Diego Garcia, Burke Gautcher nab early interceptions, power Sycamore past Evergreen Park

SYCAMORE – The Sycamore offense couldn’t get rolling on its first drive, netting 7 yards before punting against No. 12 seed Evergreen Park in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday.

But the Sycamore defense came up with interceptions on the next two Mustang drives, and the No. 5 seed Spartans scored on their next six drives in a 42-13 win.

“It’s great to see it come full circle with the interception and then the offense finishes it out,” Sycamore linebacker Diego Garcia said. “I was hoping for that. I knew from memory and past games after those turnovers we sort of come back and put it on them. I’m glad that we did.”

The Mustangs (6-4) did what Sycamore (9-1) couldn’t on its first drive, getting into their opponents’ territory. But facing a second-and-11 from the 45, Garcia intercepted Aidan Bench.

Sycamore converted on fourth down on a Dylan Hodges run, and ended up punching it in from the 4 on a Tyler Curtis run. Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said a second-and-11 play-action pass from Gautcher to Kyle Prebil for 36 yards on the drive softened the Evergreen Park defense.

“They were giving us a bunch of different stuff. They threw the kitchen sink at us, especially up front,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t anything they’d been in that we’ve seen on film. So it took us time to get our bearings, then we hit that big play action and got things going.”

Tristan Countryman had one of his four tackles for a loss on the next drive when he sacked Bench. On the next play, Gautcher intercepted a pass, took it 52 yards, and four plays later he found Teague Hallahan for an 11-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Ryan said Countryman’s motor powered his play on both sides of the line tonight, something he’s come to expect from the three-year starter.

“I was just trying to slant hard, get the pressure on them, get deep enough to create a new line of scrimmage,” Countryman said. “I have to give props to my other guys for taking on double teams, leaving me free. I’m really glad with how I played today.”

The defense clamped down on the next two drives, not forcing turnovers but keeping the Mustangs from moving the ball. The offense added touchdowns on a 3-yard run by Miles Galindo and a 5-yard pass from Gautcher to Hodges for a 28-0 lead at halftime.

Sycamore scored on both its possessions in the third quarter. Gautcher hit Carter York for a 50-yard touchdown pass for a 35-0 lead. Curtis capped the Sycamore scoring on a 1-yard plunge after a 29-yard Guatcher-to-York connection for a 42-0 lead with 4:48 left.

The Sycamore starters left after that and the Mustangs added two touchdowns with the running clock. Bench found Markell Johnson for 10 and a score, cutting the lead to 42-7 with 9:27 left in the fourth. A 22-yard pass from Bench to Brian Benford Jr. brought the game to its final score.

The Mustangs had 79 yards of total offense when the Spartans pulled their starters. Sycamore finished with a 375-196 edge in total yards. Gautcher was 7-for-9 passing for 186 yards and three touchdowns. The Spartans ran for 189 yards despite no back reaching more than 55 yards.

The Spartans will face the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 13 Corliss and No. 4 Morgan Park at Gately Stadium. Sycamore will be on the road next week against the winner.

Sycamore suffered its first loss of the year in the regular-season finale last week against Morris – a 56-6 winner against Tinley Park on the south side of the 5A bracket. Ryan said he liked how his team bounced back.

“We felt like last week is three weeks ago already,” Ryan said. “But it is nice to come back and be able to get a win. ... Winning is always big because winning is hard. I say it all the time. Winning is hard.”