Rudolph, McKenna power Wauconda to bruising second-round win over Belvidere North
Wauconda treated home fans to a vintage display of ground-and-pound football on Friday night, completing just one pass in a 40-14 beatdown of Belvidere North in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs on Friday night.
The visiting Blue Thunder (7-5) only completed two passes themselves — both to the Wauconda defense.
Wauconda quarterback Cooper Karaszewski completed the first and only pass of the game with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, finding tight end Liam Harris for a 12-yard touchdown to extend the Bulldogs lead to 40-7.
Seniors Brody Rudolph and Brody McKenna powered the Bulldogs’ “three yards and a cloud of dust” offense, showcasing their best Sonic and Knuckles impersonation as they combined for 329 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 39 carries.
Rudolph, Wauconda’s 220-pound bruising fullback, scored all four rushing touchdowns, muscling his way to 125 yards on 20 carries.
McKenna sprinted for 204 yards on 19 carries from the running back position, breaking off six runs of 15 yards or more as he consistently found his way around the edge of the Belvidere North front seven.
“Considering our tight end Luke Sickmeir has broke all our receiving records in his career and for the season, it’s kind of wild,” said Wauconda coach Chris Prostka of the Bulldogs’ reliance on the ground game. “But we were running the ball really well, and then kept going.”
Sickmeir, who entered Friday with 41 receptions for 948 yards, still found a way to make an impact.
The Bulldogs senior scored a 70-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs an early 14-0 lead and grabbed his ninth interception of the season to end the first half with Wauconda (9-2) leading 27-0.
“Tonight was about just not being selfish, blocking and taking care of the running backs,” Sickmeir said. “The running game opens up the pass game. So if we can run it, and it’s working, we’ll just keep doing that.”
Wauconda mostly bottled up star Belvidere North senior running back Zavian McElroy, who racked up an absurd 622 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground in the Blue Thunder’s first two playoff games.
Led by senior linebacker Cashton Silton, the Bulldogs defense limited McElroy to eight yards on four carries in the first half. With McElroy in check, Belvidere North’s triple-option offense gained just two first downs in the game’s first 24 minutes.
The Bulldogs defense “tackled the fullback” all night, navigating the Blue Thunder’s triple-option trickery by tackling each potential ball carrier on any given play. Though McElroy had just four carries in the first half, Wauconda defenders put him on the ground on almost every snap.
“We knew (McElroy) could be explosive, and he had an amazing game last week,” Prostka added. “I think we were able to bottle him up early, and they kind of went away from him for awhile.”
McElroy did break a few big runs in the second half to finish with 136 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.
Wauconda will face either No. 9 Sycamore (7-4) or No. 1 Antioch (10-0) in the Class 5A quarterfinals. Antioch won its Week 9 regular-season matchup against the Bulldogs 21-0.