Haiden Janke scores three TDs as Huntley tops McHenry

McHENRY – Huntley senior running back Haiden Janke is not afraid to express his affection for the guys paving the way for his success.

“My O-line, I love my hogs and they do so much for me,” Janke said. “Every day I hug them and tell them I love them.”

There’s plenty of reasons for the Red Raiders to be enamored with the work up front of seniors Adam Tramuta, Jack Crudele, Vince Tiberi and Cameron Mueller, junior Kelley Gassner and senior tight end Jacob Pociecha after two games. Janke rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries and the offense piled up 397 total yards in a 35-6 Fox Valley Conference victory over McHenry at McCracken Field.

Junior quarterback Braylon Bower accounted for 197 total yards and ran and passed for a touchdown as Huntley (2-0, 2-0) went ahead to stay just 2:03 into the game and took a 21-0 lead 8:15 before halftime.

“It all comes down to physicality, especially up front with our unit,” said Crudele, who also plays on the defensive line. “Last year we did a lot of running and this year, we’re trying to lean on the run still, but be a well-rounded offense. It’s definitely working out the way we wanted it to.”

That was evident on the opening 78-yard drive that took only five plays and 1:50. Bower (12 for 17, 141 yards) hit Omare Segarra for 37 yards to set up Janke’s 1-yard touchdown run. Two possessions later, on fourth-and-12 at the 13 of McHenry (0-2, 0-2), Bower and senior Jacob Witt made a perfect connection in the right corner of the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

“We were very intentional about trying to do more with the offense than just give it to Haiden every time,” said Huntley coach Mike Naymola.

Bower also rushed for 56 yards on 11 carries and a 2-yard touchdown to make it 21-0. Janke’s touchdown runs of 2 and 4 yards in the second half gave him his second consecutive three-touchdown game.

“When we do a lot with the pass it opens up the inside for me to run,” Janke said. “We have a lot more weapons we can use this year than last year. We can do something special this year.”

McHenry showed some positive signs after getting shut out by Hampshire in Jeff Schroeder’s head coaching debut at the school. Junior Jacob Jones (23 carries, 102 yards) scored from 42 yards on the first possession of the second half to cut the deficit to 21-6. Sophomore James Butler had an interception and senior quarterback Joseph Pineda, starting for sophomore Ethan Dietmeyer (broken finger), completed all three of his passes to sophomore tight end Jonathan Wiseman for 47 yards.

“We’re really young but we’re not going to be young forever,” Schroeder said. “The kids are growing and developing and getting experience. This was night and day from last week against a really good team.”

But Huntley also knows it has some work to do after turning over the ball twice and committing seven penalties for 70 yards. The first penalty wiped out Segarra’s 80-yard touchdown on the opening kickoff.

“There are always things you’ve got to get cleaned up,” Crudele said.

“It’s good to get a win and the kids are happy about that,” Naymola said. “They’ve worked too hard to apologize for any win. But we exposed ourselves a little bit and we’re not anywhere as good as we need to be to win the Fox Valley Conference and win a game in the playoffs.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/friday-night-drive/2023/09/02/haiden-janke-scores-three-tds-as-huntley-tops-mchenry/