Crystal Lake Central upsets Huntley behind big 2nd half

HUNTLEY – Crystal Lake Central football coach Jon McLaughlin had no problem finding what to talk to the Tigers about at halftime.

“We had too many self-inflicted wounds,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve very fortunate to be sitting where we were. If we stopped the self-inflicted wounds I thought we’d win this game by two or three touchdowns.”

The Tigers showed remarkable resiliency, even after committing three first-half turnovers, to keep it close. They cleaned up their act in the second half, hit on two huge plays and defeated Huntley, 32-21, in their Fox Valley Conference opener at Red Raider Stadium.

[  Photos: Huntley vs Crystal Lake Central football ]

Central (1-0) did not turn the ball over in the second half and came up with three turnovers of their own.

“We just had to get our grooves going,” Tigers quarterback Colton Madura said. “Everyone talked, the energy was there. We came back in the second half and fixed our mistakes. That was the result.”

Huntley (0-1) led 14-7 at halftime after a long pass play from quarterback Sam Deligio to wide receiver Josh Witt. The Raiders then capitalized on a fumbled punt inside Central’s 10 for their second touchdown.

McLaughlin thought Central’s second-quarter touchdown drive was huge to narrow the gap and provide some confidence.

“It helps having veteran guys who have been through it,” he said.

Madura led the Tigers on a scoring drive to start the second half, then running back Brent Blitek scored on a 57-yard run to give Central a 20-14 lead on the next drive.

Huntley retook the lead on Deligio’s 11-yard run, but Madura hit wide receiver Jason Penza for an 81-yard score four plays later and the Tigers led the rest of the way. Central’s defense stopped Huntley at its 16 with 1:48 remaining and Madura capped the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown to seal the game.

“We believed in ourselves the whole time,” Tigers linebacker Will Martin said. “We knew it was going to be a hard fight and we prepared all week. We were going to throw haymakers and they were going to throw haymakers right back. We battled back and overcame. We had the bigger will than them tonight.”

Blitek finished with 19 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Madura carried 19 times for 107 yards and two touchdowns, and completed 7 of 11 passes for 142 yards.

“We gave up too many big plays across the board,” Red Raiders coach Matt Zimolzak said. “We didn’t do what we’re capable of. It was a test for us. We got a lot of soul-searching to do on this one. We’re going to be a whole team.

“Sometimes, you’re not glad when stuff like this happens, but it’s the slap in the face you need to get going.”

Deligio completed 17 of 33 passes with one touchdown and two late interceptions. He threw for 184 yards.

Central’s defense allowed 255 total yards, 117 in the second half. Central had two interceptions and one fumble recovery in the second half.

“We got stops, then the offense got the momentum,” Martin said. “Everybody plays off each other. We are one team, one mind. We’re all building off of each other. This is only Week 1, it’s only up from here.”

Crystal Lake Central 32, Huntley 21

CL Central 0 7 13 12 – 32

Huntley 14 0 7 0 – 21

First quarter

H–Witt 58 pass from Deligio (Wojtas kick), 9:24.

H–Hunkins 1 run (Wojtas kick), 3:06.

Second quarter

CLC–Blitek 1 run (Carnrite kick), 11:17.

Third quarter

CLC–Madura 1 run (Carnrite kick), 7:41.

CLC–Blitek 57 run (kick failed), 4:03.

H–Deligio 11 run (Wojtas kick), 1:16.

Fourth quarter

CLC–Penza 81 pass from Madura (pass failed), 11:18.

CLC–Madura 14 run (kick failed), 1:37.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–CL Central: Blitek 19-152, Madura 19-107, Team 3-minus 3. Totals: 37-266. Huntley: Hunkins 14-42, Tinejero 4-21, Wojtas 1-8, Knutson 1-6, Deligio 9-0. Totals: 29-71.

PASSING–CL Central: Madura 7-11-1-142. Huntley: Deligio 17-33-2-184.

RECEIVING–CL Central: Penza 3-107, Blitek 2-8, Dimopolous 1-31, Fleming 1-6. Huntley: Jetel 6-58, Knutson 5-25, Witt 4-82, Ardell 1-18, Brown 1-1.

TOTAL TEAM YARDS–CL Central 408, Huntley 255.