Cary-Grove gets back on brand, drives past Burlington Central
Final score: Cary-Grove 32, Burlington Central 20.
Records: Both teams are 2-1 overall and in the Fox Valley Conference.
Player of the game: Cary-Grove quarterback Jackson Behrndt completed just four passes on the night, but three went for touchdowns. He also led a game-clinching, fourth-quarter drive.
Other statistical leaders: Ty Tenopir led Cary’s potent ground attack with 93 yards on nine carries. Fullback Luke Cerasa added 51 on 16 tries. Rockets quarterback Reece Beemer completed 12 of 22 passes for 148 yards and two TDs. Wagner Viebrock was his favorite target with five catches for 96 yards and a score. Parker Auxier added 75 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Turning point: With the Trojans clinging to an 18-13 lead and the Rockets driving, Joey Pristera stepped in front of a Beemer pass and returned the interception deep into Rockets’ territory. Six plays later, Behrndt found Tenopir in the end zone.
First-half highlight: Behrndt’s first scoring pass, a 29-yard catch-and-run to Jimmy Boldt, put the Trojans ahead 10-0 in the first quarter.
Second-half highlight: After Central scored to cut the lead to 25-20 with just under 11 minutes left, Behrndt led the Trojans on a 78-yard scoring drive that chewed up nearly seven minutes. Behrndt didn’t attempt a pass in that sequence. Cerasa capped the drive with a three-yard run with four minutes to go.
Following a long weather delay, the game resumed with Central having the ball on its own 21-yard line. The Rockets proceeded to drive 79 yards, with Auxier taking it in from the 10-yard line to make it a 25-20 game.
X-factor: The weather. With about three minutes left in the third quarter, a bright flash of lightning resulted in Al Bohrer Field being evacuated as a storm moved through. After a delay of more than an hour, the game resumed with a smattering of hardy fans back in the stands.
Quote:“That was huge,” said Behrndt of the game-clinching drive. “They started getting a little bit of momentum, so we just wanted to try to slow it down, take care of the ball, and gain a little more control of the game.”
Although that ground-and-pound drive was very much on brand for Cary-Grove generally, Trojans coach Brad Seaburg observed that hasn’t been the case in recent history. “So far this year we haven’t really proven it,” he said. “I thought that this last drive was really a big moment for our offense because we hadn’t really shown that in the first couple games.”