Hembrey's return gives Cary-Grove a boost

Cary-Grove was already a good football team, but the Trojans got even stronger during Friday's 24-7 victory over Crystal Lake South with the return of running back Alex Hembrey from injury.

Cary-Grove (7-0, 3-0 FVC Valley) had enough depth in the backfield with quarterback Tyler Krebs and backs Eric Chandler and Jonas Mack to handle Johnsburg, Jacobs and Woodstock without Hembrey, who sprained an ankle and the MCL in his knee during a September practice.

Though he isn't yet 100 percent, Hembrey was fit enough to give it a try on Friday and made an immediate impact upon entering the game in the third quarter with Cary-Grove leading the Gators 14-7.

On his first carry in four weeks, Hembrey took a handoff to the left side, cut inside a block by wide receiver Chad McCarron and scooted 55 yards up the sideline for a big gain, which eventually led to a Marcus Kerrigan field goal and a 17-7 lead.

"It really felt good on the first play back to get that nice run," Hembrey said. "It was a good confidence booster. I had some jitters, which was weird because I haven't all season. But I think it was because I was coming into the game in the second half against a good team. It felt good to get back."

Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay chose his spot to insert Hembrey, knowing the speedy back would be limited in his first game action in a month.

"We didn't think he could play a full game, so we wanted to get him in for a half," Kay said. "He made some plays for us in that second half. You could see he's still not himself yet, but I think it was good for him to get out there and test it. We think he's about 80 percent right now. He wore down there near the end."

Hembrey finished with 85 yards on 9 carries.

Title town: Bartlett clinched at least a share of the Upstate Eight Conference title by holding off Neuqua Valley for a 31-28 victory in Naperville on Friday.

It's the fourth UEC title for the Hawks (7-0, 5-0 UEC) and first since 2002. Bartlett can win the title outright with a win in Week 9 at East Aurora (2-5, 1-3).

But first the Hawks face a quality playoff tuneup against Thornton (7-0) in a special Saturday night game at Millennium Field in Streamwood at 6:30 p.m.

A two-seamer: Junior Ryan Buke helped Hampshire get off to a fast start on both sides of the ball in a 47-13 Big Northern-East victory over North Boone last Friday.

Burke, also a top pitcher who led Hampshire to a Class 2A supersectional appearance last spring, caught a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Evan Brenner to give the Whip-Purs a 7-0 lead. Just 42 seconds later Burke intercepted a North Boone pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Those were his first 2 touchdowns of the season.

Top performances of Week 7: Huntley senior running back Jordan Neukirch became the first area rusher to top the 1,000-yard plateau. The Illinois State recruit carried 30 times for 224 yards in a 21-14 victory over Crystal Lake Central, upping his season totals to 1,156 yards and 15 touchdowns with a 10.1 yard-per-carry average. Huntley (7-0, 3-0) will host defending champion Prairie Ridge (5-2, 3-0) in a duel for first place in the Fox Division this Friday at 7:45 p.m... Elgin senior quarterback Tom Roth completed 5-of-8 passes for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for 2 more scores to lead Elgin to a 47-13 victory over East Aurora. Elgin senior receiver Jamal Cook made 2 catches for touchdowns of 70 and 20 yards. Elgin (1-6, 1-3 Upstate Eight) will play Larkin (3-4, 2-3) in the annual Town Jug game at Memorial Field this Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Larkin has won 13 of the last 15 meetings, including the last 6 in a row... Cary-Grove defensive back Matt Nelsen intercepted 2 passes in the Trojans' 24-7 victory over Crystal Lake South. The swarming Cary-Grove defense held shifty Gators running back Colin Masterson to 48 yards on 16 carries and fullback Derek Mortensen to 38 yards on 11 carries... Hampshire quarterback Evan Brenner made the most of his limited passing attempts last Friday. The senior completed 4-of-5 throws for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 47-13 victory over North Boone. Wide receiver Bo Price had 2 receptions for touchdowns of 93 and 24 yards. It was the second straight week Price eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving. For the season the senior has 22 receptions for 438 yards and 5 touchdowns... Burlington Central quarterback Tim Botsford rushed 15 times for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns as the offense broke out for 362 total yards in a 35-14 victory over Marengo. Tommy Gast returned a kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown for the Rockets (2-5, 2-1), who welcome rival Hampshire (4-3, 3-0) on homecoming this Friday.