Huntley picks up where it left off
Up until two weeks before Huntley's season opener Friday night against McHenry, the starting running back position was still a question mark for Red Raiders head coach Matt Zimolzak.
Problem solved.
Ryder Havens, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound sophomore, stepped up a two weeks ago and earned the spot. He solidified it Friday night, running for 141 yards on 24 carries and scoring a touchdown as Huntley dominated the Warriors and came away with a 48-22 Fox Valley Conference win in the season opener for both teams.
"Ryder earned the spot a couple of weeks ago, and he's going to have to earn it every week. He knows that, "explained Zimolzak. "But he's a smart kid. He learned the offense and it showed tonight."
After spending his junior year lurking in the shadow of all-state signal caller Eric Mooney, now at Northern Iowa, Chris Raffin finally got his chance to step into the Red Raiders' starting role. He did not disappoint. Raffin showed a solid command of the Huntley offense and turned in an impressive performance, completing 10 of 17 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns and adding another on the ground.
Both Raffin and Havens had stretches where they exerted their control. Raffin's came in the second quarter, a stretch where he completed 4 of 6 passes, the last a touchdown toss to Michael Boland who made a highlight reel, one-handed snare just inside the front pylon with 7.7 seconds left to give the Red Raiders (1-0, 1-0) a 35-7 halftime lead.
Havens' turn to shine came on Huntley's final possession of the third quarter and first two plays of the fourth, when the Red Raiders rode Ryder on nine consecutive plays, culminating in a 9-yard scoring scurry up the middle. That made it 41-14, all but ending it and giving Raffin, Havens and several other Huntley starters the rest of opening night off.
For McHenry (0-1, 0-1), quarterback Braden Crowley had a tough night in the office. The 5-11, 170-pound senior was 4 for 11 with an interception and added 77 yards on 15 carries and scored once, a sweet 30-yard sprint around left end late in the third to make it 35-14. Backfield mate Luke Peacock got the call 13 times and gained 37 yards. He also had one touchdown.
After Huntley went three-and-out on the game's opening possession, McHenry put together a nice eight-play drive but came up empty. Kevin Sandoval punted and then the Red Raiders got to work.
Taking over at his own 22, Raffin first tried to hit Boland on a hitch-and-go that fell incomplete. Havens picked up 4 yards on a dive up the middle, then Raffin connected with Boland on a look-in, and the 6-1, 180-pound senior exploded up the middle for a 74-yard touchdown. Senior Tony Baldacci added the point after, his first of six on the night, and Huntley owned a 7-0 lead with 7:04 to play in first.
Peacock corralled the ensuing kickoff at his own 10 and, with the help of a few key blocks, returned it all the way to the Huntley 35, where Aj Henkle dragged him down.
Six plays later the Warriors evened the score when Crowley handed off to Peacock, who took it left and scored from the 9 yard line. Anthony Turnage drilled the kick to tie it at 7-7.
That deadlock was very short lived, however. McHenry senior Alec Gasmann sent the ensuing kickoff to the Huntley 11, where Ronel Noll caught it and, with the help of a key midfield block on Gasmann by Jarod Brace, returned it 89 yards for the touchdown. Baldacci kicked the extra point and the Red Raiders had a 14-7 lead with 3:12 to play in the first.