McHenry tops Dundee-Crown
Dundee-Crown coach Mike Steinhaus praised his team's effort and fight.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough to produce a victory.
McHenry, which became playoff eligible with its fifth win of the season, jumped to a 19-0 lead and was able to hold on for a 27-16 homecoming win over the visiting Chargers at McHenry's McCracken Field Saturday afternoon.
"These kids are fighters and will never give up," said Steinhaus. "We are pretty banged up and a MASH unit right now, but these kids always play hard. Except for the Cary-Grove and Huntley games, we have been in every game. It comes down to 2 or 3 plays."
The Chargers (1-6, 0-6) passing game emerged spearheaded by senior quarterback Conor Ryan, who completed 16-of-36 passes for 145 yards which included a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sean Jay and an interception.
Jay led all D-C receivers with 8 catches for 57 yards and a score while Ruben Rojas grabbed 5 passes for 71 yards.
"They were really keying on Greg (Williams) and the running game," said Steinhaus.
"They were playing a lot of zero coverage which opened up the passing game. I really ride Conor (Ryan) hard but he threw the ball well and had a good game."
Greg Williams, who played most of the game with a twisted ankle, ran the ball 27 times for 97 yards and a 3-yard touchdown for D-C.
McHenry (5-2, 4-2) started fast with 19 unanswered points. Set up by an interception from Colton Folliard, the Warriors scored first on a 12-yard run by Michael McManus with 6:18 left in the first quarter.
Colton Klein, who threw for 3 touchdowns, hooked up with Matthew Mohr for a 18-yard TD with 3:48 remaining in the initial quarter.
The Warriors completed their early surge to start the game with a 27-yard scoring strike from Klein to Braden Crowley at the 7:03 mark of the second quarter.
D-C finally got on the scoreboard as Oscar Nava line drived a 35-yard field goal with 21.1 seconds remaining before intermission to make the score 19-3. That was the score after 24 minutes.
The Chargers climbed closer as Ryan connected with Jay for a TD pass with 6:37 left in the third quarter to make the score 19-9.
McHenry, which was penalized 15 times for 150 yards, seized control of the game as Klein threw his second TD pass of the game to Crowley, a 16-yarder with 9:15 remaining in the game.
"Homecoming is always distraction week but we were able to overcome all the penalties and become playoff eligible," said McHenry coach Nat Kunkel.
"The kids came out strong and we are able to get off to a good early lead."