Cary-Grove rolls over Grayslake North
Score early, dominate and roll to victory.
That has been Cary-Grove's mantra for most of the 2016 season and nothing changed Saturday afternoon.
Scoring on their first five possessions of the game, the third-seeded Trojans clobbered No. 6 Grayslake North 56-7 in second round action of the Class 6A playoffs at Cary-Grove's Al Bohrer Field.
The Trojans (10-1), winners of 10 straight, advanced to the quarterfinals for the third straight season to play at DeKalb at 1 p.m. next Saturday. The seventh-seeded Barbs upset No. 2 Antioch 36-3 Saturday.
The Trojans set the tone of the game the first time they touched the ball. With Tyler Pennington carrying 5 consecutive times, the senior capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run at the 7:43 mark of the first quarter to give Cary-Grove a 7-0 advantage.
Pennington, who ripped off 35 yards on the Trojans' first play from scrimmage, gained all 56 yards the hosts had during the initial drive.
Pennington, who gained 124 yards on 11 carries in one half of play, also reached pay dirt from 15 yards out in the second quarter.
'The first play was a called play," said Pennington. "Everything else was a read from (quarterback) Bobby (Collins). The offensive line opened some huge holes and I had a lot of room to run."
Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg thought Grayslake North might key on Collins and decided to feature Pennington early.
"Bobby ran for a lot of yards and had a lot of carries against Wheeling last week and we thought Grayslake North might key on him," said Seaburg. "We wanted to run Tyler early and he ran great on the first series."
The Trojans, who ran the ball for 403 yards with 25 first downs, received 86 yards on 3 carries from Kyle Pressley including a 20-yard TD run. Collins scored twice on runs of 1 and 3 yards and Ryan Magel tallied 60 yards on 3 carries.
The Trojans also excelled on special teams and on defense.
Max Skol blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown while on the defensive side of the ball, Danny Daigle and Ben Ferrell collected interceptions for the winners.
"The defensive line did a great job of rushing the quarterback so the ball was underthrown," said Ferrell. "I kept my eye on the ball and was able to get the pick."
Griffin Gawenda, who carried 16 times for 106 yards, scored the Knights' (8-3) only touchdown of the game on a 46-yard run with 10:15 remaining.
"Cary-Grove is a great team," said Grayslake North coach Steve Wood. "Only one team can end their season on a positive note."