January 24, 2025
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IHSA Class 6A playoffs: Preview capsule for Cary-Grove at Lake Zurich

By Joe Stevenson
Cary-Grove’s Peyton Seaburg moves the ball against Geneva in IHSA Class 6A quarterfinal playoff football action at Cary Saturday.

Cary-Grove’s Peyton Seaburg moves the ball against Geneva on Saturday in the Class 6A semifinals. (Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local/Patrick Kunzer for Shaw Local)

No. 3 Cary-Grove (10-2) at No. 1 Lake Zurich (11-1)

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

About the Trojans: C-G defeated Geneva 41-7 last week. This is the Trojans’ ninth trip to the semifinals since 1985 when the IHSA went to 32-team brackets in each class. … C-G is 60-24 in its playoff history and 15-1 in its past 16 playoff games, which includes Class 6A state title runs in 2018 and 2021. … FB Logan Abrams leads the Trojans with 1,337 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. RB Andrew Prio, an Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-Stater, has 1,161 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. Prio averages 16.1 yards per carry (22.2 per carry in the three playoff games). … LB Connor Anderson leads C-G with 119 tackles (44 solos, 75 assists). DB Jack Rocen has three interceptions, four tackles for losses and 57 tackles. … QB Peyton Seaburg has rushed for 630 yards and six touchdowns. … Between them, Rocen and Prio have combined for four return (punt and kickoff) touchdowns. … “[Lake Zurich] has good size up front and blocks really well,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said of the Bears. “They have a plan that they want to do. They want to run the ball and throw when they decide they want to throw as opposed to when the other team wants them to do it. They’ll chew up a lot of clock. We have to do a great job on third down and get them into some tougher down-and-distances so we get the ball back.”

About the Bears: Lake Zurich beat Belvidere North 14-10 last week to earn its third trip to the semifinals since 2017. This is the first time the Bears have been in a class other than 7A since 1995. … Lake Zurich is 44-23 in its playoff history. The Bears won the 2007 Class 7A state championship and were runners-up in 2006, 2010, 2013 and 2017. … Batavia knocked out Lake Zurich last year 24-7 in the semifinals. … RB Chris Pirrone leads the Bears with 1,233 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. QB Lucas Lappin has run for 585 yards and 10 touchdowns. … WR James Piggott has a team-best 22 receptions for 389 yards and three touchdowns. … On defense, LB Lincoln Adams leads the Bears with 131 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and one interception. Adams is a Class 6A All-State selection.

Up next: The winner meets the winner of the other semifinal between No. 4 East St. Louis (10-2) at No. 2 Washington (11-1) at 1 p.m. Nov. 25 at Illinois State University for the championship.

Friday Night Drive pick: Cary-Grove