Cary-Grove to be a triple threat to De La Salle
Fourth-year De La Salle coach Dan O'Keefe is no stranger to the Cary-Grove triple-option offense.
He guided the Meteors to a 26-27 victory over the host Trojans in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs in 2007, when Cary-Grove's extra-point kick in overtime sailed wide to end the game.
But he said there is a difference between being familiar with Cary-Grove's triple option and being able to stop the players operating it now.
"It's tough to stop, but that has a lot to do with the athletes they have," O'Keefe said. "We see option all year long, just not with as much motion, the three backs, the double wing that they do. I see a lot of it, but I don't see too many people do it as well as Cary-Grove does.
"They have a lot of different guys who can do a lot of different things. Usually, you get a scouting report and you have one, two or three people you have to stop in order to stop that team. But these guys you pick your poison with any one of their backs and their quarterback. Every one of them is very effective."
No. 5 De La Salle (9-2) will find out if its assignment-based, 5-2 defense can effectively limit the triple option when the Meteors square off with top seed Cary-Grove (11-0) in a Class 6A quarterfinal at Al Bohrer Field in Cary today at 1 p.m.
The Trojan offense hasn't been stopped to date. In 11 games Cary-Grove has scored 504 points (45.8 avg.), led by an athletic offensive line that has paved the way for senior running back Alex Hembrey (1,013 yards, 16 TD), senior fullback Eric Chandler (909 yards, 16 TD) and senior quarterback Tyler Krebs (557 yards, 8 TD).
The Trojans have scored 40 or more points in eight of 11 games. Their lowest output came in a 23-0 victory on a drenched, muddy field in Huntley in Week 6. Undaunted, De La Salle won't make any Cary-Grove-specific changes to its defensive alignment.
"We don't change everything for one game," O'Keefe said. "If you've made it this far, you must be doing something right so we don't want to change the whole defense to adjust to one team. We'll rely on the players that got us this far."
The linchpin among those defensive players is middle linebacker Ed Keating (6-foot-2, 215 pounds). The senior leads the Meteors with 94 tackles and was named defensive player of the year in the Chicago Catholic Conference's White Division. He gets support from inside linebacker (and running back) Mark Kasper - the only starter back from the 2007 team - inside linebacker Bob Kerwin (76 tackles) and defensive linemen Josh Lisenby (59) and Ryan Martinez (40).
The most explosive player for De La Salle is defensive back/wide receiver DJ Bland. On defense the senior has produced 44 tackles and 8 interceptions, 3 of which were returned for touchdowns. Offensively, the speedster has 29 catches for 576 yards and 8 scores. He has also found the end zone on a kickoff return and a punt return.
"He's very good," Trojans coach Bruce Kay said. "We don't have his kind of speed."
Meteors quarterback Juwan Martin is a double threat. The junior has rushed 105 times for 614 yards and 11 touchdowns and has thrown for 1,193 yards (80 of 153) and 14 scores.
The Trojans' secondary was out-leaped on two long touchdown throws last week by Highland Park receivers, leading to some position changes. Senior split end Chad McCarron (6-3, 184) will go both ways and start at one cornerback position. Hembrey will split time at the other cornerback spot with senior starter Trent Sorensen.
"The feeling was we needed to strengthen that position a little bit," Kay said. "Playing corner is one of those positions like playing center field - you're only going to get a few plays but they're very big. We feel with Chad's height and ability to play the ball we have a better answer if someone wants to just throw it up there. Hembrey is such a good athlete that we want him to be out there if the corner is having a tough night. We feel like we're in pretty good shape there now."
The winner will advance to the semifinals to play the winner of today's 1 p.m. quarterfinal: No. 14 Belvidere North (7-4) at No. 10 Prairie Ridge (8-3). If Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove win, the Trojans would host next week. Cary-Grove would play at Belvidere North.