Huntley took the field against Kaneland Friday, August 31. Aiming to put their close loss to Crystal Lake in the past, they came up short, losing 52-35.
Kaneland came out swinging, throwing bombs down field and outrunning the Huntley defense to score in the first minute and a half.
The Raiders started the first quarter with an agile Sallee carrying the offense on his back both in the run and pass game. Unfortunately, the Raiders fell behind quickly, giving up 21 points in the first quarter.
“I definitely thought we would’ve started out better,” said head coach John Hart.
The second quarter started with a coffin corner on the 6 yard line by Sallee. Kaneland, backed up into their own end zone, marched down the field with some quick, short passes and scored to put them ahead by 21.
One of the biggest issues with Huntley in the first half was the defense’s inability to knock the ball out of seemingly loose hands. The result: Kaneland’s David Drew floating passes into open receivers gloves for huge gains.
“They definitely had something going for them,” said Hart. “We were just poor on defense.”
Kaneland ended the half 35-7.
Huntley came marching down the field with some deep passes to WR Bryce Beschorner scoring on a 25 yard bomb.
Huntley showed defensive authority picking off Drew and ending a near flawless run of the Kaneland QB.
“We made sure some adjustments on defense were there,” said Hart. “More scheme and our kids wanted to win.”
The third quarter continued with Sallee picking a part the Kaneland defense on the ground. Sallee dropped his shoulder and scored on a 20 yard run.
“Sallee is definitely a good athlete,” said wide receiver Bryce Beschorner, two touchdowns. “Anytime he scores points we aren’t going to complain.”
Huntley left the third quarter with three touchdowns, trailing 28-35
But Huntley would not be so fortunate in the fourth quarter. With turnovers-a-plenty, Kaneland went offensively unanswered until the final seconds of the game.
Kaneland pulled ahead and held on for the win: 52-35.