Jacobs falls to McHenry

If McHenry wants to run its consecutive playoff streak to 21 straight years, its walk on the tight rope just became a bit more balanced.

The kids know the tradition; it's been a symbol of the Warriors' program and town for years. Facing a potential elimination game, McHenry came out with a lot of defense and 229 yards rushing from Mike Soto and Dana Kohn on offense to keep itself in the hunt by defeating Jacobs 33-14 in a Fox Valley Confernce Valley Division game at McCracken Field Friday night. While McHenry's win increased its chances at a playoff spot, it ended Jacobs' own chances in the process.

McHenry (2-4, 1-1) got on the board very quickly, with Soto finishing a 5-play 45 yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run 1:54 into the game that gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead. On McHenry's next drive, Soto bettered his first touchdown with a 17-yard score, giving McHenry a 14-0 lead.

"The line made good blocks. My pulling guard, Kyle Bergquist, he made some good blocks and the holes were there," Soto said.

While Jacobs (1-5, 0-2) was able to recover a bobbled punt return by Soto with 10:32 remaining in the second quarter, Jacobs quarterback Alec Starr had trouble finding his mark. Starr couldn't connect with any of his receivers thanks to a McHenry defense that played smashmouth for the first half, which stalled Jacobs at the McHenry 30 thanks to Jonathan Lesniak's sack that ended the drive. Starr was sacked 6 times throughout the game, 2 of them coming from Lesniak and Jacobs amassed only 50 total yards in the first half. "We let up a lot of points the last couple weeks and we felt we needed to step it up. We stressed finish the whole entire week and I think we did a pretty good job doing it," Lesniak said. "None of them like to talk about it, but that playoff berth, that 20 years, we want to get that. We don't want to be the ones to let it down."

After McHenry went up 20-0 at the half thanks to Soto's third touchdown in the second quarter, Kohn busted a pair of runs in the second half, one from 12 and the other from 2 yards out, giving McHenry a 33-7 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Kohn (117 yards) and Soto (112) combined for all 5 Warrior touchdowns, 3 from Soto. A tired Jacobs defense couldn't stop a McHenry offense that posted 365 total offense, including 96 yards passing from Ryan Michel, who completed half of his 8 passes.

"I think it's been the same situation all year. We've had some execution problems and executing consistently and you have to give McHenry credit, they played hard," Jacobs coach Dean Schlueter.

Jacobs eventually got onto the board in the third quarter when Starr rushed for a 5-yard score. He completed 4 of 15 passes for 87 yards.