Anthony Binetti, redemption is yours.
Shaking off what may have been the worst three quarters of his high school football career, the Huntley senior quarterback engineered a 13-play, 65-yard fourth-quarter scoring drive, capped by a 6-yard quarterback keeper to help the Red Raiders stay unbeaten and atop the Fox Valley Valley on Friday night at home with a thrilling 22-19 win over previously unbeaten Jacobs.
Binetti finished with 156 yards passing but threw five interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown.
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“I love my offensive linemen — they never lost courage in me,” Binetti said. “And our defense stepped up and played a great game. The team picked me up. You’ve got to go out there and make plays and know you’re going to bounce back and get the job done. You need a short memory.
“These games are going to happen. I threw more (interceptions) than I liked, but I definitely won’t have a game like that again.”
Binetti’s late scoring drive staked Huntley (6-0, 2-0) to a 22-12 lead with 4:45 remaining.
The Golden Eagles (5-1, 1-1) then pulled within 22-19 on Mathew Barnes’ 64-yard TD run with 3:55 remaining.
The Eagles got the ball back and drove to the Huntley 30 in the game’s closing seconds, but Huntley’s Sean Patel knocked down Chris Katrenick’s desperation pass short of the goal line as the horn sounded.
“It was a great game with two great teams,” said Barnes, who finished with 71 yards rushing. “We had some good plays and some bad plays. In the end, it’s our first loss, to a great team. We’ve just got a lot of stuff to work on for next week.”
Huntley, the most prolific offense in the conference, relied on its defense in the first half. The Eagles drove to the Huntley 28, 23, 17 and 27 in the first two quarters, aided by four interceptions, only to come away with just one first-half score.
On one of Jacobs’ fourth-down attempts, Huntley’s Tim Ryan blocked a 40-yard field-goal try. Eight plays and 67 yards later, Casey Haayer (35 carries, 151 yards) bowled in from the 1, and the Red Raiders led 8-0.
Huntley appeared to thwart Jacobs’ fourth trip inside their 30 late in the first half, but Katrenick hit Nathan Meland for a 27-yard TD to close to within two points with 42 seconds left in the half.
Huntley opened the second half with a solid opening drive, moving 71 yards in 10 plays, with Eric Mooney scoring from the 5 for a 15-6 lead.
Jacobs’ Sean Barnes picked off Binetti early in the fourth and returned it 56 yards for a score to make it 15-12 to set up the wild finish.
“Sometimes you’ve got to find a way to win,” Huntley coach John Hart said. “They outplayed us. But I’m really proud of Anthony, to bounce back after having as bad a game as he had. He’ll live another day. And he’ll win us some games like he did (Friday).”
Phil English is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.