It was a chilly October night as an air of excitement filled the stands. Huntley got ready to begin the kickoff as Raider Nation prepared to watch what ended up being one of the most exciting games of the entire season.
The Red Raiders held on to their perfect record by winning a close game against Jacobs 22-19. The game started as a low-scoring affair. The only touchdown in the first quarter was a 1 yard run by senior Casey Haayer with just under 25 seconds left in the quarter. Earlier in the quarter, Jacobs had a chance to get 3 points on the board with a field goal, but the Red Raiders managed to block the kick, keeping the Golden Eagles scoreless.
The second quarter was a quiet one as well, with only one scoring play the entire quarter. After a nice throw from quarterback Anthony Binetti to Alec Coss for 47 yards, the Raiders could not finish the drive and had to punt. Later on in the quarter, Jacobs managed to score a touchdown with 42 seconds left on the clock, but they were not able to tie the game after failing the two-point conversion.
During halftime, after a performance by the marching band and color guard, Tim McCloyn and Kennedy Lucas were crowned as the homecoming king and queen.
Much like the first two quarters, the third quarter was a defensive showdown, as only a single touchdown was scored. Sophomore Eric Mooney managed to get a 15 yard rushing touchdown for the Raiders, dodging a Golden Eagle as he entered the endzone. The score was 15-6 at the end of the third.
The final quarter was quite different from the first three. It had as many touchdowns as the first three quarters combined. Jacobs began to mount a comeback. It started with Binetti throwing a pick-6 with 9:39 left in the game. Once again, the Golden Eagles failed to get the two-point conversion, leaving the score to be 15-12 in favor of the Raiders. Minutes later, Huntley attempted to end Jacobs’ hopes of winning by scoring a touchdown with less than only 4 and a half minutes left in the game, however, Jacobs did not give up. The Eagles managed to score another touchdown less than a minute later. This time they settled for the extra point, leaving the score 22-19.
After a fruitless endeavor by Huntley’s offense, Jacobs had the ball yet again. They managed to work their way up the field and were ready to score and break the Raiders’ winning streak. It ultimately came down to the final seconds of the game.
“The most exciting moment was the very last play of the game, when the Jacobs quarterback tried to throw a Hail Mary for a touchdown, which was batted down by one of our defensive players.” said junior wide receiver Sam Pitrone. The Red Raiders had won the game, keeping their undefeated record.
This final score left some of the players stunned. According to Mooney, even though this was the closest game of the year, Jacobs was not the toughest team faced this year.
“We had five turnovers in the game. You typically don’t win games like that,” said Mooney. “I feel like if the offense played up to our ability, it wouldn’t have been close.”
Binetti had an off game with multiple interceptions. He and the rest of the offense look to bounce back in their next game against Crystal Lake South on Oct. 9.