High school football: Huntley secondary adjusts for Cary-Grove after 4-interception performance

Charlie Zornow called his shot.

On the sideline Friday against Hampshire, while the Raiders offense had the ball, the Huntley linebacker guaranteed linebackers coach Paul Reinke he was going to grab an interception.

As soon as he went back onto the field, that’s what he did. Zornow undercut Hampshire receiver Cameron Fleury's slant route, picked off quarterback Jake Vincent’s pass and ran all the way to the end zone.

Zornow saw the play developing in front of him.

"(I) kept a good eye out for the slants and what kind of offense they were running," Zornow said.

The interception was one of four for the Huntley defense against the Whip-Purs last week en route to a 49-7 Raiders victory. Cornerback Joe Boland picked off two, and defensive back Peter Murray added another.

On the first of Boland’s two interceptions, he was almost beaten by Hampshire's Jared Hornbeck. It was another slant route and Hornbeck had a step on Boland but couldn’t catch the pass. The ball ricocheted off Hornbeck and Boland bobbled it before corralling it.

“I think he ended up getting it behind his head,” Huntley coach Matt Zimolzak said.

“I don’t remember how I caught it,” Boland said. “I landed on my stomach.”

He matched up with the 6-foot Hornbeck all game. Zimolzak called Boland the “anchor of the whole defense.” Measuring in a 5-foot-6, 135 pounds, Boland isn’t big, but he can hold his own.

So can fellow cornerback Tyler Koss, who measures in at 5-10, 160 pounds.

“We’re not the biggest guys,” Boland said. “When we pull through and hold two good passing teams to seven points, it really helps our confidence.”

Between Friday’s victory and the season-opening win over Jacobs, Huntley held the Fox Valley Conference’s two highest-powered passing attacks to a total of seven points.

They will have to stop a much different attack this week against Cary-Grove. Both teams enter the game at 3-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference, one game behind Prairie Ridge. The Trojans’ triple-option attack is the furthest thing from the pass-heavy looks Hampshire showed.

“It’s a little less reads and more discipline,” Zornow said. “Cary and Prairie Ridge – it’s the same offense – it’s all based on one guy on the defense who’s not going to be disciplined and do his job. The keys in this game is staying disciplined. If we don’t have a guy tackling fullback, quarterback and pitch man every time, we’re going to get beat."

Huntley and Cary-Grove already have a loss to Prairie Ridge. The Wolves beat the Raiders, 31-20, in Week 2 and did so by running for 333 yards on the Raiders’ defense. Playing a team like Prairie Ridge probably is the best preparation for Cary-Grove.

Zimolzak realizes his defense will have to do better against the Trojans.

“We have a lot more potential,” Zimolzak said. “We didn’t play well against Prairie Ridge, and I think guys tried to do too much.”

They’ll have another chance this week in what is likely the highest-profile matchup remaining in the FVC.