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GRAYSLAKE – With leading rusher Jacob Sumner unable to go Friday after suffering an ankle injury in last week’s loss to McHenry, the rallying cry for the Blue Streaks this week was “next man up.”
That man would be senior Kyle Casson, who entering Friday’s football game had three total carries on the season. Casson was up to the challenge, as he and Woodstock put together a solid team effort and hung on to defeat Grayslake Central, 20-14, in a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division game at William C. Eiserman Field.
Casson knew all week he would get the bulk of the carries and he delivered. The senior showed off his fresh legs by scoring all three of the Blue Streak touchdowns and finished with a team high 78 yards rushing on 22 carries.
“We really started off well, but kind of let them back on the game in the second half,” Casson said. “We are happy to come home with a win, but we have a lot of room for improvement and will look to get better these next few games.”
Woodstock (2-3, 1-1 FVC Fox) controlled things in the first half with 226 yards compared to only 37 for the Rams. The momentum seemed to shift in the second half after Woodstock was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the one yard line just before halftime.
Grayslake Central (0-5, 0-1) scored two fourth quarter scores, but the Woodstock defense bent a little in the second half, but didn’t break. With the win, Woodstock already has doubled its total win total from a year ago.
“I was really proud of how we played in the first half and thought we really buckled down on defense,” Woodstock coach Tommy Thompson said. “Kyle [Casson] did a great job for us with Jacob Sumner unable to go. We seem to let teams back in it in the second half, and I'm happy we were able to win a close game.”
Unsung Hero
Jake Rowan
Woodstock, junior, linebacker
Rowan forced and recovered a fumble on a quarterback sack inside the 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter to shift the momentum back to the Blue Streaks.
The Number
37: Total number of yards Woodstock held Grayslake Central to in the first half.
And Another Thing
Woodstock controlled the possession in the first half thanks to a balanced rushing and passing attack. The Rams only ran 20 plays in the first half compared to 43 for the Blue Streaks.
Woodstock 20, Grayslake Central 14
Woodstock 6 7 7 0 - 20
Grayslake Central 0 0 0 14 - 14
First quarter
W-Casson 13 run (run failed), 1:14
Second quarter
W-Casson 6 run (Brown kick), 7:36
Third quarter
W-Casson 10 run (Brown kick), 6:54
Fourth quarter
GLC-Comerford 7 pass from Shepherd (Shallenberg kick), 11:48
GLC-Comerford 44 pass from Shepherd (Shallenberg kick), 3:45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING- Woodstock: Casson 22-78, Halilaj 10-35, N. Thompson 5-34, Cullum 8-13, Sundberg 2 -26, Wright 1-7, Hogue 1 - -10. Totals: 49-183 .
Grayslake Central: Comerford 6-23, Andrews 3- -3, Shepherd 5- -29 . Totals 14- -9 .
PASSING-Woodstock: Cullum 15-32-0-175 . Grayslake Central: Shepherd 15-28-0-227 .
RECEIVING-Woodstock: N.Thompson 6-51, Jandernoa 3-56, Kruse 2-12, Brainard 2-29, Wright 1-21, Sundberg 1-6. Grayslake Central: Comerford 4-77, Schrimpf 4-62, Parker 3-47, Nozicka 2-25, Dorlack 1-7, Andrews 1-9.
TOTAL TEAM YARDS: Woodstock 358, Grayslake Central 218.