But like all reigns it eventually came to an end.

Huntley didn’t have much to cheer about Friday night.  As Crystal Lake Central drained shot after shot, Huntley’s high from the Cary Grove victory wore off.  Central held a commanding 24-point lead at one point in the game and closed the blowout with a 54-37 lead.

Huntley’s minimal offensive effort was lead by senior Bryce Only and junior Amanze Egekeze who put up nine and 10 points respectively.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Central’s Brad Knoeppel tore the Huntley defense to pieces, racking up 17 points.

The Tiger defense also overpowered the Red Raiders.  Egekeze was constantly covered by multiple Central players and could barely get a shot off.  Central found the Raiders’ main threat and shut it down.  Leading the defensive effort was Central’s Kyle Fleck who grabbed rebound after rebound.

“They were better than us and they played better than us,” said Huntley coach Marty Manning.  “I wouldn’t pinpoint it on one thing.”

After Friday, Huntley moves on to the Class 4A Rockford Regional next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  Huntley is the third seed and will be playing Rockford East.  Huntley’s performance in Friday night’s game is not a good sign, but Manning just wants to see what happens.

“We’ll find out [if tonight’s performance will affect us at regionals],” said Manning.  “It’s all up to the guys.”

One thing Huntley can count on is that they will need to play their best to advance.  East will pose a challenge for Huntley, but if Huntley plays to their full potential, they should have a shot at advancing.  However, it will only get more difficult as they advance.  We’ll see how Huntley handles the challenge.