High school football: Cary-Grove's Ryan Magel showing off speed of late

Former Cary-Grove running back Ryan Mahoney wore No. 4 and used to break off electrifying long runs for the Trojans from 2010 through 2012.

Larkin Hanselmann, a tiny burner of a wide receiver, also donned No. 4 and created many big plays in 2013 and 2014.

Ryan Magel is upholding the numerical tradition well for his predecessors. The junior running back has become the home-run hitter for the Trojans, averaging 10.9 yards a carry while doing his work around the outside on their triple-option offense.

“We like pitching the ball to the outside,” Magel said. “Basically, that’s how the triple-option works, you never know what you’re going to get.”

Magel has 754 yards rushing and nine touchdowns for the No. 5-seeded Trojans (11-1), who face No. 1 Glenbard West (12-0) in a Class 7A football playoff quarterfinal game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Glenbard South. The game was moved to South because that school has a synthetic turf field.

“It seems like the defense every week tries to take out one of them, and then the other guy has a big game and that’s what’s happened,” Trojans quarterback J.P. Sullivan said. “That’s what has led to our success.”

As defenses concentrate on slowing down fullback Tyler Pennington, a must to beat an option team, the Trojans find room for Magel and Kevin Hughes on the edges. Magel, the Trojans’ fastest player, has provided a threat similar to what Mahoney did.

“I talked to him every once in a while,” Magel said. “I met him when we did stuff in the summer. He messaged me on Facebook a few times. My confidence level has gotten high over the last few games getting the ball a little more. Our confidence as a team has gone up.”

Trojans coach Brad Seaburg agrees that opposing defenses have dictated going outside to Magel more often.

“It happens that Ryan’s number’s been getting called here the last couple of games,” Seaburg said. “There’s no secret, Ryan has a lot of speed. He’s very, very fast. He’s very meticulous with understanding what we want to do on offense. He’s a details guy.”

A classic example of what Magel can do came just before halftime in last week’s 42-21 victory over Batavia. C-G trailed, 7-6, and faced fourth-and-3 from the Bulldogs’ 46. Batavia expected Pennington to get the ball. Instead, Magel raced around left end for a touchdown that put the Trojans ahead for good.

Magel added two more touchdowns, from 6 and 31 yards, in the second half and finished with nine carries for 122 yards.

“He has that speed,” Seaburg said. “Each game it’s kind of been how it’s falling out where he’s the guy the ball’s going to. The game has kind of gone his way. The blocking on the perimeter was tremendous on Saturday.”

Magel teamed with another running back, Robbie Gleeson, and with Michael Saxon and Jeff Yokup to take ninth in the Class 3A 4x400-meter relay at the state track and field meet in May. Sullivan said the Trojans appreciate Magel’s attitude, as well as his wheels.

“He’s always trying to get better,” Sullivan said. “He’s one of those kids who’s never satisfied with what he’s doing, no matter what. He’s always asking for tips from the coaches. He’s just a real hard worker and it’s paying off with all these big games he’s having. He’s a big part of our offense right now.”