C-G's defense holds off SCN
With only three returning starters, Cary-Grove football coach Bruce Kay wasn't sure how his defense would perform.
He didn't need to worry.
Allowing only 44 yards of rushing and 5 first downs, the Trojans' defense played a key role in a 16-9 nonconference win over St. Charles North in the season opener for both teams at Al Bohrer Stadium Saturday night.
The win extended the Trojans' regular-season winning streak to 29.
"We have only a few kids with experience on defense so I am very pleased with the way they played tonight," said Kay. "They were outstanding. The defense played with great effort tonight."
The Trojans, under the direction of senior quarterback AJ Hoger, put points on the scoreboard on their first two drives of the game.
Hoger scampered 8 yards for a TD with 5:45 left in the first quarter to give Cary-Grove an early lead.
Marcus Kerrigan gave Cary-Grove a 10-0 lead with a 38-yard field goal with 50 seconds left in the initial quarter.
"I wasn't really nervous because I have played some quarterback the last two years," said Hoger. "We wanted to set the tempo and it was important for us to score early."
The North Stars battled back and whittled away at the Cary-Grove lead when quarterback Nicholas Neari scrambled 22 yards for a score with 9:33 remaining In the first half. The kick failed and Cary-Grove held a narrow 10-6 advantage.
The North Stars pulled within a point of the Trojans when Sean Sullivan drilled a 32-yard field goal to make the score 10-9 with 1:21 remaining in the first half.
The North Stars had a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter, but Tim Janeway's 46-yard field goal fell short.
The Trojans grabbed control of the game when sophomore Eric Chandler scored from 4 yards out with 10:51 remaining. Jake Juriga blocked the extra point and Cary-Grove held a 7-point lead.
"It was good to play a great team like Cary-Grove in the first game of the season," said St. Charles North coach Mark Gould. "We know where to set the bar. We made some young mistakes and some bad decisions."
Cary-Grove, which produced all 287 of its total yards on the ground, was led by Hoger, who rushed for 98 yards on 19 carries and a score.
Chandler, subbing for injured senior returnee Nick Parfitt, rushed for 73 yards on 26 carries with a TD.
Parfitt, who is nursing an ankle sprain, is expected back for next Friday's game at Prairie Ridge.
Andrew Schuh ran for 72 yards on 10 carries for the Trojans.
Wauconda 27, Huntley 13: Better late than never.
After a one-day postponement due to generally wet conditions, Huntley and Wauconda got the 2007 football season underway.
With Garrett Dorsey throwing 2 touchdown passes, Brad Wisniewski running for 141 yards and a score, and Kieth Wilson adding a pair of field goals, the Bulldogs downed the Red Raiders, 27-13, on a beautiful Saturday night in Huntley.
Huntley's Casey Popenfoose completed 12 of 27 passes for 128 yards but was plagued by dropped passes. He was also Huntley's leading rusher with 79 yards and a touchdown.
Wauconda iced the game thanks to a fortuitous deflection. With the Bulldogs leading 20-13, Dorsey's pass on third-and-24 was deflected by Huntley's Brett DePorter into the hands of Jimmy Williams, who made a diving grab in the end zone for the game's final score.
In the first half, Huntley put 8 men in the box and dared Dorsey to beat them. The junior answered the challenge, completing 5 of 7 before intermission for 113 yards and a touchdown to Davis Mills.
"We just made some plays and they didn't," said Wauconda coach Glen Kozlowski. "We like to run the ball. We really, genuinely, don't like to throw, but that's what they forced us to do."
Even after the season officially kicked off, there was something of a feeling-out period. The Bulldogs moved inside the Huntley 5-yard line twice but came away with only a pair of Wilson field goals.
Wauconda finally found the end zone when Dorsey found Mills wide open in the middle of the field for a 42-yard score.
Huntley got it right back, with Popenfoose marching the Raiders 77 yards in 8 plays. Jordan Neukirch raced in from 4 yards out to make it 12-6 just before halftime.
The Bulldogs extended their lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Wisniewski, who had 114 yards in the second half, bulled in from 4 yards out.
Huntley got it back on Popenfoose's 2-yard run.
"Wauconda's a good team, and we weren't going to get away with winning the game without playing our best football," said Huntley coach Steve Graves. "We didn't do that tonight."
-- Allen Oshinski
CL South 37, Crete-Monee 23: Derek Mortensen scored 4 touchdowns, three on the ground and one through the air, as the Gators opened the season with a big road win at Crete-Monee.
"(Crete-Monee) was a very fast team with a lot of talent," said CL South coach Jim Stuglis. "It was a real good first game for us. We made some mistakes but overall it was a good first game."
Quarterback Ian Ormseth threw for 2 touchdowns for the Gators, one to Mortensen and one to Ryan Kelley.
CL South led 20-10 at halftime.
The Gators' defense held Crete-Monee under 100 yards and had 3 interceptions. Max Bush, Ryan Ferricks and Dan Lapp all picked off passes for the Gators.