Sycamore takes care of Woodstock North, improves to 7-0

WOODSTOCK – Sycamore quarterback Burke Gautcher had a pair of rushing touchdowns in a season-opening win over DeKalb, but since then the Spartans junior has done most of his damage through the air.

During Saturday’s 42-6 Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 White Division win against Woodstock North, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder showed why he’s such a tough player to bring down once he gets moving.

On the Spartans’ opening possession from North’s 23-yard line, Gautcher shed a tackle from Thunder safety Max Dennison at the 15, stayed upright and ran free to the end zone.

Sycamore coach Joe Ryan joked about Gautcher’s lack of rushing touchdowns after the win.

“It’s about time for him to have a touchdown run, wasn’t it?” Ryan said. “If I ran him 35 times a game, I’m sure he’d have quite a few more. He’s not bad.”

Four of the Spartans’ five offensive touchdowns against North came on the ground, with senior Diego Garcia scoring from 4 and 3 yards out, and junior Dylan Hodges collecting a 7-yard score that gave Sycamore a 28-0 halftime lead.

Gautcher gave all credit to his offensive line for his touchdown run.

“It was nice. It was all good blocking,” Gautcher said of the 23-yard touchdown, the Spartans’ longest run of the game. “I don’t really know what happened to be honest. I just kind of broke the tackle and I kept running.”

Despite putting up 42 points, Ryan felt Sycamore’s offense was somewhat out of sync. A mishandled snap on the third play of the game gave the Spartans a fourth-and-3 on their own 22, but Dylan Hodges ran for 4 yards to keep the drive going.

The Spartans (7-0, 4-0) were averaging almost 34 points a game entering Saturday. They host La Salle-Peru in Week 8 and travel to Morris in Week 9.

“I felt like we seemed a little lethargic,” Ryan said. “We’ve still got some things to work on and things we have to clean up. We’re still trying to find ourselves offensively at times, but we can do so much and that allows us to be successful.”

Junior tight end-linebacker Kyle Prebil had a huge game for the Spartans, scoring on both offense and defense. He had a 45-yard interception return to give his team a 14-0 lead with 3:45 left in the first quarter.

He also connected with Gautcher, who finished 4-of-9 passing for 89 yards and led the team with 63 yards rushing, for a 35-yard TD to open the scoring in the third quarter.

Prebil had to readjust quickly on his interception.

“I read run, ran over and realized it was a pass and had to drop back,” Prebil said. “He threw it over my head, I jumped, I snagged it, and after that I was off to the races. Just trying to find white (jerseys), run with them and get some blocks.

“It feels good. Our defense works hard all year, so getting paid feels nice.”

Woodstock North senior quarterback Landan Creighton finished 7-of-14 passing for 101 yards and two interceptions.

Colton Sharpness had Sycamore’s second interception, picking off Creighton on the sideline to set up the Spartans’ final score and a running clock late in the third quarter.

Fullback Kaden Combs led North with 53 rushing yards on 10 carries, and Dennison had a team-high three catches for 60 yards. Parker Menzel added an interception for the Thunder.

Trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, North almost had an 80-yard touchdown run when Creighton kept the ball on a mesh, but an inadvertent whistle nullified the play.

“That’s always tough, and before every game the refs ask if there’s anything they need to know,” North coach Matt Polnow said. “And I say we’re a triple-option (team), so be slow on the whistle. It’s frustrating, but it’s not under our control.”

The Thunder end their season against Kaneland and Sandwich.

“The seniors have eight days left of practice, so I just want the kids to have fun and improve,” Polnow said.

Sycamore 42, Woodstock North 6

Sycamore 14 14 14 0 – 42

Woodstock North 0 0 0 6 – 6

First quarter

S-Gautcher 23 run (Friedrichs kick), 7:33

S-Prebil 45 interception return (Friedrichs kick), 3:45

Second quarter

S-Hodges 7 run (Friedrichs kick), 9:34

S-D. Garcia 4 run (Friedrichs kick), 2:58

Third quarter

S-Prebil 35 pass from Gautcher (Friedrichs kick), 7:51

S-D. Garcia 3 run (Friedrichs kick) 2:57

Fourth quarter

WN–Creighton 3 run (kick missed), 2:45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Sycamore: Gautcher 6-63, Curtis 6-16, Hodges 5-18, D. Garcia 5-17, Howieson 2-10, Team 2-minus 5. Totals: 26-119. Woodstock North: Combs 10-53, Creighton 5-11, D. Randecker 4-16, Halihan 6-24, Dennison 6-9, Kingos 1-minus 5, Team 3-minus 8. Totals: 35-100.

PASSING–Sycamore: Gautcher 4-9-1-89. Woodstock North: Creighton 7-14-2-101.

RECEIVING–Sycamore: York 2-22, Friedrichs 1-32, Prebil 1-35. Woodstock North: Dennison 3-60, Halihan 1-12, Menzel 1-12, Kingos 1-7, Smiley 1-10.

TOTAL YARDS: Sycamore 208, Woodstock North 201.