Huntley finds consistency in Fox Valley Conference win over Crystal Lake South

CRYSTAL LAKE- One of the main themes at practice this week for Huntley was to make sure it was really good in critical situations. The message was received loud and clear Friday in a 38-12 Fox Valley Conference win against Crystal Lake South.

Huntley (4-2, 4-2) converted three of its first four possessions into points, particularly capitalizing on opportunities in the red zone. After Dominic Giuseffi gave the Red Raiders a 3-0 lead with his 28-yard field goal, quarterback Braylon Bower rushed for two touchdowns to lead the offense.

“After Dom hit the field goal, I talked to our guys about the need to finish drives, execute and play Huntley football, and we responded,” Bower said.

Another theme for Huntley was to find some consistency on both sides of the ball. Building on a 17-12 halftime lead, the offense was steady in the second half, blending the running and passing games and finding the end zone three times after the break.

Bower scored his third rushing touchdown three plays into the second half with a 17-yard run. Later in the quarter, Bower had a 12-yard touchdown pass to Wyatt Fleck, who used fancy footwork along the sideline to help get into the end zone. Running back Reichen Dvorak scored the final touchdown on a 5-yard run.

“Part of the consistency that we talked about was doing the little things so that we have a chance to let the big things take care of themselves,” Huntley coach Mike Naymola said.

Bower finished the game with 92 rushing yards on 12 carries with three touchdowns, while also going 13-of-19 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown.

Reichen had 14 carries for 90 yards and a score while Jordan Oruche had five receptions for 48 yards, with Colin Hockmuth adding 60 yards on four catches and Fleck four catches for 50 yards and the score.

Defensively, Huntley made plays when needed. The Raiders forced six Gator punts and had a turnover on downs. Mason Maldonado had two tackles for loss and a sack. Grant Tucker added a sack and Charles Condon III had two tackles for loss.

“We had some issues in the first half, but came out strong and we kept fighting. We take a lot of pride in how we play defense,” Condon III said.

South (2-4, 2-4) had a strong start to the game on offense. Kicker JJ Semradek booted a 27-yard field goal to start the scoring. On their next possession, the Gators needed just one play to find the end zone as quarterback Micheal Silvius hit AJ Demirov on a slant pattern that ended with Demirov racing 77 yards for the touchdown. Semradek added a 40-yard field goal in the second quarter.

“I’m really proud of the fight they had tonight. We had a good first half and we battled for four quarters,” South coach Rob Fontana said.

Silvius finished the game 2 of 9 for 91 yards and a touchdown. Demirov was 2-of-6 passing for 33 yards while also rushing for 30 yards on nine carries and adding the 77-yard touchdown catch. The senior also had an interception on defense. Running back Logan Miller led the Gators in rushing with 61 yards on 17 carries.