Prairie Ridge blows out Riverside-Brookfield
The Prairie Ridge offense has certainly proved to be one of the most prolific in the Chicagoland area in 2015.
But, it was the Prairie Ridge defense which took center stage in Saturday's Class 6A quarterfinal matchup against Riverside-Brookfield.
Spearheaded by 2 interceptions from senior defensive back Nick Greenberg with 1 going for a touchdown, the Wolves picked off 3 passes from Riverside-Brookfield quarterback Ryan Swift in posting a 42-13 win at PR Athletic Field.
The Wolves (11-1), winners of 11 straight, will play at Montini (12-0) in next weekend's semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday. Montini defeated DeKalb 49-14 to advance to the semis. Riverside-Brookfield finished 10-2.
With the score tied at 7, Greenberg picked off Swift and raced 25 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown to give the Wolves a 14-7 lead with 4:58 left in the first half.
"I just read the quarterback's eyes and kept with my assignment," said Greenberg. "I don't get that interception without the pressure our defensive line and linebackers put on the quarterback."
Wolves coach Chris Schremp said Greenberg's interception was a crucial one.
"We were struggling on offense and Nick's pick-6 changed the momentum of the game," said Schremp. "Overall our defense was outstanding for the second straight game. We got pressure on the quarterback and got some turnovers."
Matt Henning also had an interception for the Wolves. Terrell Sheridan, who recorded 2 sacks, and Jeff Jenkins recovered fumbles.
"Our coaches did a great job of giving us some great stunts and we were able to get some good pressure on the quarterback," said Sheridan. "We had a good effort on defense and helped the offense out."
The Wolves, who were plagued by 4 turnovers (1 interception, 3 lost fumbles) and 105 yards in penalties, still managed 352 yards of total offense all on the ground.
Sophomore quarterback Samson Evans led the way with 171 yards rushing on 30 carries with a touchdown run of 50 yards.
Senior running back Nathan Griffin sliced his way to 92 yards on 15 carries with touchdown runs of 1, 35 and 6 yards while Cole Brown ran 10 times for 48 yards with a 11-yard TD run.
"We didn't play very well on offense today," said Schremp. "We didn't take care of the ball very well and we had way too many penalties. We will have to play better next week."