All cylinders clicking for Cary-Grove
Offense, defense and special teams. All three phases excelled on the same night for Cary-Grove in a 24-7 victory against visiting Valley Division rival Crystal Lake South on Friday.
The C-G option offense rushed for 280 yards on 45 carries, the defense held the Gators to 79 yards rushing and intercepted 4 passes, and the special teams set the Trojans up with good field position throughout.
"I thought we played a complete football game," Trojans coach Bruce Kay said. "I was extremely pleased with all facets of our game. I'm just proud of the kids' effort. The fundamentals were outstanding. We were competitive on every play."
The night started well for the Trojans (7-0, 3-0). The Gators opened the game with a 14-play drive that stalled at the Cary-Grove 43-yard line, and Cary-Grove, which won its 31st straight conference game, jumped to the lead on its fourth play from scrimmage. Senior Eric Chandler burst though the line and outraced the CL South secondary to the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown.
Chandler rushed for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns on the night, but he gave all the credit to his offensive line: center Kevin McCowan, guards Hayden Baker and Augie Bobrytzke, tackles Cody Heche and Mike Schoch and tight end John Bryan.
"On a lot of those plays, the line did a great job and I wasn't touched at all," Chandler said. "All running backs look the same if they don't have any blocking."
Crystal Lake South (5-2, 2-1) answered on its next possession when sophomore quarterback Drew Ormseth moved up in the pocket and connected with Brandon Erickson on a crossing pattern that went for a 60-yard touchdown, tying the game at 7 with 4:20 left in the first quarter.
But Cary-Grove senior Jake Underwood regained momentum for his team by returning the ensuing kickoff 55 yards to the Gators' 37-yard line. Chandler kept the drive alive with a 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the CL South 15, and he capped the 10-play drive with a 4-yard run with 7:57 left in the first half.
Cary-Grove's bid to take a 17-7 lead at the half fell about a foot short as kicker Marcus Kerrigan's 45-yard attempt bounced off the cross bar.
The Gators opened the third quarter by recovering on onside kick, but the offense went three-and-out. The Gators punted 4 times.
"We were hitting them off the line right away, but we just didn't stick with our blocks tonight and that's the reason we lost," CL South tight end Vince Benedetto said.
Junior running back Alex Hembrey made his return to action on the next Cary-Grove series and had an immediate impact. Playing at about 80 percent with a leg injury, Hembrey cut inside a Chad McCarron block and raced 55 yards up the sideline, which set up a 38-yard field goal from Kerrigan that made it 17-7.
Nose guard Matt Liebforth and Matt Nelsen each came up with interceptions in the second half to quash Gator drives. Nelsen finished with 2 picks.
Chandler capped the scoring with a 27-yard run with 3:31 left in the game.
"They're our biggest rivals every season, so to come out of here with a win tonight and have confidence going into the next two weeks is awesome," Chandler said.