Grayslake Central's in the playoffs
The free meal was one local establishment's way of saying thank you.
Thanks for making high school football in Grayslake relevant again.
Thanks for having an appetite to bring respectability back to a program that had lost the hunger.
Fred's Diner had only one request:
“Just win,” Kevin Hein said.
On Friday, Hein, a senior strong safety, and one of his Grayslake Central football teammates had lunch at Fred's in downtown Grayslake.
“We were wearing our jerseys and they let us go without paying for the meal,” Hein said. “They told us to make the playoffs and we'll make it up to them.”
Consider Hein and his teammate and Fred's all squared up.
On Saturday, Grayslake Central secured its first playoff berth since 2003 and just the fourth in school history by dispatching Mt. Vernon 43-6 on an overcast day in Grayslake.
A program that went 0-9 in head coach Nick Goshe's first year as head coach three years ago got official news Saturday night that it had earned an at-large playoff spot.
Grayslake Central (5-4), whose 45 playoffs points comfortably bettered the cut by six, will play at Chicago Senn (9-0) in Round 1 of the playoffs with the date and time to be determined Monday.
After Grayslake Central's defense stopped Mt. Vernon (3-6) on downs with 2:50 left in the game, some Rams sneaked up on Goshe and doused him with ice water from a Gatorade jug.
“I'm more excited for those kids over there,” Goshe said after the game, pointing to the seniors standing around the 50. “They suffered through a lot these four years. They started the journey with me and they get to reap the benefits of it. It's those kids and those families (that persevered).
“And you got to credit our administration, because they stuck with us through those tough times,” Goshe added. “A lot of administrations that don't know what they're doing jump the gun and get rid of people before they have a chance to let a program develop. It takes time at the high school level. There's the naysayers after a year or two that are like, ‘Get this guy out of here.' ”
The seniors have believed in Goshe ever since his meeting with them following their freshman season.
“He gave it to us straight we have to make the playoffs,” said tight end/defensive end C.J. Stempeck, whose Saturday included a 42-yard TD grab and 2 tackles for loss. “We have worked with that in mind all four years.
“All I had known about Grayslake football was that it was bad. I wasn't really sure how to take that, but I knew that we had the talent and, if we stuck with it, we could develop into (a playoff team).”
Senior defensive back Cam Neely played eight years of youth football for the Grayslake Colts and, like Stempeck, also has played four years in high school. He was another huge contributor Saturday along with fellow seniors Vinnie Culhane (108 rushing yards, 41-yard TD run), Jahard Nelson (32-yard TD catch) and Dan Hsu (28-yard TD run).
“Freshman year we were pretty bad,” Neely said. “The vibe of the varsity team going 0-9 wasn't a good influence on us. But then our sophomore year we got new coaches, we went 6-3 and everything turned around.”
Neely jump-started the Rams against Mt. Vernon, returning Anthony Moore's punt 75 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with just 2:55 gone in the game. Joey Valdivia's 41-yard TD run had the hosts up 14-0 after one quarter.
“A senior stepping up,” Goshe, whose Rams led 29-6 at halftime, said of Neely. “We've been working on our special teams all year and waiting for the day where the special teams really play a huge factor.”
“It was the best feeling I've ever had,” Neely said. “(Chris) Loeffl laid an amazing block, and then Jake Paust sealed the punter. It was just a great way to start off the game. It brought a lot of excitement to our defense.”