High school football: Cary-Grove set for tough matchup against Niles Notre Dame in Class 6A semifinals

The Cary-Grove seniors were 9 years old when the Trojans won the 2009 Class 6A state championship.

“Me and my friends have dreamed about this since we started putting on the helmet in like first grade,” senior Danny Daigle said.

In 2018, the biggest goal remains attainable for Daigle and his teammates. Next up is a Class 6A state semifinal game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Niles Notre Dame.

The matchup pits the No. 1-seeded Trojans (12-0) against the No. 6-seeded Dons (10-2). The winner plays in the Class 6A state championship game at 1 p.m. Nov. 24 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Notre Dame is one of four East Suburban Catholic Conference teams playing in IHSA semifinals.

For the first time in five weeks, C-G will head on the road.

“We’ve been playing playoff teams for the last five weeks,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said. “And our conference prepares us really well, too, for the playoffs."

C-G has passed each test, including last week’s 34-24 win over Chicago Phillips, which was the defending Class 5A champion.

Notre Dame has reached this point without scoring more than 17 points in any one playoff game but has limited opponents to three touchdowns in three postseason games. The Dons are playing in their second state semifinal in school history and first since they finished as the Class 5A state runner-up in 1989.

“They seem to be a team that’s playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Seaburg said. “Any time a team has confidence, they’re dangerous. We’re playing with a lot of confidence as well, but we’re aware of how good a team these guys are and what kind of challenge they present for us.”

Both teams beat their one common opponent, Crystal Lake South, with the Dons dispatching the Gators, 17-7, in the second round. C-G beat South, 29-22, in Week 1.

Notre Dame running back Ty Gavin will attract much of the defense’s focus. Gavin is a Class 6A All-State performer who has rushed for 1,271 yards and 20 touchdowns on 186 carries. Gavin has dealt with an ankle injury since Week 8 but carried the ball more than 20 times in each of the past two games.

Notre Dame quarterback Anthony Sayles, a sophomore, is athletic (he holds a Division I basketball offer from Southern Illinois) and isn’t afraid to escape the pocket and run.

“He can run; he can throw,” Notre Dame coach Mike Hennessey said. “The biggest thing he brings to our huddle is a calmness and confidence that we’re going to get the job done.”

Sayles has run for 725 yards on 77 carries, while throwing for 1,213 yards.

Hennessey said C-G’s willingness to pass out of the triple option offense has led to “more film, more study.”

“As they diversify their offense, it makes it a lot harder on opponents,” Hennessey said. “Obviously, it’s one of the great reasons why they’ve had a lot of success.”

Hennessey has coached the Dons for more than 30 years, including the 1989 run to the state championship game. Notre Dame competed in the Class 8A playoffs four of the past five years but received a waiver this season from the nonboundaried school multiplier, which dropped it to 6A.

C-G seeks its fifth trip to the state championship game in school history and its third under Seaburg.

No. 1 Cary-Grove (12-0) at No. 6 Niles Notre Dame (10-2)

When: 3 p.m. Saturday

About the Trojans: C-G is playing in a semifinal for the fifth time in 10 years. The Trojans are 3-1 in the previous four semifinal games and won the Class 6A state championship in 2009. … C-G defeated Chicago Phillips, 34-24, in their quarterfinal game. FB Blake Skol ran for 134 yards, and RB Danny Daigle ran for 109 and three touchdowns to lead the Trojans. … QB Ben McDonald had 1,307 passing yards and 1,178 rushing. He has 23 rushing touchdowns and 17 passing, with only one interception. Skol leads C-G with 1,234 yards rushing. … OT-DT Addison West, who will play at NCAA Division I Western Michigan, was named to the IFCA Class 6A All-State Team this week.

About the Dons: Notre Dame defeated Antioch, 17-10, in their quarterfinal to advance to a semifinal for the first time since 1989. The Dons were Class 5A runners-up to Chicago Mount Carmel that year. … Notre Dame was Class 8A in 2013, 2015 and 2016 but received a waiver on the IHSA multiplier because it had not won a playoff game since 2013. … RB-DB Ty Gavin was selected to the IFCA Class 6A All-State Team this week and leads the Dons in rushing. Gavin has been battling an ankle injury late in the season. He has 1,271 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns. … QB Anthony Sayles has rushed for 725 yards and thrown for 1,213 yards with eight touchdowns. … RB Julian Schurr leads the Dons with 35 receptions. … LBs Patrick Carden and Anthony Ranaloo lead the team in tackles.

Up next: The winner advances to state championship game at 1 p.m. Nov. 24 in Champaign against the winner between No. 1 Richards (12-0) at No. 11 Crete-Monee (9-3).