High school football: Cary-Grove leads 8 McHenry County teams into playoffs; Jacobs left out

As Cary-Grove’s football coaches saw results from Friday night and crunched numbers, they realized the Trojans likely would remain in Class 7A as the IHSA has projected all season.

C-G, which was the smallest Class 7A school in the projected outlook this week, wound up as the fifth-smallest when the football playoff pairings were released Saturday night. The Trojans (9-0) are the top seed in the northern half of Class 7A and will host No. 16 Niles North (5-4) in a first-round game.

“It doesn’t really make a difference,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said. “In any class you’re in, there’s quality competition. We feel like we’re one of the best teams in the state – what the heck? – let’s see where we are.”

The Trojans’ smallest winning margin of the season was 10 points in their opener against Wheaton North. C-G played for the Class 6A state championship in 2012 and has its sights set on returning to Champaign next month.

Eight local teams made the playoffs, with three other teams getting home games. Huntley (8-1) will host Palatine (7-2) in Class 8A, Johnsburg (8-1) will host Aurora Central Catholic (5-4) in Class 4A and Crystal Lake Central (7-2) will host Hinsdale South (7-2) in Class 6A.

The other games involving local teams have Alden-Hebron (5-4) visiting Christian Life (9-0) in Class 1A, Richmond-Burton (6-3) at Dixon (7-2) in Class 4A, Marian Central (5-4) at Chicago Solorio (8-1) in Class 5A and Prairie Ridge (6-3) at Lakes (8-1) in Class 6A.

Jacobs and Marengo, both 5-4 teams, came up short with playoff points. Jacobs had 39 and missed by four spots, Marengo had 36.

Huntley is back in the playoffs for a second time in three seasons under coach John Hart.

“We need to clean up some things,” Hart said. “To be honest, we kind of knew with the teams left we were going to play a great team no matter what. We’re hosting a game, that’s what we wanted to do.”

Johnsburg, which was 1-26 in its previous three seasons, is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2009, when Houston Texans tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz was its star wide receiver-linebacker.

“[Aurora Central Catholic] plays some good teams in their conference [Metro Suburban West],” Skyhawks coach Mike Maloney said. “We talked to our leaders and we’re 0-0, it’s the second season now. It’s prepare well and play well or put the pads away. I’m looking forward in seeing them in that environment.”

Crystal Lake Central coach Matt Fralick thought his team had a shot at getting a home game.

“We were kind of expecting it,” Fralick said. “The last four weeks we’ve been playing well in all three phases, getting better every week. Hopefully that momentum carries us into the playoffs.”

Also in Class 6A, Prairie Ridge gets its same first-round opponent as last year in Lakes. The Wolves, as a No. 13 seed, upset the Eagles last year.

“We know they have a lot of their team back from last year,” Wolves coach Chris Schremp said. “They’re an experienced playoff team and will be out for a little revenge after we upset them. We might have caught them a little bit by surprise last year.”

C-G has the longest current playoff streak among area teams with 11, but R-B is next with eight. The Rockets head to Dixon in a matchup of Big Northern Conference teams from opposite divisions.

“We’re glad to be in. We’ve done some little things the last couple weeks that we weren’t doing earlier that helped us,” R-B coach Pat Elder said. “Our kids have responded and played well.”

Marian Central needed to win its game Friday against St. Patrick to qualify, but Hurricanes coach Ed Brucker feels his team can be a threat.

“I think [Solorio] is a good draw,” Brucker said. “I can’t complain, except for the travel. We feel like we can do something.”

A-H is in the playoffs for the 11th time in 12 seasons under coach John Lalor, but the Giants had some anxious moments, even with 40 playoff points.

“I stayed in the office until 1:30 [Saturday morning],” Lalor said. “I was a little bit worried. I thought maybe we’d be Mr. Irrelevant.”

Jacobs thought it was going to get a berth after winning at McHenry Friday, then getting help from three of its opponents who won – Barrington, St. Charles East and Whitney Young. The Golden Eagles came up one point short.

Jacobs coach Bill Mitz had been to the playoffs for 25 consecutive seasons, 21 at Stevenson and four at Jacobs.

“ We really felt good about [Friday],” Mitz said. “I feel sorry for the kids, we were at school everybody was excited. It’s unfortunate. Now it really sets in with me. Every single game in the state matters in playoff time. A few weeks ago, Grayslake Central [one of Jacobs’ opponents] missed an extra point against Danville and could have won that game. You think about this and that and everything that happens.”