High school football: Crystal Lake South hoping to become playoff-eligible with Friday win

Entering the final week of last season, the Crystal Lake South football team put itself in an almost impossible position: beat undefeated Cary-Grove and become playoff-eligible.

The Gators didn’t do either, getting blown out by the Trojans, 47-7, finishing with a 4-5 record and missing the postseason in back-to-back years after making it in their previous 12.

Quarterback Luke Nolan was there, as a sophomore, starting in his second varsity game and getting his first look at the eventual Class 7A state runner-up. He completed 1 of 4 passes for 9 yards and an interception.

Looking back, Nolan was grateful for the opportunity to start South’s final game of 2014, even though the 40-point drubbing at the hands of the Trojans signified an early start to the offseason.

“It helped a lot because I knew this year we probably wouldn’t face a team as good as that Cary-Grove team,” said Nolan, who is seventh in the area with 562 passing yards. “It got the nerves out. I just learned that, if you make mistakes, good teams will capitalize. You can’t make mistakes. You can’t drop snaps. You have to be perfect.”

At 7 p.m. Friday, Nolan and the Gators (4-1 overall, 1-0 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division) host Dundee-Crown (1-4, 0-1) with a chance to become playoff-eligible for the first time in three years.

South finishes on the road against Huntley, Jacobs and Cary-Grove, making Friday’s homecoming matchup against the Chargers a must-win scenario, according to Nolan and his teammates. About 6,000 are expected to attend.

“The coaches have been saying at practice all week that this is like a championship game for us, and that’s how we should be treating it,” sophomore fullback Kyle Leva said.

“Oh, yeah,” Nolan added. “We’ve got to win this one.”

South struggled for offensive consistency last year, but Nolan (five touchdowns, one interception) and Leva (team-high 362 rushing yards, four touchdowns) have helped stabilize things for the Gators, who have averaged more than 30 points a game since losing to Marian Central, 21-14, to open the season.

Gators coach Chuck Ahsmann said Nolan’s steady play has been a calming influence on the rest of the offense. Nolan’s top receivers are Drew Murtaugh (team-high 192 yards, three touchdowns) and Matt Meyers, but South also targets its backfield often, including Scott Coughlin.

“He’s not one of those kids who gets too upset if he makes a mistake, and he usually knows the mistake before he even gets to the sideline,” Ahsmann said. “It’s a personality a lot different than mine. It’s hard to get too mad when he knows exactly what he did wrong and you know he’ll be able to correct it next time.”

In last week’s 24-21 win against McHenry, Leva stepped in for injured senior Corey Sheehan (ankle), who led South with 854 rushing yards last year. Leva ran for 113 yards on 20 carries, while senior Dylan Sambrano ran for two scores.

“Every week he’s getting a little better,” Ahsmann said of Leva. “It’s a big change when you go from the freshman level all the way to the varsity level. He’s getting used to the speed, and he’s done a great job for us.”

Leva said Sheehan helped him a lot in the offseason. It also helps to run behind the Gators' big offensive line that includes Kevin Amren, Trevor Keegan, Quinn McCoy and Enok Dragon.

“He’s great; he taught me a lot over the summer,” Leva said of Sheehan. “A lot of the running techniques, like how to read the holes in this offense. ... This level is a lot faster and the hits are harder, but I got used to it pretty fast.”

South beat D-C by 18 points last year, but the Gators aren’t taking the Chargers lightly.

“They have a really good running back and they have big offensive linemen,” Ahsmann said. “… Everything is on this game.”

South also has a one-touchdown loss to Marian Central, ranked No. 7 in the Class 5A Associated Press Poll, to give it some extra confidence with four regular-season games remaining.

“That game definitely put a lot of stuff in perspective,” Leva said. “Why can’t it be us? I think it really gives us an extra drive. But we still need to get to the playoffs before we can do anything.”