December 22, 2024
Sports - McHenry County


Sports - McHenry County

New QB Binetti leads Huntley past Bartlett

STREAMWOOD -- Anthony Binetti took one step back and flung a pass to his right, almost immediately toward Josh Esikiel, who turned and trotted in for an easy 7-yard touchdown pass. The toss helped Huntley cushion a 17-point fourth quarter lead.

For Binetti, a junior, it was his first start at quarterback for the Red Raiders, replacing the graduated Blake Jacobs, who had thrown for 15 touchdowns a season ago. But he seemed to pass the test in his first outing, throwing for 163 yards and running for 21 more to help lead Huntley to a 17-7 victory against Bartlett in its season opener on Saturday at Millennium Field at Streamwood High.

The nonconference game was originally scheduled for Friday night, but was postponed because of lightning.

"Sometimes you got to survive wins," Huntley coach John Hart said. "And at times, I thought we could have separated ourselves. And at times, we had to survive."

Binetti helped key the ball moving for Huntley, which likes to spread it and out and keep defenses on its heels.

"We're doing a hurry up offense this year," he said, "so we want to get the ball and just go."

Binetti got past the early jitters Saturday. Through most of the first quarter on Friday, he completed one pass for -4 yards, but came back firing over the remaining three quarters.

"I think he did some things exceptionally well," Hart said. "And then there were a lot of easy plays he'd like to have back. I think there was a lot of good. And the good thing is, there's a lot more better to come.

"When he throws the ball on time and gets his body ready to through, he's got a great arm. And he's a thinker.

The 6-foot, 185-pound quarterback looked in command on the final drive, helping Huntley eat some clock with runs of 9 and 15 yards.

"I could do better on a lot of things -- wide open hitches, throwing on time," Binetti said. "But as far as our offense, I thought the offensive line was fantastic and our receivers did very well."

Huntley is scheduled to host Elgin on Friday.

Game ball:

Senior fullback Jake Witt paved the way for the Red Raiders' rushing attack, helping them go over the century mark. He had five pancakes and got the ball in the end zone himself with a second-quarter touchdown run.

The number 4:1

Bartlett was outdone by four turnovers, including two fumbles and two interceptions, where as Huntley was nearly mistake free.

The Big Play

With Huntley leading by 10 points late and Bartlett driving deep into the Red Raiders' territory, senior linebacker Aaron Rutkowski intercepted quarterback Jordan Flint in the red zone, preserving the victory.

Huntley 17, Bartlett 7

Huntley 0 10 0 7 17

Bartlett 0 0 0 7 7

Second quarter

Huntley — Young 33 field goal, 10:47

Huntley— Witt 1 run (Young kick), 3:21

Fourth quarter

Huntley — Esikiel 7 pass from Binetti (Young kick), 9:47 Bartlett — Hayes 36 fumble return (Hernandez kick), 3:31  INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING Huntley: Haayer 25-78, Binetti 10-21, Esikiel 3-34, Altergott 1-20, Mooney 4-15, Witt 2-3 Bartlett: Bernat 11-37, Brown-Utley 5-14, Flint 2- -2, Sheahan 1- -6   PASSING Huntley: Binetti 15-25-163 Bartlett: Flint 28-43-2-355

RECEIVING Prairie Ridge: Esikiel 5-41, Altergott 4-84, Haayer 2-21, Kesul 2-12, Pfeifer 2-5, Bartlett: Petty 8-109, Hasenberg 1-25, Gates 9-98, Cottman 3-12, Hasenberg 3-39, Bernat 2-59, Danek 1-16, Sheahan 1—6   TOTAL TEAM YARDS: Huntley 314, Bartlett 398   Sophomore score: Bartlett 26, Huntley 14