Wauconda 41, Round Lake 14
Visiting Round Lake had a few tricks up its sleeve in the Panthers' North Suburban Prairie game at Wauconda on Friday night.
Round Lake pulled off an on-side kick to open the game, and the Panthers did it again late in the second quarter.
Trickery wasn't enough against Wauconda, though, as the Bulldogs' dominant rushing attack could not be slowed on Wauconda's senior night.
Wauconda (6-2, 4-1) built a 27-7 halftime lead behind 150 yards rushing by senior Brad Wisniewski before the Bulldogs went on to post a 41-14 victory to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time since 1998.
Wisniewski (184 yards rushing) opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run off right tackle before teammate Jamey Carey added a 3-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter for a 14-0 advantage.
A nice play-action pass from quarterback Garrett Dorsey to Jimmy Williams resulted in a 36-yard TD reception by Williams as the Bulldogs led 20-0 with 8:57 left in the first half.
Round Lake (1-7, 0-5) answered with a 46-yard TD pass from Matt Ortiz to Jerome Brown as a Bulldogs defender may have slipped on the play, leaving Brown a wide-open path to the end zone.
Wauconda scored one more time before intermission as Dorsey hit Dalton Cuchna with a 25-yard TD pass. Cuchna tipped the pass in the air to himself for the score.
Wisniewski added a 9-yard TD run for a commanding 34-7 lead with 4:06 left in the third quarter.
"The offensive line blocked phenomenal tonight and it was wide open," Wisniewski said. "This is like a whole new season for us and we're definitely confident."
Wauconda's Colin McKenzie scored on a 51-yard TD play with 5:31 to play before Round Lake sophomore Cameron Gillespie scored on a 15-yard TD run to close out the scoring with 3:41 to go.
"The kids have worked hard and this is six years coming," said sixth-year Wauconda coach Glen Kozlowski. "We are a running team and we wanted to re-establish that fact."
The Bulldogs close out the regular season next Friday at Vernon Hills.
"I love our junior quarterback (Dorsey). We had to throw the ball at times, and he did a good job," said Kozlowski. "Next week is very important for us because we have never beaten Vernon Hills and we want to get to 7 wins because it gives us a better shot at a home game (in the playoffs)."
The Bulldogs had a total of 451 yards of offense, including 327 yards on the ground. Ortiz threw for 141 yards overall for the Panthers as Ray Bryant had 67 yards on 24 carries.