70-63

I’m just beginning to prepare for a trip out to Fox Lake for the Class 6A second-round football match-up between Huntley and host Grant, and I can’t help but wonder what I might see from the Red Raiders next after their unbelievable 70-63 victory over Batavia on Halloween Night.

The truth is, you could’ve gotten the Huntley and Batavia boys basketball teams to play and they still wouldn’t have scored that much.

Offensively, it was entertaining, fun to watch and like nothing you’ve ever seen in a high school playoff game. Defensively, it was an embarrassment, difficult to watch and like nothing you’ve ever seen in high school playoff game.

And that’s probably because it never has happened in a high school playoff game. The 133 total points easily smashed the old record of 106 by Joliet Catholic (56) and Riverside Brookfield (50) in 2001.

Batavia threw it. Huntley ran it.

It got so bad at one point in the fourth quarter that Batavia just started onside kicking after every touchdown because they knew their defense couldn’t stop Huntley. Eventually, they did recover one and tied the game at 63-63 with just over three minutes to play. But even then, the game was never in doubt. Everyone knew the Raiders would simply march downfield and score anyway — which they did.

I couldn’t help but wonder how Batavia (6-4) even won a game this season. Its porous defense allowed a state-record 706 rushing yards to Huntley, which had two backs run wild for more than 240 yards. In their final two games of the season, Batavia gave up a total of 117 points. For some perspective, Cary-Grove has allowed 78 points all season.