High school football: Cary-Grove adds pass to triple-option attack

Cary-Grove football coach Brad Seaburg had a pretty good idea that the Trojans’ triple-option offense would be in good hands with Ben McDonald at quarterback this season.

McDonald played linebacker last season for C-G, although he considers himself a quarterback by trade. He is a senior, as was last year’s starter Quinn Priester, but Priester played a level ahead through high school, leaving McDonald to quarterback the freshman team, then the sophomore team.

Now, McDonald has the offense rolling as the Trojans’ leading rusher with 582 yards. He also has completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 588 yards and seven touchdowns.

“I like quarterback better,” McDonald said, smiling. “There’s more responsibility. I really like how we’re clicking right now. We have a lot of things to get better on, but I like where we’re at.”

C-G (5-0, 5-0 Fox Valley Conference) is ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press Class 6A poll. The Trojans’ offense, with fullback Blake Skol and running backs Danny Daigle and Zach Perrone, still leans heavily on the run. But with McDonald throwing to Priester and Daigle, they have one of their most proficient passing attacks ever.

Priester, a TCU baseball commit as a pitcher, competed in numerous high-level showcases over the summer and missed a lot of football preparation time, so Seaburg moved McDonald to quarterback and uses Priester at wide receiver and sometimes at defensive back.

Priester caught two more touchdown passes in Saturday’s 55-15 victory over Dundee-Crown and embraces his new role.

“They’re doing about what we thought they could do,” Seaburg said. “They’re getting better as far as getting in rhythm and when guys make cuts. The more they have experience together you think of how much better they’ll be.”

The Trojans still run their option with precision, and the threat of a passing game makes them even more difficult to defend.

“We knew Ben could throw the passes we need him to throw in our offense,” Seaburg said. “He’s real precise, he has a quick release. He kind of has an unconventional delivery, he kind of slings it a little bit, but he puts it where our guys can catch it.”

Great grab: Johnsburg wide receiver Augie Lichtenstein made a memorable catch during a scoring drive when he snagged a pass from quarterback Alec Smith with one hand against Woodstock.

Lichtenstein gained 18 yards, breaking a couple of tackles and nearly scored before being tackled at the 2. Lichtenstein was running a crossing pattern and reached up with his right hand for the catch.

“It was just instinct,” Lichtenstein said. “I didn’t really think about it. After I trucked a kid, I didn’t think I was going to get that far. I should have made it in there.”

Johnsburg (4-1, 3-0 Kishwaukee River Conference) won, 51-17, for its fourth consecutive victory.

New QB: Jacobs has played without running back Stephen Kavanaugh all season and lost offensive tackle Joey Price, who has several NCAA Division I offers, with a knee injury.

The Golden Eagles (3-2) may now be without senior quarterback Anthony Wilson, who suffered a knee injury in Friday’s 38-21 nonconference loss to Neuqua Valley.

Eagles coach Bill Mitz will turn to junior Cole Bhardwaj as starter. Bhardwaj said he had repetitions in three of Jacobs’ previous four games. Against Neuqua Valley, he played a quarter and a half in relief of Wilson.

“My goal each week is to get more comfortable each time, with the speed of the game and all my guys out there,” Bhardwaj said.

By the time Bhardwaj came into the game, Neuqua Valley had it well in hand.

“I believe we have one of the best [offensive] lines in the conference,” Bhardwaj said after the game. “[Neuqua Valley was] just one step faster.”

Bhardwaj completed 7 of 15 passes for 108 yards. He threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Klein in the final minute of the game.

Before hurting his knee, Wilson had completed 5 of 9 passes for 73 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Wilson’s status for next week when the Eagles face Prairie Ridge was unclear.

• Sean Hammond contributed to this report.