Boylan ends Cary-Grove's season in overtime
Defending state champion Cary-Grove and its 7-game postseason winning streak didn't go down without a fight.
Overmatched physically by a bigger, more experienced team from Rockford, the Trojans nonetheless capitalized on 2 Boylan turnovers and a missed 25-yard field goal attempt to extend Saturday's Class 6A quarterfinal to overtime.
However, after falling behind by a touchdown in overtime the Trojan offense was unable to breach the end zone, and the Titans rushed the field to celebrate their win in Cary, 20-14.
“I felt like we gave it our best and everyone left everything they had out on the field,” said Cary-Grove fullback Patrick O'Malley, who led the Trojans with 112 yards rushing. “We just didn't come out on top.”
No. 2 Boylan (12-0) will continue its quest for the first state title in school history next week against No. 4 Prairie Ridge (11-1), which ousted top-seeded Crystal Lake South, 37-10.
The Titans looked poised to win Saturday's quarterfinal in regulation. With the score knotted 14-14 with 11:12 left in the fourth quarter, Boylan took possession at its own 13-yard line after a punt and marched 79 yards in 21 plays, chewing 9:14 off the clock in the process.
The Titans were forced to attempt a 25-yard field goal after the drive bogged down at the 8-yard line due to a holding penalty, but Joe Rose's kick sailed just wide of the right goal post with 1:58 left in the fourth quarter.
“That felt like a good momentum changer,” Cary-Grove senior defensive back Danny Sarillo said. “We have to take advantage after something like that.”
No. 11 Cary-Grove (8-4), which was limited to 216 total yards, all rushing, was forced to punt shortly thereafter. Boylan couldn't score on it's final possession of regulation either, so the game went to untimed downs.
“We wanted to get to overtime,” Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay said. “Moving 70 or 80 yards was a challenge, but I liked our chances in a 10-yard game.”
Boylan had possession first and scored on its first play, a 10-yard burst up the middle by Tyreis Thomas (19 carries, 139 yards) out of the spread formation. However, Rose hooked the extra-point attempt, leaving the door open for Cary-Grove to win with a touchdown and successful extra point.
The Trojans handed the ball off once to Connor Carlson, once to O'Malley and quarterback Corey Laktas carried once to the 3½-yard line.
On fourth down, Laktas dropped back to pass for only the third time in the game. His backside pass, intended for senior tight end Cole Connington, was tipped by Boylan linebacker DJ Zimmerman and fell incomplete.
“We felt like we had about 4 yards to get there and that's a play we had been working on and liked,” Kay said. “They defended it.”
Boylan made three critical mistakes in the first half that allowed the Trojans to stay neck and neck. On the game's opening possession, the Titans marched 70 yards in 12 plays but Thomas fumbled the wet ball in a steady mist after a hit from Max Kersten. Sarillo recovered at his own 5-yard line.
Cary-Grove's ensuing drive was kept alive by another Boylan mistake, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Trojans went on to complete a 95-yard, 12-play drive, by far their best march of the game. Laktas scored from 1 yard out, and Nick Taylor's extra point put the Trojans ahead 7-0 with 1:40 left in the first quarter.
Boylan answered by moving 80 yards in 7 plays, the most important of which was a 56-yard run by Thomas that set up a 3-yard scoring run by Chris Miller.
Miller would score again on a 23-yard pitch and run with 2:32 left in the second quarter to put Boylan ahead 14-7. The Titans couldn't stand prosperity.
After forcing a Cary-Grove punt Boylan muffed it. The ball was recovered by Cary-Grove's Sam Babick at the Boylan 26. It proved to be a huge mistake as the Trojans tied the game 5 plays later on Mahoney's 5-yard option pitch from Laktas with 8.7 seconds left in the half.
How did the Titans overcome a red-zone fumble, a muffed punt, an unsportsmanlike penalty, a missed field goal in the fourth quarter and a missed extra point to win?
“It shows a lot about our team that we're hard working and we don't get down,” Miller said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times in this game. Things like that hurt, but our team is so strong. We wanted this so bad and we had to do whatever it took.”
It was an undeniably successful season for Cary-Grove despite the heartbreaking ending. The Trojans replaced starters at 19 of 22 positions and rebounded from an 0-2 start to win 8 of 9 and reach a state quarterfinal for the sixth time in seven seasons. The Titans were just slightly better.
“They're a good team,” Sarillo said. “We just didn't tackle well, and we didn't do some of the things we had to do to win. I mean, we had great effort and it was a really fun game. It was a really fun year.”