High school football notes: Marengo coach Matt Lynch’s risks show faith in his players

Marengo football coach Matt Lynch preached to his players that Saturday’s Class 4A quarterfinal playoff game against Rockford Lutheran was just like any other game.

It was the Indians’ first playoff quarterfinal in 18 years, and they were playing one of the state’s best 4A teams in the past three seasons, but Lynch was determined to make it like any other game.

That meant taking some gambles early in the game, such as a fake punt and going on fourth down, both in Marengo territory. It sent a message to the players about the confidence the coaches had in them.

Although those plays didn’t work, giving Lutheran short fields on which it scored, the Indians overcame them later with a 38-28 victory.

On the first series, Lynch went on a fake punt with speedy Jarrell Jackson, but Jackson was stopped for a loss on the Indians’ 20. Later in the quarter, Marengo ran Kyle Gara on fourth-and-1 at their 41 and he was dropped at the a 39-yard line.

“Those guys know we believe in them and they believe in us,” Lynch said. “To us, it’s not taking a risk. It’s what we did all year. We have all the faith in the world in them and we just play football. That’s it.”

That belief was prevalent on the sideline as the Indians (12-0) fell behind, 21-6, in the first quarter. The coaches assured the players they were all right and the players never panicked. The defense held the Crusaders to only one more touchdown as Marengo earned its way back into the semifinals for the first time since 1997.

“We kept our cool, kept our heads in the game, came out in the second half and turned things around and finished the game,” said senior Kwinn Velasquez, who starts on both lines.

Chasing Robinson: Jarrell Jackson, who plays receiver and defensive back, made a pivotal play in the fourth quarter when he caught Lutheran running back James Robinson after a 55-yard gain to the Indians' 4.

Robinson dived for the end zone a couple plays later and as he reached the ball out, it popped loose. Marengo defensive back Jarren Jackson recovered it in the end zone. A touchdown would have put the Crusaders ahead 35-31 at that moment.

“I just ran as fast as I could,” Jarrell Jackson said. “I was hoping I would get him. I saw they were running the screen and I immediately had to start sprinting down the field and get him out of bounds.”

Slower start: Prairie Ridge found itself in unfamiliar territory Saturday against Riverside-Brookfield, as the Wolves’ triple-option attack had trouble getting started in a 42-13 Class 6A playoff quarterfinal win.

The Wolves, who entered the game averaging 51.7 points a game, went scoreless in the first quarter after their first three offensive series ended in two punts and a turnover on downs.

A week after getting 20 first downs in the first half against Lake Forest, Prairie Ridge had only two first downs in the first 12 minutes.

It wasn't until the first of two interceptions by defensive back Nick Greenberg to start the second quarter that the Wolves were able to move the ball on offense and find the end zone: a 10-play, 60-yard drive capped by an 11-yard pitch to wingback Cole Brown with 7:11 left in the second quarter.

The Wolves (11-1) went on to win, 42-13, advancing to their fourth semifinal in 19 years, but 105 yards in penalties and four turnovers (three fumbles, one interception) on offense were a big area for concern for coach Chris Schremp as his team prepares to face Montini, a five-time state champion, in the semifinals.

“The offense didn't really play well today. I wasn't too happy with it,” Schremp said. “Too many penalties set us back. It's hard when you're first-and-15, first-and-20 and trying to make that up. Riverside-Brookfield was physical. They played really well on their D-line. They came out and played tough up front.”

One of those penalties negated a 53-yard Samson Evans touchdown in the third quarter. On the next play, Evans fumbled, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs in Wolves' territory.

“That first half, we all came out slow,” said Evans, who finished with 179 yards rushing on 29 carries. “We all came out thinking that we can just come here and win this game. Soon after that, we figured that nothing was going our way and we knew we had to pick it up. And in that second half, we picked it up like we should have in the first half.”

Senior fullback Nathan Griffin, who had 86 yards on 16 carries and three touchdowns, said the Wolves made adjustments at halftime that helped turn the offense around.

“We didn't come out physical enough, and it kind of reminded us of that first game of the year (a 21-14 loss to Cary-Grove on Aug. 28),” Griffin said. “And we needed to come out and fix it.”

The Wolves executed on their first offensive play from scrimmage in the second half, a 50-yard run by Samson Evans to give Prairie Ridge a 28-7 lead.

Job well done: Cary-Grove receiver Jimmy Freskos did not show up in the statistics after the Trojans’ 42-21 victory over Batavia in a Class 7A quarterfinal, but his teammates appreciate Freskos’ work.

Freskos is masterful at downfield blocking from his position and sprung running back Ryan Magel for a key 46-yard TD that gave the Trojans a 14-7 lead just before halftime.

In their second-round game, running back Kevin Hughes scored on a similar play with Freskos delivering another key block. In Saturday’s game, Freskos appeared to block a Bulldogs player into another to free up Magel.