District 155 schools enjoying November football
Football season ends in October in many school districts, but the action tends to last well into November for the successful programs of Community High School District 155.
For the third straight season all four District 155 schools Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South, Crystal Lake Central and Prairie Ridge qualified for the IHSA playoffs. Not only did they qualify, each won at least one playoff game for the second consecutive year.
The continually improving quality of football within D155 will be showcased Saturday as three of its schools compete in Class 6A state quarterfinals: No. 4 Prairie Ridge (10-1) plays a highly anticipated rematch at No. 1 Crystal Lake South (11-0) at 1 p.m.; No. 11 Cary-Grove (8-3) hopes to extend its streak of seven straight playoff victories when it hosts No. 2 Boylan (11-0), also at 1 p.m.
It marks the first time three District 155 schools have advanced to the quarterfinal round in the same season. Crystal Lake Central (8-3) bowed out last week with a 34-7 loss to Kaneland, the top seed in Class 5A.
It has been a season of unprecedented success for the district’s football teams, which finished in the top two spots in the Valley and Fox Divisions of the Fox Valley Conference, respectively. They enter this weekend with a combined record of 37-7, a total that includes three losses in games played against one another.
The programs are simply reaping what they’ve sown, say district coaches.
“All four schools are working hard in the off-season, and all four school have had a number of good athletes,” explained Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay, whose program makes its sixth quarterfinal appearance in seven years. “One program sets the bar and then the other ones are working to surpass them. Whether we set the bar or South did or Prairie Ridge, we’re all fighting for that top spot.
“Our kids all know each other so they know if they want to finish atop your division, you have to work hard. And I think all four programs have a fundamentally sound approach to how they want to win a football game. It starts with blocking and tackling.”
Learning such fundamentals young translates to success. Cary-Grove draws players from the successful Cary Junior Trojans feeder league. Crystal Lake South and CL Central draw from the Crystal Lake Raiders program. Current Prairie Ridge players grew up competing for the Crystal Lake Junior Wolves, a program PR coach Chris Schremp helped establish as a direct feeder.
“It says something about our feeder programs in town,” CL South coach Chuck Ahsmann said of D155’s success on the gridiron. “I think the more kids play football the better off we are.”
Once fundamental skills are learned at the elementary and junior high levels, a player’s inner desire to improve determines how successful he and his team will be at the next level. So does specialized instruction.
“The biggest thing is the dedication of the kids and the coaches,” said Schremp, whose Wolves lost to Cary-Grove in a 6A semifinal last season. “I think it’s a combination of good kids and good staff members. We’ve got kids up here who are dedicated to athletics and parents who understand the value of athletics. You’ve got coaches who want to do the right thing for kids. Put it all together and you have success.”
Though the four schools are tenacious rivals on the field, the coaching staffs are quick to point out their respect for each other. After all, no one respects how hard a coach works more than another coach.
“The neat thing is Chris Schremp and I are friends,” Ahsmann said. “He’s a great guy. I really respect what he’s done over there at PR. That’s not a situation where you just hate the other guy and you want to go in and beat him. Chris has done an outstanding job over there. I certainly respect his kids and the way they play. I think it’s like playing a brother: you want to beat them, but in the end you’re still brothers.
“It’s just like playing Bruce Kay. I mean, my God, the guy is a legend. It’s tough to beat teams like that.”
Especially in November.