Huntley quarterbacks Carson Rowe and Malik Carter emerge as leaders amid battle for starting position

Carson Rowe and Malik Carter have known for a while that it would be a competition between the two for the starting quarterback position at Huntley.

But there isn’t any bad blood between the two.

Quite the opposite, actually.

“It’s just been a fun battle because we’re just so close,” Rowe said. “It’s just been enjoyable to battle it out with him during summer camps. We get to it, work hard, and I’m excited to see how it turns out.”

Rowe, a junior, and Carter, a sophomore, are competing for the starting role that was occupied by Braylon Bower. Bower had 1,610 passing yards, 720 rushing yards and 26 total touchdowns for the Red Raiders last season and earned All-Fox Valley Conference honors in both 2023 and 2024.

It’s a role that Rowe and Carter have been preparing for long before the start of summer practices. Both quarterbacks worked with coach Mike Hohensee in Elgin leading up to the competition, which has led to a limited amount of animosity between the two.

“Although they’re in a pretty tough competition, they still work out, lift and communicate with each other all the time,” said Huntley coach Mike Naymola, who has led the Red Raiders to the playoffs in each of his first three seasons. “They’re their own best teammates, which is really cool to see.”

Both players know that whoever takes on the starting role this season will have some big shoes to fill. And not just on the football field.

“The last two years, everyone looked up to him,” Carter said of Bower, now at NCAA Division III Carthage College. “He was a great leader and a great guy. Everyone around the school knew him. Teachers loved him, the community loved him. So not only do you have to be a good leader on the football field, but also outside of school and in the community.”

Rowe and Carter have been preparing for the off-field leadership role since January after the two quarterbacks were approached by linebacker coach Gibson Danekas about doing something to help lead the team.

This led to the Raiders meeting in a classroom after school every Wednesday for the entirety of the second semester.

“He [Danekas] picked me, Carson and a few other leaders and told us to set up something,” Carter said. “He was telling us we need something to help lead this team and turn things around.”

During the meetings, the two quarterbacks would lead discussions about multiple things, including making goals for each week and talking about James Kerr’s book “Legacy: What The All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business Of Life.”

“Some of the meetings would go for two, even two and a half hours, and the coaches would leave midway through,” Rowe said. “We would just talk about what we need to do better and what we can fix and better as a team and family.”

And for the two quarterbacks, it’s not only helped grow the connection they have with each other, but also with their teammates and coaches.

“The coaches do a great job with making sure that they give us time to be individuals,” Carter said. “And they let us see how we react when stuff goes bad and who comes to pick us up.”

“It’s just part of the friendship,” Rowe said. “We pick each other up when we’re down. I think that’s why we’ve got a big advantage against other teams.”

With the competition heating up for the coveted QB1 spot, Naymola has noted the advantages of each quarterback, with Rowe being the better runner of the two, while Carter has got more of a “live arm.”

“Almost every single day, they see something different and something new that they’re going to learn from,” Naymola said. “They both have so many positive attributes that they’re going to be a threat to any defense. And there’s a good possibility that they’re both going to get snaps in games.”

No matter what Naymola’s final decision ends up being on who starts the Raiders’ season opener Aug. 29 at Crystal Lake Central, the two quarterbacks know one thing for sure.

“It’s a one-two punch, and they won’t even know what’s coming,” Carter said. “I might go in and throw a touchdown, and he might go in next time and score right away.”

“We’ve got two coming,” Rowe added. “They’ve got to be ready for whatever’s coming.”