Huntley sophomore quarterback Malik Carter picked apart Cary-Grove’s secondary in the second half Friday night, bringing the Red Raiders on the cusp of a wild comeback in another fantastic finish between the Fox Valley Conference schools.

But Trojans senior fullback/linebacker Logan Abrams, who ran for 239 yards and three touchdowns on offense, had just enough left in the game’s closing minutes.

When Carter couldn’t find any open receivers on fourth-and-9 with just over a minute remaining, the 6-foot-5, 180-pound quarterback took off. Carter sprinted toward the first-down marker, but Abrams chased him down, lunging at Carter and knocking him out of bounds with a hard shoulder tackle.

After the refs spotted the ball about a yard short, the Trojans took over and ran out the clock for a 34-27 victory in Huntley to hand the Red Raiders their first loss of the season after a 3-0 start. C-G, which began the season 0-2, improved to 2-2.

“I was running my tail off trying to get him,” Abrams said of the game-saving tackle. “It was close. Our secondary was holding them off so they couldn’t pass, which was really the biggest thing.

“Huntley is always a battle every single year. They’re a very good opponent. Everyone in our conference, every game is hard. Getting wins in this conference is a big success for us.”

Carter, making his second straight start for the Raiders, finished 17-of-23 passing for 279 yards and three touchdowns – all three to senior wide receiver Kyle Ziebell, who transferred from Harvest Christian.

Huntley trailed 27-0 with 2:07 remaining in the first half after a 10-yard Landon Moore touchdown, as the Trojans racked up 262 yards rushing in the first half.

The Raiders, however, started to find success through the air late in the first half. Carter completed his first TD pass to Ziebell right before the half on a 48-yard pass down the sideline. With 6:47 left in the third, those two hooked up again on a similar play, this time for 42 yards.

Abrams, though, responded with a 60-yard run up the middle to give the Trojans a 34-14 lead with 6:29 left in the third. Huntley scored on a 3-yard Chase Hojnacki run with 2:53 left in the third, cutting the lead to 34-20 after a missed extra point.

The Raiders scored again after forcing a turnover on downs as Carter and Ziebell (four catches, 129 yards) hooked up for their third score of the game from 31 yards out.

Huntley forced a punt on C-G’s next offensive possession, aided by four penalties by the Trojans, and got the ball back with 3:05 remaining, starting at its own 17. The Raiders pushed the ball past midfield before Abram’s game-saving tackle on fourth down.

“I felt like we really had them when we were at 27-0. Giving up that touchdown right before halftime, I think gave them a little life,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said. “They just kept chipping away. They’re efficient with the running game, too. They do a lot of things really well. Their RPO game is really tough to defend, and their quarterback can throw it pretty far. It’s pretty tough when they spread you out like that.”

Huntley coach Mike Naymola came away impressed, again, with the all-around play of Abrams.

“Obviously, Abrams is an absolute stud. He’s a one-man wrecking crew and he made our defense really work and kept our offense off the field,” Naymola said.

Freshman running back Ty Tenopir (78 yards rushing) scored the Trojans’ opening TD on a 13-yard run, while Landon Moore added 45 yards and a score. C-G was playing without starting QB Jackson Berndt, who was out sick. Senior Shane Coyle started in his place.

For Huntley, Hojnacki ran for 76 yards and a TD, Connor Wade had 51 yards receiving on four catches, and Michael Chan hauled in four catches for 64 yards.

Naymola was proud of Carter’s gutsy play, as well as his team’s ability to fight back after going down 27-0.

“Malik got to show a little bit of why he’s a real special quarterback,” Naymola said. “Him being able to keep his eyes down the field and to be able to make some of those throws really got us back in the ball game. So proud of him. Tough for a sophomore to do that. He’s really made a lot of strides in the last few weeks.

“They could have easily packed it in and felt bad for themselves. And instead they kept fighting, fighting, fighting, and chipped away.”