Cary-Grove secures playoff berth
For the eighth consecutive year, the Cary-Grove Trojans will be in the playoffs.
The Trojans (6-2, 3-2) clinched a playoff berth as they defeated the Dundee-Crown Chargers by a score of 49-0 at Cary-Grove High School Friday night in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division battle. Clinching an eighth consecutive playoff berth means a lot to Trojans junior quarterback Quinn Baker.
“Clinching the playoff berth was something really important for us,” said Baker. “There’s a lot of pride and tradition here. We needed to make the playoffs, but we still have one more game; and we want to go into the playoffs after a big win (next week against undefeated Prairie Ridge).”
Patrick O’Malley got the scoring for the Trojans started in the first quarter with a 1-yard run for a touchdown on the first drive of the game. The Trojans scored their second touchdown on their second drive, this time on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Baker to Corey Laktas.
Cary-Grove got on the board for the third time at the start of the second quarter, on a 7-yard run from Baker. Baker, O’Malley, and Connor Carlson then moved the ball down the field from their own 10-yard line and scored again on a 6-yard run by Carlson. The Trojans capped off the first half scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run from Baker just before the end of the half.
The Trojans would get two more touchdowns in the second half, one in the third quarter on an 11-yard run from Carlson, and in the fourth quarter the final blow came from Kaene Connington on a 15-yard touchdown run.
Baker was 1 of 6 with 25 yards passing and 1 touchdown, but his real domination was on the ground; as he rushed for 153 yards on 23 carries with 2 touchdowns. Carlson rushed for 106 yards on 7 carries and with 2 touchdowns.
Dundee-Crown starting quarterback Garrett Ryan was 2 of 6 with 16 yards passing in his first game back from a shoulder injury. Running back Derek Mooney led the Chargers with 5 yards on 4 carries, while Nick Lodi had 2 receptions for 16 yards.
“My shoulder feels good,” said Ryan. “The wind was fine for throwing, but Cary-Grove has a great defense; they’re very fast. They’re coached well and they got after the ball, so we were limited.”