CL Central runs down Grayslake North
Visiting Crystal Lake Central was touted as a powerful running team heading into the game, and the Tigers certainly lived up to their billing Friday night at Grayslake North.
The host Knights were fired up for their homecoming contest, but Crystal Lake Central cooled Grayslake North down quickly as the Tigers built a 19-0 halftime lead en route to a 33-6 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division victory.
CLC (3-2, 1-1) rolled up 292 of its total 391 rushing yards in the first half alone as the Knights (3-2, 1-2) gave up 3 long touchdown runs to fall behind by 19 points 55 seconds into the second quarter. Grayslake North was held to 36 of its 162 yards of offense in the first half.
The Tigers' wing-T offense got going right away when junior standout Gage Harrah (214 yards on 17 carries) found a small gap at the line of scrimmage before breaking free and exploding for a 64-yard TD run and a 6-0 lead 1:52 into the game.
CLC's deceptive offense worked again on its second possession as senior running back Dylan McKinney (133 yards on 12 rushes) went all the way down the left sideline nearly untouched for an 81-yard TD run. Tyler Fehring's extra point made the score 13-0 with 7:38 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers' final score of the first half was yet another big play as Harrah got a good block from quarterback Brett Schuld before taking off on a 73-yard TD run with 11:05 left in the second quarter. A missed 2-point conversion kept the score at 19-0.
"We were down 19 points before we had a chance to breathe and then we made some adjustments," said Grayslake North coach Steve Wood. "But a lot of it is their speed and (Harrah) is a stud athlete and he gets going downhill really well."
The Knights came out and played much more inspired football in the third quarter as sophomore quarterback A.J. Fish led his squad on an 85-yard scoring drive.
A 35-yard pass to Andrew Soulis put the ball at midfield while two 15-yard penalties on CLC really hurt the Tigers during the drive. Then on third-and-goal, Fish (27 yards rushing) scored on a 1-yard keeper to cut the lead to 19-6 with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter. CLC had a total of 9 penalties for 105 yards overall.
13 points was as close as North got as CLC responded with a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive with a 9-yard TD run by fullback Ryan Hines right up the middle extending the lead to 26-6 with 2:54 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers pulled out one more big play before the night was over as Schuld faked a handoff before hitting tight end Zach Seiler with a 43-yard TD pass over a surprised Grayslake North defense for a 33-6 advantage with 6:53 to play.
"It's hard to take away all three of them (running backs) and we always have the potential to rip one off like that with the talent we have in the backfield," said CLC coach Matt Fralick. "I thought it was a good team effort, the line blocked hard, the backs ran well, and the fullback was kicking out."
There was a scary moment for the Knights with 6:10 to play as Fish got injured when he was tackled and the back of his helmet hit the field turf resulting in a possible concussion or neck injury. But while Fish was taken off on a stretcher, he is expected to be all right, according to Wood, though his status for upcoming games is unknown at this time.
Fish was 3-for-13 passing for 50 yards while teammate Ian Gwaltney led the Knights with 39 yards on 5 carries. Hines added 39 yards on 7 attempts for the Tigers.