Huntley bows out of Class 6A state playoffs

AURORA – By the time Huntley showed some signs of life Friday, the damage was already done.

An inspired second-half effort wasn't nearly enough to overcome a putrid performance during the first two quarters as the 15th-seeded Red Raiders saw their season come to an end with a 42-20 loss against No. 2 Marmion Academy in the opening round of Class 6A playoffs at Aurora Christian.

The Cadets had their way early, scoring on their first four possessions and outgaining Huntley 270-84 through the first two quarters while building a 28-0 lead by halftime.

The tables turned somewhat in the second half as the Raiders largely controlled the action. Junior quarterback Tim Lycos ran for two touchdowns and passed for another as Huntley (5-5) racked up 246 yards in the final two quarters, but it proved too little too late as the Raiders failed to advance beyond the first round for the first time in the program's three trips to the postseason.

Marmion advances to play the winner of today's game between Prairie Ridge and King.

"If we came out firing, we definitely had a chance this game," Lycos said. "We weren't executing our plays (in the first half), but in the second half the offensive line got it going. That's how we should have played the whole time."

Marmion senior Matt Pircon set the tone on the game's first play from scrimmage with a 38-yard run. Teammate Bobby Winkel crossed the goal line five plays later on a 23-yard scamper to put the Cadets ahead for good 2:28 into the contest.

Marmion (9-1) followed that with a 36-yard scoring run by T.J. Lally, a 61-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Peters to Pircon and a 34-yard scoring run by Nick Scoliere to make the score 28-0 before Huntley had gained a first down.

The speed and power of the Cadets running backs combined with some shoddy tackling by the Raiders helped Marmion gain 423 yards on the night. Five different Cadets totaled at least 66 rushing yards, with Pircon leading the way with 81 yards on 10 carries.

"We won the toss, took the ball, went down and scored and set the tone," Marmion coach Dan Thorpe said. "That gave the kids some confidence. That's exactly what you try to do and that's why you take the ball."

Marmion pulled ahead 35-0 with a 10-yard touchdown run by Pircon with 5:19 left in the third quarter, but Huntley quickly answered when Lycos scored on a 2-yard run set up by an 89-yard kick return by Nick Davila.

The Raiders were in business again when Marmion's Adam Andras fumbled the ensuing kickoff at Huntley's 45-yard line. Lycos scored two plays later on a 61-yard run down the right sideline, making the score 35-14 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.

Huntley had two chances to pull within two possessions, but an eight-play drive resulted in a blocked punt and a 12-play drive produced a turnover on downs in the red zone that all but ended any hope of a wild comeback.

"We showed some really good character," Huntley coach Steve Graves said. "We came in on the way over in a little bit of a carnival atmosphere and I probably should have chewed them out a little bit earlier. When they finally got mad they decided to play some decent football."

Andras had a 62-yard touchdown run and Huntley's Brett Kleckner caught a 59-yard scoring strike from Lycos in the final two minutes to round out the scoring.

Lycos finished with a game-high 143 rushing yards on 26 carries. He also completed 7 of 16 passes for 102 yards, but was intercepted twice.

"I had great fear of their quarterback and thank God they didn't run him much in the first half," Thorpe said. "They ran him in the second half and he did exactly what we thought he could do to us. He hurt us. He's shifty."

Senior Brandon Luczak, who started the season at quarterback for the Raiders, returned from a left knee injury and caught four passes for 16 yards.

Kleckner, the team's leading rusher this season, was held to 18 yards on seven carries in his final high school game.

"I feel pretty bad for the seniors, but next year we're going to come back strong," Lycos said.

MARMION 42, HUNTLEY 20

Huntley    0   0  14  6 --  20

Marmion 14 14  7   7 --  42

M – Winkel 23 run (Friedman kick), 9:32

M – Lally 36 run (Friedman kick), 4:10

M – Pircon 61 pass from Peters (Friedman kick), 11:51

M – Scoliere 34 run (Friedman kick), 9:16

M – Pircon 8 run (Friedman kick), 5:19

H – Lycos 3 run (Kleckner pass from Lycos), 3:46

H – Lycos 61 run (pass failed), 2:42

M – Andras 62 run (Friedman kick), 1:36

H – Kleckner 59 pass from Lycos (pass failed), 0:18

Team statistics           H           M

First downs                15           16

Comp.-Att.-Int.       8-18-2      1-5-0

Passing yards             111          61

Rushing Att.-Yards  44-219  42-362

Total yards                 330        423

Penalties-Yards         6-37.5     4-40

Fumbles-Lost             1-0          2-1

Individual statistics

Rushing

Huntley – Lycos 26-143, Popenfoose 9-41, Kleckner 7-18, Cunningham 1-13, Luczak 1-4.

Marmion – Pircon 10-81, Winkel 13-73, Scoliere 7-70, Lally 6-67, Andras 2-66, Carbonara 2-7, Peters 2-(-2).

Passing

Huntley – Lycos 7-16-2 102, Luczak 1-2-0 9.

Marmion – Peterson 1-5-0 61.

Receiving

Huntley – Kleckner 1-59, Popenfoose 2-27, Luczak 4-16, Gaston 1-9.

Marmion – Pircon 1-61.