Chase Hojnacki, Huntley don’t plan on slowing down: McHenry County Week 8 notebook

Huntley’s football journey, which isn’t complete, doesn’t happen without those summer scrimmages in Indiana.

Without Chase Hojnacki’s return after one year at Marian Central.

Without that character check against Cary-Grove in Week 5.

Without Friday night’s Week 8 test against a physical Burlington Central team.

The Red Raiders’ 32-12 win over visiting Central on Friday night puts them in position to complete a 9-0 regular season and outright Fox Valley Conference championship when they visit McHenry’s McCracken Field to face the 3-5 Warriors this Friday night.

“[Going] 9-0, making a run in the playoffs were definitely goals [going into the season],” Hojnacki said Friday night after he rushed for 205 yards and four touchdowns on 34 carries against the Rockets, who trailed only 20-12 after three quarters.

Not counting the shortened 2020-21 season, when they went 5-0 under coach Matt Zimolzak, the Raiders have had a perfect regular season only one other time in their history. John Hart led them to a 10-1 season in 2015.

Hart now coaches at Indiana’s Brownsburg High, which is about 30 miles northwest of Indianapolis. He hosts an annual summer camp, and Huntley has participated in Camp Brownsburg since Mike Naymola took over as coach in 2022. This summer, the Raiders scrimmaged against East St. Louis, Brownsburg and Warren Central out of Indianapolis.

This season, Brownsburg and Warren Central both boast an 8-0 record, while East St. Louis is 7-1.

“We feel like it prepares us a little bit better for the season, but also it also gives us a look for what we could see in the postseason,” Naymola said of Camp Brownsburg. “Some of that experience that happened back in July has paid off this year. [The players] remember some of that intense competition that we were able to see. We get smacked around a little bit. ... But it puts us in position where we feel that if we can stay on the field with those teams we can compete with anybody.”

Huntley has forced a running clock in all but two games this season. The Raiders scored twice in the fourth quarter against host Cary-Grove to rally for a 42-35 win. They needed two Hojnacki scores in the final 7:32 Friday night to put away Central’s Rockets.

Huntley's Colin Stien hoists teammate Chase Hojnacki as the Red Raiders celebrate Hojnacki’s touchdown against Burlington Central during a Fox Valley Conference football game Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, at Huntley High School. (Dominic Di Palermo for Shaw Local)

“We went through a really hard offseason,” said Hojnacki, a junior running back.

“We didn’t back down this summer,” Naymola said. “We left that [Brownsburg] camp better than we’ve ever felt.”

Hojnacki has played a key role in the Raiders’ success going back to last season, when the team went 5-5 in qualifying for the state playoffs for the fourth year in a row. His effort Friday gave him his second 1,000-yard rushing season in a row and hiked his 2026 TD total to 21.

“He’s a special player,” Naymola said. “I think last year he got himself on the radar of everybody, and now he’s fine-tuning his skills.”

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Hojnacki played Huntley youth football but chose to attend Marian Central his freshman year. He enrolled at Huntley his sophomore year.

“We opened our arms and gave him a hug when he showed up,” Naymola said with a smile. “I remember seeing him at some of our youth nights that we host [at Huntley] when he was in eighth grade and having some conversations with him about what he’s going to do in the future.”

Hojnacki has rushed for 1,006 yards on 146 carries (6.9 average) this season. He’s often played only one quarter and one half because the Raiders have blown out so many teams.

“He can do it all,” Naymola said. “He runs well, he blocks well. He’s like a silent assassin. He works so hard. He makes people follow his lead. It’s been a joy to watch.”

Gators hopeful: Crystal Lake South’s 61-19 loss to Cary-Grove on Friday night kept the Gators’ win total at two heading into their regular-season finale at 7-1 Jacobs. Even with another loss, South could earn a postseason berth thanks to the IHSA’s expanded field this year.

South (2-7), which will have 42 playoff points after Friday, came into the season with only six wins since making the postseason in 2022.

“That [playoff game] is an experience that I would love for our guys to have,” coach Rob Fontana said. “Just getting an extra week of football would be awesome for our team and awesome for our seniors. But we need to worry about Jacobs and the rest is out of our control.”

Hampshire’s Jasper Hintz (left) and Roman Lasalvia (right) close in on Crystal Lake South quarterback Michael Silvius during Fox Valley Conference action Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, at Hampshire High School in Hampshire. (Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local/Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local)

Hampshire “D” delivering: Ever since giving up 49 points in its season opener to juggernaut Huntley, Hampshire (5-3) hasn’t yielded more than 21 points in a game, and that was in a Week 2 loss to Jacobs (7-1).

The Whip-Purs’ 39-6 win over McHenry on Friday marked the fourth straight game in which they have allowed fewer than 15 points. Ricky Ponce had an interception for a defense that didn’t yield a first down in the final 10:28 of the game after McHenry scored its lone touchdown. Carter Hintz had three tackles for loss, including two sacks.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our defense,” Hampshire coach Braden Foster said. “I don’t know how many rushing yards (McHenry) had, but I know we stopped them. We forced them out of their comfort zone and made them do things they weren’t necessarily comfortable with.”

Crystal Lake Central battles: Playing without senior QB Evan McMahon, who broke his collarbone earlier this year and is out for the season, the Tigers almost earned their first win of the season Friday against Prairie Ridge, falling short in a 25-24 loss in double overtime.

Sophomore QB Jake Ginter and the Tigers were with the Wolves every step of the way, but a failed two-point throw in the end zone in the second OT and a Wolves’ fourth-and-1 TD by quarterback Brock Bowden and PAT by Jeffrey Lukacs secured a dramatic win for Prairie Ridge, which itself was winless entering Friday.

Coach Matt MacCrindle was proud of his team’s efforts, including its new starter at QB.

“It just stinks to lose your senior quarterback,” MacCrindle said. “No surgery or anything, though, so he’ll be able to rehab and get back for lacrosse and everything. Jake [Ginter], I kind of threw him in there a little bit. He played last year on frosh-soph level. The kid’s a competitor and an athlete. He’s not going to back down from anybody.”

Huntley 32, Burlington Central 12

Jacobs 27, Dundee-Crown 13

Cary-Grove 61, Crystal Lake South 19

Prairie Ridge 25, Crystal Lake Central 24 (2OT)

KISHWAUKEE RIVER CONFERENCE

Richmond-Burton 50, Woodstock North 6

CHICAGOLAND CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE

Marian Central 57, St. Edward 6

ILLINOIS 8-MAN NORTH EAST CONFERENCE

Alden-Hebron 60, Ashton-Franklin Center 12

• Northwest Herald sports editor Alex Kantecki and correspondents Thom Gippert and Andy Tavegia contributed to this report.