“We as a staff are just so proud that the team could rally behind each other and bounce back after a sub-par year last year and earn a share of the FVC. It wasn’t an easy path but it was a fun journey with the team,” HHS head coach Mike Naymola said.

“It is important to show the younger players what playing Huntley football has meant to us,” senior linebacker Dashaun Manning said. “But it’s hard to state in five minutes what 12 years of football in Huntley means.”

The Red Raiders’ achieved an 8-1 regular season and co-Fox Valley Conference title. Huntley will host Andrew, (6-3) of Tinley Park in the first playoff game.

Red Raiders boys cross country coach Matt Kaplan commented on Nitz and Rasmussen’s careers.

“Nitz is a hard working person,” Kaplan said. “He wants to get better every day and works to reach his goals he sets for himself.

“The girls won the FVC as freshmen and now as seniors,” Kaplan said as the race day concluded at Veterans Acres Park in Crystal Lake.  Huntley totaled 76 points to edge Crystal Lake South’s 83. Crystal Lake Central was third, 98, McHenry had 99 and Cary-Grove rounded out the top five with a 101 score.

Nitz outran the field to win first place to set up momentum heading into the Class 2A Regional meet at Macheseney Park Harlem Oct. 22. Qualifiers move on to the Lake Park sectional in Roselle Oct. 29.

“We talked about Nitz winning the FVC race and he went out and did it today,” Red Raiders coach Matt Kaplan said.

The rain and wind had died down by the time James Lang’s take away prevented the Chargers from making it a one-score deficit in the final minutes of Huntley’s 31-19 triumph Oct. 14.

Huntley improved to 7-1, 7-1 FVC, and remained in a three-way tie with Jacobs and Prairie Ridge. The HHS senior night game is next against Crystal Lake South (5-3, 5-3) Oct.

The band, which competes in the 2A category at competitions, has been able to place first at every competition they have attended so far.

This includes the Lake Park Lancer Joust and Victor J. Andrew Marching Band Invitational to being named the Grand Champion of their most recent competition at the Prospect High School Knight of Champions, according to Krivosik.

“I’ll miss all the energy you get when you play here,” senior co-captain Micah Overly said.  “It’s the last home match so we wanted to come in and give it our all.”

“It’s always fun to end the season on an exciting note,” Huntley coach Matt Lewandowski said.

The Red Raiders called upon its reserves to fill in for starting middle blocker Emily Willis due to an illness and setter Maggie Duyos, who injured a knee. Pinch hitting were seniors Kendall Gallaugher and Madelyn Moran at middle blocker and junior Laura Boberg at setter  Huntley did not miss a beat in improving to 21-4 overall, 15-0 FVC.

“I’m excited –  it was a great tournament,” HHS coach Barry Wells said. “We were able to do better than our seeds at all positions and that’s not easy. They showed they cared and cheered for each other.”

It is on to the Class 2A Rockford Harlem sectional Oct.

“It was a great week and the theme was to focus on the game (with the homecoming activities going on),” Huntley coach Mike Naymola said.

Huntley remains tied in a three-team battle for the Fox Valley Conference title with Jacobs and Prairie Ridge with 6-1, 6-1 records with two games left in the regular season.

HHS head cross country coach Matt Kaplan summed up Breanna and Brittney Burak’s seasons prior to the Oct. 15 Fox Valley Conference meet at Veterans Acres in Crystal Lake. They are the daughters of Dan and Sonia Burak.

“This season has been a lot of fun watching Breanna Burak and Brittney Burak compete,” Kaplan said.

The Red Raiders scored six unanswered goals for a 6-1 win over Hampshire in Fox Valley Conference action Oct. 4. The victory was a response to a 3-2 double overtime loss to Crystal Lake Central three days earlier.

“We came out with a chip on our shoulder. It (CLC) was a hard loss, but we did not let it get us down,” junior Hudson Nielsen said.

Red Raiders golfers Brendan Busky and Nathan Elm both carded rounds of 75 but fell just one stroke shy of qualifying for the Class 3A state tournament at the Dundee-Crown sectional Oct. 3.

Huntley coach Collin Kalamatas praised Busky, a senior and Elm, a junior, for their season-ending efforts.

“Busky and Elm played so well,” Kalamatas said.

HHS sophomore Maddie Sloan fired a 95 (48th place) while junior Kylie Szymczak turned in a 100 score (74th) and senior Abby Panier shot a 106 (90th). The four qualified out of the Belvidere Class 2A regional Sept. 29.

“We had four golfers qualify for sectional which made us very proud,” HHS assistant coach Lindsey Allen said.

The victory over the Trojans (3-3, 3-3 FVC) came down to the final C-G possession, a march of 60 yards inside the HHS 10. Then HHS came up with the needed stops.

HHS totaled 82 points in the Oct. 1 girls race and the boys gained sixth place at the Detweiller Park, which is also the girls and boys state cross country meet course on Nov. 5.

“I’m really pleased with the performances from our teams at Peoria,” Huntley cross country coach Matt Kaplan said. “Our girls team set a goal of finishing in the top three and went out and ran amazing.

HHS’s clincher was a 5-2 win over Cary-Grove Sept. 28 following a 7-0 shutout of Dundee-Crown. Another shutout, 7-0 over Crystal Lake South, wrapped up home meets Sept. 29. HHS’s record stood at 8-0 in FVC, 17-1 overall.

Red Raiders head coach Barry Wells commented on the league crown and this weekend’s (Oct. 7-8) FVC Tournament at Crystal Lake Central and Cary-Grove.

“When we graduated six varsity starters last year I wasn’t sure what to expect this year,” Wells said.

HHS senior Maggie Duyos reached 1,000 assists in her career Sept. 27 at McHenry. It occurred on a pass to Ally Panzloff for a kill late in the second set of a 25-20, 25-11 win.

Duyos did not stop there, with a 14-assist night(nine service aces) in a 25-15, 25-8 win over Prairie Ridge Sept. 29. She and mom Julie were presented with a volleyball prior to the win over the Wolves.