High school football: Cary-Grove runs past Lake Zurich

CARY – After a 4-yard quarterback keeper from J.P. Sullivan that gave Cary-Grove the ball on the Lake Zurich 22 and a resulting fourth-and-1, the Bears – and many of the spectators at Al Bohrer Field – were expecting the Trojans to simply hand off to their bruiser: 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior fulllback Tyler Pennington.

In Cary-Grove's season-opening victory last week, after all, Pennington's number was called 40 times.

But, after a Trojans timeout, C-G opted instead to use running back Kyle Pressley on a pitch. The junior darted inside and then out toward the right sideline as he eluded tacklers before carrying a Lake Zurich defender into the end zone for the opening score.

Lake Zurich matched C-G with a score in the second, but the Trojans were able to keep the Bears off balance with a mixture of what Sullivan called a "five-headed monster" in the backfield en route to a 30-15 nonconference win.

"We just wanted to do what we do and run the ball hard; we knew it was fourth down, so we want to give that extra effort," said Pressley, who also made three catches for 80 yards. "... I was surprised (to get the carry), but I had to step up for my team."

Pennington still ran the ball 29 times for 142 yards, but C-G got big contributions from running backs Pressley, who also caught three passes for a game-high 80 yards, and Ryan Magel (nine rushes, 72 yards, two total touchdowns).

C-G coach Brad Seaburg said part of using Pressley on fourth down was because "Pennington has a target on his back," but Seaburg expects anyone on the team to execute in that situation.

"If I have to tell him something special to execute the play, we're not going to be very good this year," Seaburg said. "I think our kids just executed the play. We had nice blocking on the perimeter. ... Kyle's got a burst on the perimeter; he really hits it hard."

Magel added a 2-yard touchdown run late in the third that gave the Trojans a 30-7 lead before Lake Zurich scored on a 27-yard pass from quarterback Joey Lindstrom in the fourth.

UNSUNG HERO

Ryan Magel, RB, jr.

Magel was busy for the Trojans, rushing nine times for 72 yards and a touchdown. He added a 15-yard TD pass from J.P. Sullivan in the third quarter.

THE NUMBER

276: Rushing yards for Cary-Grove (42 for Lake Zurich)

AND ANOTHER THING...

J.P. Sullivan was a perfect 6 for 6 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns (Magel and Oscar Rivera): "[Lake Zurich] wasn't playing much over the top and they were giving us the pass game – it worked. The playaction was setting up the passing game for us and most of those were wide open."

Cary-Grove 30, Lake Zurich 15 Lake Zurich    0    7    0    8    –    15

Cary-Grove    7    14    9    0    –    30

First quarter

CG–Pressley 22 run (Walsh kick), 2:04

Second quarter

LZ–Roth 33 pass from Lindstrom (kick), 9:33

CG–Rivera 29 pass from Sullivan (Walsh kick), 5:05

CG–Magel 15 pass from Sullivan (Walsh kick), :33.9

Third quarter

CG–FG Walsh 27, 6:56

CG–Magel 2 run (kick blocked), :20.9

Fourth quarter

LZ–Baldaccini 27 pass from Lindstrom (Roth run), 4:38

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Cary-Grove: Tyler Pennington 29-142, J.P. Sullivan 9-18, Ryan Magel 9-72, Kyle Pressley 5-36, Gleeson 1-8. Totals: 51-276. Lake Zurich: Roth 13-38, Klett 4-13, Lindstrom 5-(-9). Totals: 22-42.

PASSING–Cary-Grove: J.P. Sullivan 6-6-0-136. Lake Zurich: Joey Lindstrom 15-21-0-182.

RECEIVING–Cary-Grove: Kyle Pressley 3-80, Oscar Rivera 1-29, Jimmy Freskos 1-12, Ryan Magel 1-15. Lake Zurich: Roth 3-49, Klett 3-25, A. Miler 4-33, Rothas 2-38, Coughenour 1-9, Sanders 1-1, Baldaccini 1-27.

TOTAL YARDS: Cary-Grove 412, Lake Zurich 224.

Sophomore score: Cary-Grove 19, Lake Zurich 16