CL Central stops Grayslake North
Lake Zurich, not too far from Grayslake, bills itself as an Alpine village.
Thursday night, on a gridiron, a MacAlpine thrived in Grayslake.
Crystal Lake Central junior running back Matt MacAlpine had quite a night against the Knights of Grayslake North, rushing 32 times for 290 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-24 victory.
“How many yards?” the 5-foot-10, 195-pounder Tiger said afterward, shaking his head in disbelief. “No, no. You’re kidding, right?”
No.
MacAlpine’s second TD run of the night, a 62-yard tight-roper along most of Grayslake North’s sideline, put the visitors up 27-24 at 2:47 of the fourth quarter.
Grayslake North (4-3, 3-1) fumbled the ball away on the ensuing possession, and MacAlpine struck again four plays later. He scored on a for 4-yard TD, after gaining the first 39 yards of the 43-yard drive via his legs.
Hands (Josh Cokefair’s) and a right arm (AJ Fish’s) also amassed serious yardage on a mild night in October. Cokefair, North’s ever-reliable wideout, hauled in 11 passes for 203 yards – his second 200-yard receiving game in three weeks. North’s Fish tossed 44 passes, completing 28 for 327 yards.
Cokefair came down with a 40-yard TD reception, and Fish connected with running back Andrew Soulis on a pair of TDs (3, 6 yards).
“A close game … against a real good team,” said Cokefair. “Two good teams, going at it.
“I got some phenomenal blocks downfield,” he added, praising senior wideout Davis Drake. “A lot of our guys blocked well all night.”
CLC (4-3, 3-1) won its second game in Grayslake in seven days; the Tigers fell 10-7 to Grayslake Central last Friday night.
“That loss last week put us down in the conference (Fox Valley Fox) standings,” said MacAlpine. “It got us down, too. But we fought hard tonight, overcame a ton of adversity.”
Four turnovers bit North, which led 24-21 at 1:26 of the third quarter after Soulis’ second TD grab and Katie Lahera’s extra point.
That one that hurt the most occurred early, on the Knights’ first drive. North, looking sharp and highly efficient, had marched 79 yards on seven plays, before CLC recovered a Knights fumble at the Tigers’ 1-yard line.