Hembrey, Cary-Grove keep rolling with 48-28 win
Any football coaches interested in running the triple-option offense should have attended the Cary-Grove game Saturday. They could have watched the Trojans put on an absolute clinic for only $5.
Top-seeded Cary-Grove can't play offense much better than it did in its 48-28 victory over No. 9 Highland Park in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, a game played on artificial turf at Lake Forest High School.
The Trojans scored touchdowns on their first 4 possessions and 7 of 10 overall. They were forced to punt only once, and they knelt on 2 possessions to run out the clock at the end of the second and fourth quarters.
"We're going to run the football as long as we can, and the option was there all day for us," Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay said.
Cary-Grove (11-0) will host a quarterfinal game next week against No. 5 Chicago De La Salle (9-2), a 35-20 winner on Saturday at No. 4 Crystal Lake Central (8-3).
Highland Park (7-4) had no answers for Trojans senior wingback Alex Hembrey (212 yards, 4 TDs), senior quarterback Tyler Krebs (106 yards rushing, TD) and senior fullback Eric Chandler (97 yards, TD). The trio gained room to run thanks to the blocking of backfield mate Steve Hapanovich, split end Chad McCarron, tight end Cole Connington and an offensive line that wore the Giants defense out.
"We watched a lot of film and we thought we had a really good game plan, but those guys work their (tails) off," Highland Park free safety Cole Stern said. "They're really good and they execute really well. We just couldn't stop them."
Cary-Grove set the tone on its first drive when Kay opted to go for it on fourth-and-goal at the 4. Hembrey, whose 37-yard run keyed the 10-play, 68-yard march, cashed in with a 4-yard run.
"We always want to come out strong and punch them in the mouth from the start," Hembrey said. "We've been doing that all year, which is why we've had success."
The C-G defense forced Highland Park to punt after 3 plays, and the offense responded by going 80 yards in 5 plays, capped by a zigzagging 34-yard run by Hembrey. The second of Nick Taylor's 6 extra points made it 14-0 with 2:40 left in the first quarter.
The Giants followed up with their best sustained drive of the day, a 13-play, 47-yard push to the Cary-Grove 14. But they came away with no points after senior Trent Sorensen broke up quarterback Walter Broder's pass in the end zone.
The Trojans responded with their longest drive of the day, moving 86 yards in 12 plays. They made it 21-0 with 2:34 left in the second quarter when Hembrey took a pitch to the left, cut behind a Hapanovich block and waltzed 18 yards down the sideline for a touchdown untouched.
If there was a crack in Cary-Grove's armor, it was its penchant for giving up the big pass, like the 79-yard Broder-to-Jordan Reisner connection that pulled the Giants within 21-7 with 1:49 left in the half.
But the Trojans restored their lead to 21 points before halftime when Krebs followed McCarron's downfield block for a 58-yard scoring romp with 73 seconds left in the half.
Highland Park gained a measure of hope when Stern returned the second-half kickoff 98 yards to trim the deficit to 28-14. However, Cary-Grove came right back with an 8-play, 66-yard drive culminating in Hembrey's fourth touchdown from 8 yards out.
After the Giants bobbled a punt snap at their own 21-yard line, Krebs connected with a diving McCarron on the next play for a touchdown that ballooned the lead to 42-14 with 5:50 left in the third quarter.
The Giants made it respectable with 2 fourth-quarter scores. Reisner (149 yards receiving, 53 rushing) ran a screen pass 54 yards to pay dirt, and Matt Nieto capitalized on a recovered onside kick by outleaping a Cary-Grove defender for a 37-yard touchdown.
The Trojans iced the win with a 13-play, 50-yard drive, ending with Chandler's 3-yard run with 2:15 remaining.
"We got off to a good start and our offensive line wore down their defensive linemen and linebackers and just opened big holes as the game progressed," Chandler said.