High school football preview 2015: Cary-Grove

Quick hits

Coach: Brad Seaburg (fifth season, 41-9)

2014 record: 13-1 overall, FVC Valley champion (7A state runner-up)

Fast fact: Cary-Grove has made the playoffs 11 consecutive seasons, the longest current string in the area, and are 28-10 in the postseason since 2004.

Scouting report

• The graduation losses hit hard for the Class 7A state runners-up, with 16 players who started gone, led by three-year starters Trevor Ruhland, Michael Gomez and Matt Sutherland. But C-G’s program sustains excellence and the Trojans expect to be back in the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season.

• FB-LB Tyler Pennington ran for an area-best 1,788 yards and 34 touchdowns and will again be a focal point in C-G’s option attack. QB J.P. Sullivan takes over for two-year starter Jason Gregoire to run the offense.

• The entire defense, along with the offensive line, are areas where the Trojans will have to improve to compete. Only Pennington and DL Alex Prendergast return on defense, while TEs Erik Norberg and Jimmy Freskos, RB Kevin Hughes and OL Owen Henriques are back on offense.

• Along with Sullivan, RB-LB Kyle Pressley, RB-FS Max Skol, LB Kevin Pedersen, RB-S Ryan Magel, OL Colton Ruhland and Zach Cohen and K Collin Walsh should be new players who make impacts.

• Several C-G reserves saw good amounts of playing time last season in lopsided victories, which Seaburg considers a positive for this year. “We have a number of players who are extremely driven and want to continue the success of the program,” Seaburg said. “If we stay healthy and continue to improve throughout the year, we expect to have a chance at the division championship, as well as a deep run in the playoffs.”

What makes them better

Seaburg likes the bonding the Trojans get with their annual three-day camp at Wisconsin-Whitewater. The trip is mainly football-intensive, but there also is time for character-building activities. The team watched the movie “Act of Valor,” about Navy SEALs dealing with terrorists, then talked about lessons from the movie could be applied to football, the classroom and life in general. “We talk about what it takes to be a good man, a good husband, a good father and things like that,” Seaburg said.

Schedule

Date Opponent Time

Aug. 28 Prairie Ridge           7:15 p.m.

Sept. 4 Lake Zurich 7:15p.m.

Sept. 11 Grayslake North 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 18 @ Woodstock North 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 25 @ Huntley* 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 2 @ McHenry* 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 10 Jacobs* 1 p.m.

Oct. 16 @ Dundee-Crown* 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 23 Crystal Lake South* 7:15 p.m.

*-FVC Valley Division games