Huntley quarterback Lyla Ginczycki fired a deep ball to wide receiver Evelyn Freundt to give the Red Raiders an early lead during their IHSA Crystal Lake Central Regional championship game against Antioch in Crystal Lake.

Ginczycki’s 45-yard touchdown throw was the highlight of the night for the Huntley offense, which moved the ball consistently, but fell short on key fourth-down conversion attempts throughout the game. A turnover midway through the third quarter was the beginning of the end for the Raiders, who allowed three fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 27-6 loss to the Sequoits.

“Offensively, I thought we were trying to force throws,” Huntley head coach BJ Bertelsman said. “[Aubrina] Adamik and [Evenlyn] Freundt are our two big receivers and we tried finding them a little too much. Their safety was really good and it kind of snowballed on us from there. We stalled out at the end.”

Leading 6-0, Huntley (16-5, 8-0 FVC) leaned on its defense in the first half, where the Raiders made three sacks and Adamik, who starred at safety and wide receiver on Wednesday, snagged two interceptions to keep Antioch (17-5, 6-1 NLCC) off the scoreboard. Charlotte Lubarski, who finished with three sacks in the game, accounted for two of them during the first half.

“At the beginning of the game, the defense was great,” Bertelsman said. “Due to some turnovers, they were forced to be on the field a lot. ... All of our girls can see what varsity flag football looks like now. They’ve seen how fast they have to be and the strength and quickness they need. Antioch had some good-sized girls on their team and they muscled us around at the end.”

Huntley, which forced a three-and-out and a turnover on downs during the first half to preserve its one-score advantage, took the ball to start the third quarter. That’s when Antioch defensive back Reese Queensland took over the game for the Sequoits, reeling in the first of her team-high four interceptions on a deep pass attempt to give the Antioch offense favorable field position.

“Truly, it was the motivation from everyone who wasn’t on the field that turned the game around for us,” Antioch head coach Tammy Johnson said. “The positivity that every single teammate brings is overwhelming. They have each other’s backs and hopefully that carries us through our next game.”

The Sequoits capitalized on the Huntley turnover, tying the game on an 18-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Tanner Ludwig to wide receiver Evie Baronello midway through the third quarter. Ludwig finished with 193 passing yards and three touchdowns on 19 completions, while Baronello made three receptions for 61 yards and two scores. Ludwig added 55 rushing yards.

“We’ve been talking about resiliency and how we respond to adversity all season,” Johnson said. “We have key players who Huntley targeted and made sure they covered up. It just happened that we found the gaps and it worked for us. I’m really proud of these girls. ... It means everything for the growth of flag football in Antioch. We had about 80 girls sign up for our summer camps.”

Huntley had a promising chance at the end zone early in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 6-6, the Red Raiders moved the ball down to the 12-yard line of the Sequoits, who made a sack and forced an incompletion on fourth down. Antioch’s Rylee Dunlavy, who caught seven passes for 55 yards on offense, made the third-down stop for one of her two sacks in the game.

Antioch punted on its next drive, but another deep pass over the middle on Huntley’s ensuing series led to a second interception by Queensland, who soared over two Raiders players for the turnover. The Sequoits took over at the Huntley 41, and soon after, Ludwig connected with Baronello on a 25-yard touchdown throw down the sideline to give Antioch its first lead.

The Raiders were unable to respond, as back-to-back interceptions by Queensland on deep passes led to consecutive scoring drives for the Antioch offense. The Sequoits went ahead 20-6 after a 23-yard touchdown on a swing pass from Ludwig to running back Abbigail Fuesting, who rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown while posting six catches for 54 yards through the air.

Fuesting iced the victory for the Sequoits, evading several Huntley defenders on a 23-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter. Ginczycki finished with 257 passing yards on 21 completions, while Adamik caught 12 passes for 77 yards and Freundt led Huntley with 142 receiving yards on six receptions. With the win over the fourth-seeded Raiders, the fifth-seeded Sequoits will advance to compete in the IHSA sectional semifinals in McHenry next week.

“These girls bought in and we had 70-plus girls at camp,” Bertelsman said. “We formed into something and both our offense and defense were amazing. We have great athletes on our team and it was a fun season. I’m in my 22nd year coaching wrestling, but this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”