Senior Brendan Busky led the Red Raiders at all three events.

Busky shot a 39 in the 165-170 win over McHenry after firing a round of 77 at CLS’s meet, where HHS was second by five shots. Busky shot a 37-37 for a 74 in the 18-hole event at Blackstone Golf Club and earned medalist honors.

“We are fortunate to have the fieldhouse,” HHS first-year head coach Mike Naymola said. “When I saw the forecast, I checked and no one was using it that day.”

HHS commenced in earnest preparation for the season and Fox Valley Conference opener Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. at Crystal Lake Central. The Red Raiders are  ready to get back to its winning ways after a 3-6  2021 season.

JV and varsity football squads will play inter-squad games starting at 6:25 p.m.

The girls squad won the regional meet, finished sixth at the sectional after ending fourth at the Fox Valley Conference championships. The boys were fourth at the FVC meet, third at regional and eighth at the sectional meet.

“The goals are for both the girls and boys teams to finish in the top three in the conference and qualify for the IHSA State Meet,” HHS head cross-country coach Matt Kaplan, who leads both squads, said.

In the boys age 16-18 division, it was a battle to the 18th hole of top Red Raiders players. Nooa Hakala edged teammate Nate Elm for the championship, with a score of 79 compared to Elm’s 82. Erik Pietrzyk of Cary-Grove tied Elm for second place as he also shot an 82.

Practices begin Aug. 8 for most sports and students must have a current physical on file. All student-athletes must be registered. For more information, visit www.Il.8to18.com/Huntley.

The Red Raiders will report as follows:

Boys and girls cross country, head coach Matt Kaplan, Aug. 8, 8 to 9:30 a.m. at Deicke Park.

Football, head coach Mike Naymola, Aug.

The championship flight followed suit of the “A” and “B” flights as it was decided by a playoff hole. Truman Keppy of Lakemoor, a McHenry High School graduate, edged Blake Connelly as he shot par at the first playoff after each totaled 143 shots,

Keppy is a junior at Stetson University in Florida, a division I school and started golf as a teenager.

A 13U team of future Red Raiders players vied with the likes of Chicago-based squads and teams from Japan, Puerto Rico and California. The elder Huntley squad squared off against Windy City, Genoa City, Wis. and Peoria teams.

“We try and have a team here every year and the big pull is the international competition,” RBA President Carlos Garcia said.

Huntley will open the season at Crystal Lake Central at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26.

The Red Raiders are preparing for the new gridiron season under the direction of new head coach Mike Naymola. All nine regular season games are against Fox Valley Conference opponents. The schedule includes Cary-Grove, who is the defending Class 6A champion.

After the opener, HHS’s schedule includes, with all kickoffs at 7 p.m.:

The MCJGA is based in Crystal Lake and has grown in its schedule of tournaments from three to 13. The 2022 season started in late April and ends at the fall classic Oct. 15 at Pinecrest.

“We have had good participation this year, about 40 to 55 golfers each tournament,” McHenry County Jr.

Huntley players honored include:

Boys lacrosse: Jacob Gehl, senior goalie; AJ Baumley, junior midfielder; Tyler Readinger. junior defender; Brady Mollsen, senior attack, midfielder; Connor Ardell, junior, attack; Caden Alexander, junior defender. HHS won the conference championship with an 8-0 record. HHS won its first sectional trophy to advance to the super sixteen.

Girls lacrosse: Emma Farr, senior attack; Ashley Zolen, junior, midfield; Kyleigh Higgins, senior midfielder; Allie Ambrogio, junior midfielder; Lindsay Hunter, senior defense; and Allie Wentz, junior defender.

Red Raiders earning the accolade were: seniors Adam Guazzo and Brandon Hanley; juniors Brayden Bakes, Joe Garlin and Andrew Ressler and sophomore Malachi Paplanus.

The Huntley squad finished with a 31-5 record, won the FVC title with a 16-2 mark, In the Class 4A  post-season, they won the De Kalb regional and beat Jacobs with a 10-1 win at the sectional semifinal before a 4-3 loss to eventual final four qualifier McHenry.

The players honored were: senior outfielder Zoe Doherty; senior pitcher Jori Heard; junior outfielder Clara Hudgens; senior shortstop Reese Hunkins; junior outfielder Katie Mitchell; junior third baseman Madison Smith and sophomore first baseman Meg Ryan.

Heard was among the national leaders in strikeouts as she ended in sixth place with 416, according to MaxPreps.

“The message was that the group had to overcome a lot of adversity and found a way to overcome to it,” HHS coach Andy Jakubowski said.

The group had led the 2022 HHS squad to the Fox Valley Conference title and a regional championship in DeKalb and a 10-1 sectional semifinal victory over Jacobs.

For the Scouts, the Hoffman Estates IHSA Super-Sectional match was like another day at the office and they handed HHS an 11-1 defeat May 31. The 17-win Huntley season came to an end following a Fox Valley Conference unbeaten season and a school first sectional championship.

“After losing last year at the sectional final, winning sectional meant everything to us,” Huntley coach Dominic Saccomanno said.

Red Raiders head coach Chris Maxedon was pleased with the efforts. “It was a very successful state meet,” he said.

Qualifying were Gronewold, shot put thrower Hayden Swim, 3,200-mile run qualifier Tommy Nitz and high jumper McHale Hood. Gronewold clocked a 50.25 in the finals, after a 50.75 in the ninth-place prelims while Nitz was 18th in the two-mile at 9:36.45, a personal best; Swim threw the shot 19.95 meters and Hood cleared 1.86 meters.

The Red Raiders turned back DeClan Lally and Ian Wolan of Palos Heights Stagg, 6-0, 6-2 in the first round at state. It was their 21st win of the season.

“Ben and Matt only lost five games at the sectional; they were dominant,” HHS coach Barry Wells said. “They have a great chemistry.”

HHS will host Fox Lake Grant at 4:30 p.m. June 1 in the Class 4A sectional. The Huntley sectional final is at 4:30 p.m. June 3.

Huntley’s Jori Heard, who was ranked in the top five nationally in strikeouts by MaxPreps, chalked up 12 more K’s and walked none, with the lone base runner reaching via an error. 

The Red Raiders, 30-4, breezed by Rockford Jefferson, 20-0, May 26 and then pounded Rockford Harlem, 18-1, May 28 for the regional championship. They face rival and neighbor Jacobs in Algonquin at 4:30 p.m. June 2.

“We split against them, so it will probably be a low-scoring game,” HHS coach Andy Jakubowski said.

It was a Friday night in late May, at the “H” at the Red Raiders Stadium, when dad Dominic held son, young Carter. Both looked at the Red Raiders’ first boys lacrosse sectional trophy.

Dad can explain how the team earned a Super Sixteen spot, with a chance at state, with three straight 10-goal efforts. Or how the sectional semifinal win came because of a pep talk from a senior and the next came on a full-field play that happened so fast the celebration came seconds later.