Battle of Crystal Lake all set

Drew Ormseth made the difference in Crystal Lake South' 24-20 victory over Prairie Ridge on Sept 17.

Prairie Ridge had taken a 14-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Ormseth responded on the next play from scrimmage by beating one of the Wolves' most dependable pass defenders for an 80-yard bomb to wide receiver Brad Walovitch, who finished with 4 receptions for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ormseth capped the Gators' next drive with a 1-yard run to give them a 24-14 lead. That came one play after he threw a 33-yard completion to tight end Kevin Rogers.

Overall, he completed 8-of-11 passes for 216 yards and 2 touchdowns, and he rushed 11 times for 69 yards and a score. This season, Ormseth has thrown for 17 touchdowns and rushed for 16 more.

For No. 4 Prairie Ridge (10-1) to snap a 7-game losing streak against its crosstown rival in Saturday's 1 p.m. Class 6A quarterfinal at Crystal Lake South (11-0), it has to keep the Gators' third-year starting quarterback from making the spectacular play.

“That kid always seems to make plays when he needs to,” Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp said of Ormseth, who will make his ninth career playoff start. “You see it game after game. When his team needs a play, he's there to make it. He made a perfect pass over our corner and just did a great job. So did the receiver.

“They always seem to make a big play in their offense, so it's a matter of stopping that big play.”

For Prairie Ridge to win the first playoff game ever contested by two schools from Crystal Lake, the Wolves must control the ball in their option offense as they've done all season, thereby keeping the ball out of Ormseth's hands. The tactic worked well last week in a 20-6 victory over athletic Morgan Park.

“Offensively, we're going to go in with our game plan a lot like last week,” Schremp said. “We need to run the ball and grind out yardage and keep South's offense off the field. We were pretty worried about the talent Morgan Park had on offense last week. We really wanted to go out, especially in the second half, and use up the clock and run the football.”

CL South has the tough task of beating a rival for the second time in the same season. The Gators know from experience it can be done. They lost regular-season games to rival Cary-Grove in 2005 and 2008 only to defeat the Trojans in state quarterfinals. Conversely, Cary-Grove swept regular season and playoff games from the Gators in 2004 and 2006.

“You like having a second chance at a team,” CL South coach Chuck Ahsmann said. “Your kids know you can play with them. I think it's an advantage almost, especially when the first one was a close game. If it was a blowout you might question it.

“This is a big game between two unbelievable teams with great records. We were fortunate to get them the first time. I thought it was a good game between two pretty evenly matched teams.

“I think what we need to clean up from last week are some of the penalties. And we can't turn the ball over. I think that's the key. If either team turns the ball over a couple of times, that could be the difference.”