Wauconda puts it in gear against Grayslake Central

With the Class 6A state playoffs within sight, the Wauconda football team played like a purple and gold machine Friday night at Grayslake Central.

The Bulldogs rolled up 322 of their 455 total yards of offense on the ground as they took a 31-0 lead into halftime before rolling to a 52-14 Northern Lake County Conference victory over the Rams.

Wauconda (5-4, 4-3) became playoff-eligible, and it looks like the Bulldogs should have more than enough points to earn one of the coveted spots into the playoff bracket.

"I think we're going to end up with a minimum of 40 playoff points so we feel pretty good about that," said Wauconda coach Dave Mills, whose team headed into their final game with 37 playoff points. "When you are a 5-4 team you have to face good teams, but you just have to show up and play."

Wauconda looked like anything but a 5-4 squad Friday night as they pretty much dominated the contest from start to finish over Grayslake Central (1-8, 1-6).

As was the case last week against Grant, the 1-2 punch of senior running backs Tyler Stankiewicz and Jacob Bicknase was the driving force behind the Bulldogs' offense as Bicknase opened the scoring with a 12-yard TD run just 3:53 into the game.

A 29-yard field goal by Oscar Acosta boosted the lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter as Acosta had a perfect night kicking the football with 7-for-7 extra points and 10 points overall.

Senior quarterback Antonio Acosta also had an efficient and effective night as he faked a handoff and hit senior teammate Kyle Drobnik with a 48-yard TD pass over the middle to make the score 17-0 just 36 seconds into the second quarter.

The Rams did have some success throwing the ball with junior quarterback Sam Lennartz going for 145 yards on 13-for-22 passing. But Central had little to no success running the ball.

Interceptions by Wauconda defensive backs Kyle Pones and Joey Schmidt also helped thwart potential scoring drives by Grayslake Central in the second quarter.

Bicknase wound up scoring his second touchdown on a 1-yard run late in the first half as a 35-yard pass play from Antonio Acosta to Wendill Spencer Bills kicked the Wauconda scoring drive into high gear.

Then leading 24-0, Antonio Acosta hit tight end Matthew Nolan with a 37-yard pass down to the Grayslake Central 4 before Bicknase ran the ball into the end zone on the next play for a 31-0 lead 2:10 before halftime.

The second half started out great for Stankiewicz (149 yards on 8 carries) as he bounced off a Central tackler and went 71 yards for the touchdown and a 38-0 lead 16 seconds into the third quarter.

Wauconda recovered the ensuing kickoff when the Rams failed to cover the ball at their own 33-yard-line.

Bicknase (98 yards on 14 rushes) started the brief, three-play scoring drive with a 25-yard run before Stankiewicz scored on an 8-yard TD run to make the score 45-0 and start the running clock for the rest of the game.

"Our offensive line was just amazing, and we had giant holes to run through," said Stankiewicz, who scored TD's both of the only two times he touched the ball in the second half. "We're ready for whoever we have to play, we've been training all season, and the key is the offensive line. But we want to be able to pass more too."

Antonio Acosta showed he can be dangerous when the defense keys on the run as he was 4-for-6 passing for 133 yards.

The Rams broke up the shutout when Lennartz scored on a 3-yard keeper with 1:57 left in the third quarter. A 24-yard pass from Lennartz to Bryce Gniadek had taken the ball inside the red zone three plays earlier.

Wauconda's Mickey Landvick added a 17-yard TD run with 8:45 to play before Lennartz hit Peter Brewster in the right corner of the end zone on the Rams' last drive. A 2-point run by Central's Nick Paul accounted for the final score.

"We've run the ball very well all year," added Mills. "And when they try to put too many guys in the box we threw the ball better tonight."

Some of the experts are projecting Wauconda to play perennial power Cary-Grove in the opening round as the Bulldogs will officially find out their opponent Saturday evening.