CL South, Lake Zurich run with similar styles
If the uniform colors were not different, fans might have trouble telling the difference between No. 3 Crystal Lake South and No. 11 Lake Zurich during today's Class 7A second-round playoff matchup in Lake Zurich at 1 p.m.
Both teams are run-oriented, both try to eat clock while improving field position one carry at a time and both play the same hard-nosed defense using the same scheme.
"The key to beating them," Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said of the Gators, "is to stop their run game, keep our offense on the field and win the field-position battle."
Said CL South coach Jim Stuglis: "We have to score the way we have all year, moving the ball 7 or 8 yards a crack, getting long drives going and punching it in the end zone when we have the opportunity,"
Lake Zurich (7-3), in the playoffs for the eighth-straight season, attacks offensively with junior wingback Jacob Brinlee (1,420 yards, 21 TD). He was a one-man wrecking crew last Saturday in the Bears' 16-6 victory at Rolling Meadows, when he rushed for 229 of his team's 249 total yards.
Brinlee gets many of his yards by outracing defenders to the edge, which was how Cary-Grove attacked the Gators' stout defense to hand them their only loss of the season.
"He's run for a lot of yards against a lot of people," Stuglis said of Brinlee. "He's definitely the best back we've seen this year. He's legit, no doubt about it. He's broken some long runs for touchdowns, he returns kicks, he returns punts... They sweep it to him all day long and take it to the edge. Cary-Grove got the edge on us, so that's something we're a little concerned about being able to stop."
Fullback Devian Ruiz (468 rushing yards, 9 TDs) gives the Bears another solid running option.
Crystal Lake South (9-1), in the playoffs for the ninth straight season, counters with a defense that recorded a school-record fifth shutout last week in a 35-0 victory over Glenbrook North. The Gators' 3-3-5 defense has held opponents to an average of 5.5 points in 10 games. "They are aggressive," Stortz said.
The Bears are pretty stingy, too. Lake Zurich has allowed 125 points this season, including 39 against undefeated North Suburban-Lake champion Stevenson in Week 5. That unit will be tested by CL South's massive offensive line (average 260 pounds) and senior running back Kameron Scott. Since returning as a full-time starter in Week 3 from a hamstring injury, Scott has rushed for 609 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The Gators rely on a straightforward, stop-us-if-you-can rushing offense, but they can throw the ball when necessary. Junior quarterback Drew Ormseth has thrown for 938 yards and 12 touchdowns and has been intercepted on only four occasions. His top receiver is senior Alec Giles (25 rec., 6 TDs). Last week Ormseth threw a pair of 50-plus-yard passes to Giles and Brandon Erickson on identical crossing routes.
The game will be played on Lake Zurich's artificial turf, a surface the Gators got accustomed to by practicing on the turf at Barrington on Thursday. They played on artificial turf once this season: a 40-0 victory against Bartlett at Millennium Field in Week 2.
"We seemed to like it there so, hopefully, we'll get the same result," Stuglis said.