard, a new weightlifting facility and a new multiuse field house.
The only thing missing? A shiny new trophy that reads "Fox Valley Conference Valley Division champion."
The rising Red Raiders are intent on securing that missing piece and more in 2015.
Loaded with returning talent on both sides of the ball from a team that finished 8-2 a year ago, ever-expanding Huntley could be to be on the verge of a FVC Valley takeover. The Red Raiders finished second in the Valley last season behind Class 7A runner-up Cary-Grove.
"We're sure going to try," fourth-year coach John Hart said of winning the FVC Valley Division title. "There are a lot of challenges out there for us but we believe if we don't accomplish a championship, we've failed in one of our goals."
A defense that allowed 313 yards and 18.8 points per game should tighten with the return of several key starters, including the entire secondary. That unit is led by senior cornerback Tim Ryan, a third-year varsity starter with 4.4 speed committed to North Dakota. Sean Patel returns at the other corner.
Strong safety Ryan Ford has 4.5 speed and "was playing as well as anyone on our defense toward the end of last season," Hart said. Returning free safety Anthony Bellantuono led all Huntley defensive backs with 3 interceptions last season. Junior Joe Boland (5-7, 145) will see action in the secondary as well.
Two of the area's best linebackers return: Tim McCloyn (6-1, 215) and Daniel Dennis (6-0, 225). McCloyn, a weight room devotee with mid-4.5 speed, moves from defensive end to middle linebacker. Dennis was Huntley's leading tackler in 2014 and "got bigger and stronger," in the off-season, Hart said.
Clogging the run up front is Dominic Swanson, one of the strongest football players in the state. Swanson is a power lifter who has set multiple junior world records for his age group. At a competition in April, he squatted 545 pounds, benched 374 and deadlifted 578, according to the Swanson's Gym Facebook page. He returns to action after missing most of his junior year with a fractured fibula, an injury suffered in the season opener against Bartlett.
Offensively, the Red Raiders have the potential to be prolific, led by returning quarterback Anthony Binetti. An all-area pick a year ago, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound senior completed 55.5 percent of his passes (111 of 200) for 1,860 yards and 22 touchdowns against 7 interceptions, and he rushed 77 times for 249 yards and 2 scores.
"As much as people thought he grew as a player last year, that's how much he's grown again over the summer," Hart said. "We tell our kids that to be our quarterback you have to have a lot of bravado. You have to be able to John Wayne it and be able to direct a football team. He has that."
Senior Casey Haayer and sophomore Eric Mooney formed a solid rushing combination last season when Haayer carried 125 times for 749 yards and 11 touchdowns and Mooney added 453 yards and 6 touchdowns in 71 attempts.
Haayer has 4.5 speed and developed so much in the off-season, according to his coach, that the Huntley coaching staff feels comfortable moving the athletic Mooney to slot receiver. The team's leading returning receiver is senior Ben Pfeiffer (5-11, 160), who last year caught 8 passes for 112 yards. He'll be joined by juniors Alec Coss (5-11, 165) and Dan Frederick (6-0, 190).
Swanson leads a formidable, athletic offensive line that won the 32-team lineman challenge at Wheaton Warrenville South this summer. He is joined by senior center Ed Parzygnat (6-2, 240), who would have started last season if not for a knee injury, and "aggressive" junior Kyle Witt (5-11, 265), who has earned a starting role.
Will it be enough to win the FVC Valley for the first time?
"This team loves competition," Hart said. "They want to compete against the best. Going against some of the schools in our league that have great histories or some of the schools in 8A if we make the playoffs, it won't affect this team. Over the summer they played their best against teams with lots of history. They want that challenge."