The grey clouds soar across the sky at a slow but steady pace. The football players and coaches filed onto the field with a determined aura. The stands are filled with eager parents and students, all anticipating this football game against Crystal Lake South. It was game time.

Looking up into the stands you saw students decked out in camouflage-themed outfits. The Raiders jumped up and down in a huddle getting the crowd pumped up. We were all ready to defeat Crystal Lake South. 

In the first quarter, Bruno Bosman, the quarterback, ran the ball 17 yards to the end zone as he weaved through opposing players, and scored a touchdown for Huntley. Shortly after, Bosman ran another 18 yards and scored a second touchdown for the Raiders. 

With a couple of minutes left on the clock in the first quarter Huntley player David Gehl, on the offensive line, lay unmoving on the field after a rough play. The Huntley staff and Gehl’s parents carried him off the field. He was then taken by ambulance to the hospital. “I went to go pass block, and I stepped on someone’s cleat and my knee just twisted and dislocated. Later it popped back in place and chipped off a piece of my knee cap,” Gehl said. Unfortunately, he is out for the remainder of the season.

The score remained 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. 

In the last 2 minutes of the second quarter, Huntley was on the 1-yard line. Pasquale Ricardi, running back, ran the 1 yard in for a Huntley touchdown.

At the beginning of the third quarter, Ryder Havens ran 13 yards and scored a touchdown for Huntley. Later in the quarter, a Crystal Lake South player caught a 63-yard pass, taking it for a touchdown. Just seconds after the touchdown and extra point, a strike of lightning occurred and the referees paused the game and told everyone to seek shelter. The players sat in the locker rooms, the fans in their cars, anxiously waiting to hear the game update. 

After an hour of waiting, the game was officially postponed until the next day at 9:30 a.m.

On Saturday morning, with a current score of 28-7, the game continued with 1:41 seconds left in the third quarter as Crystal Lake South kicked an on-side kick and received possession of the ball. 

9 minutes left in the final quarter, Bosman ran the ball into the endzone for his third touchdown of the game.

The final score of the game was 35-7 Huntley.

“We will definitely get rid of some of the mistakes we made today and yesterday, and we will work on our center and offensive line, then we will be ready to go,” coach Matt Zimolzak said when asked about next week’s game.

With Huntley’s victory, it proves the Raiders can win in any weather.