They say the journey is better than the destination, that the reward is nothing compared to what you did to get it.  But the Huntley Red Raiders showed this isn’t always the case.  Huntley stepped into a jungle of injuries and doubt and exited at the top.  After a season destined to be a challenge, Huntley found the strength to push through the brush and find the light on the other side.

A 42-27 victory over the Cary Grove Trojans was the final step in the Raiders’ rise to the top of the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference.  A season of fluctuating performance and near-losses ended in the one thing every team hopes to achieve:  victory.

“It’s been an up-and-down season,” said forward Amanze Egekeze.  “But I knew we had the potential to be a good team and that’s what we eventually became.”

Egekeze led the Raiders’ offensive march to victory with 24 points and set the tone early with 13 points in the first half.  Guard TJ Adams was the closest to Egekeze’s performance with eight points.

Huntley’s defensive effort, as has been usual lately, was rock-solid.  The Trojans put up a measly 15 points in the first half and 12 in the second.  No Trojan player broke 10 points and center Dean Lee led the team with only seven points.

With the regular season coming to a close, Huntley looks forward to the postseason, first the Valley-Fox Division Showdown next Friday and regionals in a couple weeks.  Closing on arguably their best game of the season, Huntley looks to prove themselves in the playoffs.  While the intensity of playoff basketball will test the true skill of the Raiders, coach Marty Manning just wants to put up a good showing.

“I hope we just continue to get better,” said Manning.  “We’ll just concentrate on that and hope for the best.”

Huntley was knocked out of the regionals last year by Rockford Auburn, but this year, Huntley hopes to push deeper into the playoffs.  Only time will tell how well the Raiders will perform.