Cary-Grove runs away from Crystal Lake South after early turnovers

CRYSTAL LAKE – Cary-Grove looked to grab the early momentum Friday in their Fox Valley Conference game against Crystal Lake South, but a lost fumble on the Trojans’ first play spoiled any chance of that.

South capitalized on the mistake with a Michael Prokos 22-yard touchdown pass from Caden Casimino, and the Gators found themselves with the ball once again after the Trojans fumbled the ensuing kickoff.

Cary-Grove’s defense, however, was up to the task and held South on its next possession. The Trojans’ offense responded with a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by one of four touchdown runs from sophomore fullback Logan Abrams.

The Trojans went on to score on four consecutive possessions and rolled up 397 yards on the ground to run away from the Gators 47-21 at Al Bohrer Field.

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Gary - Grove's Andrew Prio runs for a gain against Crystal Lake South on Friday, Oct. 13 2023 in Cary Grove. (Karen Naess for Shaw Local News Network)

“One of the things we really wanted to do was to take the momentum from them right away,” Trojans coach Brad Seaburg said. “I just think everybody picked each other up. It wasn’t really a message to them.

“We just have to take care of the ball, and the rest will take care of itself.”

Although the Trojans (6-2, 6-2 FVC) turned the ball over four times, the offense still was able to get on track with Abrams and running back Andrew Prio churning out big yards.

Abrams finished with 189 yards and four touchdowns, and Prio racked up 149 yards and scored twice, including 67-yard and 15-yard touchdowns that gave the Trojans a commanding 28-7 lead with 4:18 left in the first half.

Then, it was Abrams’ turn for a long run as the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder ran over a defender at South’s 46-yard line on his way to a 53-yard score. C-G led 34-7 at half.

Abrams, who fumbled on the Trojans’ first play, was eager to get the ball back.

“You just have to move on,” Abrams said of his early fumble. “You can fix that in practice, you can’t worry about it. I just wanted to come back and show what I can do better.”

Along with a fourth score from Abrams in the second half, quarterback Peyton Seaburg (added an 11-yard TD.

“A team like Cary, they’ll never go away. It takes a lot before a team like that is going to be affected by a couple of turnovers.”

—  Rob Fontana, Crystal Lake South coach

The field already was soaked with a few muddy spots on the field before it started to rain significantly at the start of the second half.

Senior offensive lineman Kelly Mace said the Trojans didn’t mind.

Led up front by a combination of Mace, Anthony Cruz, Lucas Burton, Jack Hissong, Samuel Diaz and Luca Vivaldelli, C-G ran the ball 45 times, averaging 8.2 yards a carry.

“The worse weather, the better,” Mace said. “We tend to prevail in this. Rough start, but a great finish. I think we have the same basic plays from summer and we keep building on those plays, executing them perfectly.

“You don’t need a big menu when you do everything to a ‘T.’”

South (3-5, 3-5) threw the ball 12 times in the first quarter as it looked to beat the Trojans through the air.

Quarterback Caden Casimino was 15-of-27 passing for 109 yards and a touchdown, while the Gators ran for only 27 yards.

Wide receiver Michael Prokos, who was returning from an ankle injury he suffered in Week 2, threw the ball three times in the second half, including a 34-yard touchdown pass to Colton Hess (7 catches, 115 yards).

Prokos also caught six balls for 57 yards, including the game’s opening score.

South coach Rob Fontana said he fully expected the Trojans to punch back after the early turnovers.

“A team like Cary, they’ll never go away,” Fontana said. “It takes a lot before a team like that is going to be affected by a couple of turnovers. Abrams is a machine, he’s built like Mike Alstott, and he’s only a sophomore. We knew coming in with the weather that it was going to be a heavy dose of him and [Prio].

“Prio is lightning, so we really wanted to make sure we didn’t get him out in space and he got out there a couple of times on us.”

Cary-Grove 47, Crystal Lake South 21

CL South 7 0 7 7 – 21

Cary-Grove 14 20 7 6 – 47

First quarter

CLS-Prokos 22 pass from Casimino (Semradek kick), 10:00

CG-Abrams 4 run (Apgar kick), 5:56

CG-Abrams 1 run (Apgar kick), 3:28

Second quarter

CG-Prio 67 run (Apgar kick), 9:59

CG-Prio 15 run (Apgar kick), 4:18

CG-Abrams 53 run (kick missed), 2:33

Third quarter

CLS-Prokos 3 run (Semradek kick), 5:33

CG-Abrams 1 run (Apgar kick), 0:31

Fourth quarter

CG-Seaburg 9 run (kick missed), 11:52

CLS-Hess 34 pass from Prokos (Semradek kick), 5:20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Crystal Lake South: Christensen 10-21, Prokos 6-10, Burburija 4-12, Casimino 3-5, Team 6-minus 21. Totals: 29-27. Cary-Grove: Abrams 21-189, Prio 11-149, Delatorre 6-40, Seaburg 4-20, Boone 2-0, Lummis 1-minus 1: Totals: 45-397.

PASSING–Crystal Lake South: Casimino 15-27-0-109. Prokos: 3-3-0-80. Cary-Grove: None.

RECEIVING–Crystal Lake South: Hess 7-115, Prokos 6-57, Summers 2-9, Demirov 2-5, Christensen 1-3. Cary-Grove: None.

TOTAL YARDS: CL South 216, Cary-Grove 397.