Huntley rolls to easy win over Gary West

Huntley quarterback Anthony Binetti's first pass on the game's first play from scrimmage wasn't his prettiest.

But the other 9 he tossed during the Red Raiders' 47-6 nonconference win over Gary (Ind.) West in Huntley was indeed something to gawk over.

After Cougars safety Kylan Taylor let Binetti's pass go through his fingertips near the Red Raider 30, the Huntley senior regrouped on his final 9 passes, 5 of which went for touchdowns.

And that was just the first half.

Binetti sat out the second half with first half totals of 237 yards passing on 9 of 10 attempts, a 6-yard TD scamper and a 47-point lead to boot. A far cry from where he was 23 minutes earlier.

"Except for the first throw," Red Raiders coach John Hart said comically, "after that he was really accurate and got on his game."

"That was my fault, I should have back shouldered, threw it out a little quicker" Binetti said of his errant throw. "Just a little error right there, (I) got it fixed right away."

And Huntley (3-0) had some receivers to help out. Eric Mooney, Alec Coss, Benjamin Pfeifer, and Chase Lowenstein were willing and able to help Huntley rack up nearly 500 total yards, winning that edge 474-184 as the air attack put up 260.

Mooney caught 3 passes for 86 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown, while Coss hauled in 3 for 82 yards and 2 scores, one for 52 yards and another for 30. Pfeifer added a 31-yard scoring play and Lowenstein grabbed a 15-yard toss. Those snags all came after Binetti ran in from the Cougar 6 with 9:02 left in the first quarter, and the only time the Red Raiders didn't score on their first eight possessions was the last play of the half.

"On film we saw they were going to bring seven or eight in the box every play and play man on the outside," Binetti said. "We tried to distribute the ball, give everyone the opportunity to get the ball get a couple yards. You can't just key in on someone or teams are going to key in on that and lock him down. We got big, versatile receivers so we'll be good."

Cougars receiver Kaylin Brookshire hauled in 6 passes for 82 yards and a 46-yard touchdown grab late in the fourth, but no Cougar could stop Coss. He followed up Lowenstein's catch that put Huntley up 14-0 in the first with a burning display over the middle on a small dump.

"I see myself as kind of the deep guy, kind of blow the top off the (defensive backs), that's kind of my job," Coss said. "We saw the defenses they ran and we knew we could capitalize through the air."

Huntley had no problem staying balanced. Returning running back Casey Haayer was in the mix for 83 yards on 11 carries, along with a 20-yard score with 6:02 left in the first half for a 40-point lead. Yet, as Haayer returned from a shoulder setback, Michael Ahmer, who finished with 74 yards on 9 carries, left with a separated shoulder that Hart says will keep him out "for a while." But the rushing game tallied 214 yards, and that's a good sign for Hart going into the thick of the conference schedule.

"We're really a diverse offense," Hart said. "We might throw for three, four-hundred yards one game and the next game we might throw for 70 and run the football. So we don't have a preference of what we do, we kind of let the defense dictate what we're doing."