Huntley midfielder Cody Hammer positioned himself inside the McHenry box as a long throw-in from forward Tyler Murray soared through the air during the second half of the team’s Fox Valley Conference match against the Warriors.

Amid a crowd of players on both sides, Hammer found separation on the right side of the box and pinpointed the ball, booting a close-range shot into the net during the 57th minute to give Huntley its first lead of the night. It was the deciding goal for the Red Raiders, who overcame a concession late in the first half to rally over McHenry 2-1 and remain undefeated in conference play.

With the victory, Huntley (11-1-2, 8-0 FVC) clinched at least a share of the FVC championship this season. The Red Raiders, who entered Thursday night’s match holding a one-game lead over Crystal Lake Central, can secure the outright conference title with a win against Hampshire on Tuesday evening.

“I was wide open in the middle and I saw the ball bounce and hit another guy,” Hammer said. “It rolled to my foot, and I hit the top corner. It’s amazing, and we need to get it done against Hampshire on Tuesday because we don’t want to share it. We knew we were the better team. The game plan was that we needed to shoot. We didn’t shoot the ball the best, but we got it done.”

Despite missing starting goalkeeper Mason Bertone, McHenry (10-5-2, 3-4-1 FVC) kept the Red Raiders off the scoreboard for most of the first half. Auggie Arnold, who stepped up from JV, made his first save in the second minute on a shot from Huntley’s Liam Caddick. In the 14th minute, Arnold delivered back-to-back stellar saves on close-range shots to keep the game scoreless.

“Auggie’s been so good playing with the JV team,” McHenry head coach Adam Bronars said. “We have him there so he can just keep playing, and we told him all year that he’d be with us in case something happens and to stay sharp and work hard. He always plays hard, and I wasn’t surprised that he played so well. To slot in against a great opponent. ... I thought he was fantastic.”

Arnold finished with a game-high 10 saves for the Warriors, who had Cody Bundy rip a shot on goal in the 19th minute before forward Miguel Rondon struck in the 27th minute to put McHenry ahead 1-0. Rondon took the ball and knifed through the middle of the Huntley defense, posting a shot to the lower corner that escaped the outstretched arm of keeper Ethan Knaus.

“I thought our guys played really well,” Bronars said. “We were unlucky to hit two crossbars, and Huntley’s a good team. They’re undefeated in conference for a reason. I’m proud of how we played, and it was a game of fine margins. I thought we made a couple of errors that made the difference in those fine margins. I was really proud of our effort and how hard we played today.”

McHenry’s lead didn’t last for long, as Huntley evened the score in the 32nd minute, when midfielder Joe Lengle sent a through ball up the field for Murray, who outraced a Warrior defender in a one-on-one sprint before hitting a left-footed shot past Arnold, who came out of the box to make a play for the ball.

“I saw an open ball and the goalie came out,” Murray said. “I put it right around him and it felt so good to equalize it. We just had to be confident and not get too ahead of ourselves because we know we have a big target on our backs since we’re 8-0 and we’re a big school. No matter how we play or what our record is, we have a big target and we should play the way we should play.”

McHenry forward Nate Caruso blasted a shot off the crossbar in the 39th minute. In the 43rd minute, Warrior forward Eli Wickenkamp found position near the Huntley net and fired a close-range shot that soared just over the crossbar. Shortly after a shot on goal by Red Raider forward Daiven Trivedi in the 56th minute, Huntley earned a throw-in deep inside McHenry territory.

That throw-in was taken by Murray, who was credited with the assist on the goal by Hammer that put Huntley ahead in the 57th minute. Despite a trio of yellow cards for physical play in the 64th minute and a narrow miss by Caruso in the 72nd minute, the Red Raiders held on to secure the FVC win. Knaus finished with six saves for the Huntley defense on Thursday evening.

“I don’t want to share anything,” Murray said. “I want this title to be solely ours. We didn’t start off well at all, but it felt so good to put the first one in and giving the ball to my boy [Cody] felt good too. We know our potential this year, and we didn’t live up to our full potential last year. We have to this year, and we have a lot of seniors on the team, so we might as well get it done.”