Red Raiders dispatch Chargers

CARPENTERSVILLE – Needing a win to keep its slim state playoff hopes alive, Huntley's dormant offense erupted all over host Dundee-Crown on Friday night, riding a dominant rushing effort all the way to a 40-20 victory.

Huntley's Brett Kleckner galloped for 161 yards on 14 carries, 149 of which came in the first half. Kleckner scored on a 6-yard run with 7:23 to go in the first quarter and after D-C turned the ball over on downs, Kleckner doubled the lead on a 77-yard run off an option pitch from quarterback Timothy Lycos.

"This is a real confidence booster," Kleckner said. "These past four games were tough losses and we haven't really been able to get it going on offense. We planned this all week. We have a decent-sized line and a good fullback so we just decided to pound the ball until we snuck one in there and then broke one loose."

Huntley (4-4 1-3 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division) snapped a four-game losing skid and the offense got itself out of a scoring drought that had lasted nine quarters.

"It's never appealing when you're not scoring," Kleckner said. "I worked all summer to do this. It's good to see the linemen getting their blocks and everything working out."

Kleckner made his presence felt through the air on Huntley's next possession, snagging a 44-yard pass from Lycos to set the Red Raiders up at the Chargers' 10-yard line. Kleckner finished the drive four plays later with a 1-yard plunge for his third score of the game to give Huntley a 20-0 lead.

The Chargers (1-7, 0-4) welcomed back running back Danny Sharp from injury, and had their share of chances to make the game interesting in the first half, turning the ball over on downs twice inside Huntley's 30-yard line.

Sharp racked up 153 yards on 13 carries and hauled in four passes for 40 yards.

"If we score on at least one of those, then at least we're hanging in there," said D-C coach Mike Davis. "When you get down there, you've got to score. If we get one of those, then you don't know how it's going to affect the final outcome, but it'll at least be a closer game."

After an 11-yard Lycos touchdown run made the score 27-0, Dundee-Crown finally cashed in. After a 51-yard run by Sharp got the Chargers within striking distance, Tanner Kotlan found Geoff Clifford for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 5:27 to go in the third quarter.

Marcus Popenfoose got into the rushing act for the Red Raiders two possessions later, finding pay dirt on the end of a 44-yard run to put Huntley up 34-7. Popenfoose ended his night with 72 yards on 12 carries.

The two teams traded scores in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter, as Kotlan hit Clifford with another touchdown pass following a Huntley fumble.

Huntley's Tor Larkin then scored on a 55-yard run to push the Red Raiders' edge to 40-14 before Sharp hauled in a tipped pass from Kotlan from 22 yards away on the last play of the game.

Kotlan's play showed significant improvement, coming off a five-interception performance against Jacobs. Kotlan completed 18 passes for 187 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Huntley coach Steve Graves was proud of his team's effort, but knows that it will need a win against Jacobs next week to keep its playoff hopes on life support.

"We were hoping our offensive line could take control of the game," Graves said. "This is right where we wanted to be at the beginning of the year. We think we have some huge holes on this team, and yet here we are, game nine, with an opportunity to go into the playoffs and we think that's tremendous."

HUNTLEY 40, DUNDEE-CROWN 20

Huntley                14   6   7   13   —   40

Dundee-Crown     0    0   7   13   —   20

HUNT — Kleckner 6 run (Larkin kick), 7:23

HUNT — Kleckner 77 run (Larkin kick), 3:09

HUNT — Kleckner 1 run (kick failed), 5:33

HUNT — Lycos 11 run (Larkin kick), 8:06

DC — Clifford 4 pass from Kotlan (Steele kick), 5:27

HUNT — Popenfoose 28 run (Larkin kick), 9:33

DC — Clifford 16 pass from Kotlan (Steele kick), 5:30

HUNT — Larkin 55 run (kick failed), 3:27

DC — Sharp 22 pass from Kotlan, (no conversion attempt) :00

Team statistics             HUNT        D-C

First downs                       20              18

Comp.-att-int.                 2-7-0      18-38-0

Passing yards                    83            187

Rushing-att-yds.             42-379     28-182

Total yards                       462          369

Fumbles-lost                     2-2           3-0

Penalties-yards                11-87        6-50

Individual statistics

Rushing:

HUNT — Kleckner 16-161, Lycos 15-80, Popenfoose 12-72, Larkin 3-58, Sallee 2-8.

DC — Sharp 13-153, Drozdz 3-22, Torres 3-9 Bosshart 1-2, Kotlan 7-1, Mabe 1-(minus-3).

Passing:

HUNT — Lycos 2-7-0 83.

DC — Kotlan 18-38-0 187.

Receiving:

HUNT — Kleckner 1-44, Popenfoose 1-39.

DC – Clifford 6-79, Sharp 4-40, Thompson 3-36, Torres 4-23, Jaskowiak 1-0.