Hononegah Moves to Front in Crystal Lake

By Chris Johnson, REPORTER

 A lot of movement was reported in eastern McHenry and western Lake County over the past week, as high school sports moves from season-to-season. The Hononegah Indians moved people out of their way as they worked to a perfect season-opening mark. The host school found itself facing a temporary move as well.

The Indians were invited to play at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake. As they played through the first week of the winter sports season, the host school’s athletes found their attention drawn elsewhere. The Boys’ Football Team was playing for the Class 6A State Football Title on Saturday, Nov. 26 in Champaign. The Wolves defeated Springfield Sacred Heart Griffith 48-17 and claimed the title. Game play at the Crystal Lake Central Boys’ Basketball Tourney wrapped up on Saturday. Following completion of the winter opener, Hononegah’s attention was moved back to the NIC-10 and a showdown with the Rockford Boylan Titans waiting Wednesday, Nov. 30.  Details of that contest are unavailable at this time.

The advantage of playing in a high-profile tournament, such as the one recently completed in Crystal Lake, is the opportunity to get an idea of how good you have to be to win at the large-school level. Hononegah showed portions of it as they worked through the tournament as a champion, carrying a 4-0 mark. In the opener Hononegah slipped past McHenry 54-52. On night two Prairie Ridge fell by 21 to the Indians. Carrying a 2-0 mark into game three of the tournament against Huntley, Hononegah got nearly everyone involved in the offense and came away with a 23-point win, 63-40. In the closer against Crystal Lake Central, Hononegah did even better as they won by 30 points, 69-39. Physical play was on display and will be important for Hononegah’s success. That can be said about most teams in the NIC-10 though. Hononegah has size inside. Max Miller is 6’7, Spencer Murdoch is 6’6 as Jake Hoper and Austin Hennis work into the roster listed at 6’4. Against the talented larger school programs, such as those playing in Crystal Lake and northeastern Illinois, those sizes are sufficient to compete. There will be teams with bigger players and there will be teams that are faster than Hononegah. Finding a system that works and focusing on ball control and a power offense could prove beneficial as the rugged NIC-10 schedule begins to open. A good step was already taken in Crystal Lake.

A quick visit home to host Belvidere North waits for Hononegah on Dec. 2, before they head out on the road for matches at Belvidere and Rockford Auburn on Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. A match against Harlem in Rockton on Dec. 16 will wrap up the 2016 NIC-10 portion of the winter schedule. Game play resumes within the conference on Jan. 7, 2017.