7 straight for Jacobs vs. Dundee-Crown

Pride. Bragging rights. Not being in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division basement.

That's what was at stake in the latest installment between rivals Jacobs and Dundee-Crown.

It didn't matter if both teams had just 2 wins combined. Neither school wanted to lose. But on Friday night, where field position and turnovers played a dynamic part, it was Jacobs that capitalized on 7 D-C turnovers (6 INT, 1 fumble) and avoided its sixth consecutive loss while making it 7 straight over the Chargers, 37-6, at Jacobs Athletic Field in Algonquin.

But hold it right there. If you thought that by looking at a 37-6 score, that it was a cakewalk for Jacobs, if it wasn't for a couple of turnovers, it could have been much closer.

After a Kyle Wright 11-yard run that put Jacobs (2-5, 1-2) ahead 6-0 in the first quarter, Jacobs linebacker Henry Gigeous picked off a pass to open the second quarter from D-C's 3, redeeming his team with a score they should of had at the end of the first quarter when Wright fumbled on the 1-yard line. It remained 12-0 at halftime and D-C (1-6, 0-3) was still alive, put its passing game wasn't.

From Gigeous' interception touchdown in the second quarter, to the midway portion of the third quarter, D-C accounted for 5 more interceptions. The beneficiaries included Mike Stein (3 interceptions), T.J. Brooks, and Alec Starr - a Jacobs secondary that made Tanner Kotlan's night one to forget. Kotlan completed 12 passes on 37 throws. Once the interception party began, the game slipped away.

"The kids did a good job of keeping their guys in front of them and breaking on the ball, they made plays when they had to. It was fun," Jacobs coach Dean Schlueter said.

Said Brooks: " We were told, just don't get beat, don't give them cushion."

Jacobs capitalized on those turnovers in the third quarter, scoring on a 49-yard run from quarterback Jason Judson and a halfback pass from Zach Bates to Joey Cieniewicz for 25-yards, giving the Golden Eagles a 24-0 lead.

Jacobs took two more runs to pay dirt in the fourth quarter on runs of 31 yards from Wright and 12 from Sean Bergeron. Bergeron's TD came off a drive where D-C muffed a kickoff from Wright's score, who finished his day with 187 yards rushing, with 2 touchdown on 30 carries. As a whole, Jacobs rushed for 339 yards and won the total yards battle 396-201. The Eagles also outrushed Dundee-Crown 339-27.

As for the rivalry, well, Jacobs knew how to handle it.

"It's a great feeling, I don't know what else to say. It's a great feeling... go home, go to sleep, " Brooks said.