Cary-Grove marches 71 yards in 19 plays on final drive to top East St. Louis for IHSA Class 6A title

NORMAL – Cary-Grove sophomore Logan Abrams lowered his helmet, fell into the end zone, stood up and raised his arms in the air.

The 6-foot-3, 219-pound fullback was then joined by his teammates – first a hug from junior running back Holden Boone – as the Trojans celebrated a program-defining drive on Saturday at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium.

Cary-Grove had the ball on its own 29-yard line to begin the fourth quarter, trailing the Flyers by five points.

Nineteen plays and 10 minutes, 37 seconds later, the Trojans were back on top for good.

Abrams added a two-point conversion after his 2-yard touchdown, defensive back PJ Weaver picked off East St. Louis backup quarterback Reese Shanklin, and the Trojans defeated the Flyers 23-20 to earn their third Class 6A state championship since 2018.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 23

Cary-Grove's Will Barcy brings the trophy to the fans Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, after their win over East St. Louis in the IHSA Class 6A state championship game in Hancock Stadium at Illinois State University in Normal. (Mark Busch)

Cary-Grove (12-2) also beat East St. Louis (11-3) in the 2021 state title game.

Abrams ran the ball 13 times on the game-winning, 71-yard drive for the Trojans and finished with 87 yards on 31 carries, scoring twice. He didn’t have many big runs against East St. Louis, with his longest going for 10 yards, but his physical style of play eventually wore down the Flyers.

“They’re such a physical team,” Abrams said of facing East St. Louis. “It was definitely our hardest opponent that we played all year. We just had to pick each other up on that last drive. My team got me going, they really pushed me forward.

“The team we have here is so unreal.”

Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg joked that he wanted his team’s final drive to last a full minute longer.

On the other side, Flyers coach Darren Sunkett – as funny as it sounds – wondered if his team scored too quickly when Larevious Woods ran in a 1-yard TD with 11:56 remaining in the fourth quarter to grab a 20-15 lead.

Sunkett knew the Trojans were capable of putting together a long drive, and that’s exactly what they did.

“We just couldn’t get off the field,” Sunkett said. “If we could have got the stop we needed, it would have been a different ball game. ... We might have scored just a little too quick because we weren’t able to get the ball back until a minute left.”

The Trojans converted two fourth downs on the game-winning drive. Abrams ran for a yard to convert a fourth-and-1 on C-G’s 38 that required a measurement by the officials.

Junior quarterback Peyton Seaburg, coach Brad Seaburg’s son, had the other conversion on fourth-and-short, turning the corner for a 9-yard run to the Flyers’ 43.

Peyton Seaburg, like the rest of his teammates, didn’t run from the challenge.

The Trojans’ second-year quarterback is happy to have the ball in his hands, no matter how big or scary the moment.

“I have a lot confidence because we practice (these situations) all the time,” Peyton Seaburg said. “We’re in these situations a lot. I know whatever decision I make, I’ll come up with the first down.”

Brad Seaburg felt confident in his team’s ability to finish.

Cary-Grove’s offensive line of Anthony Cruz, Lucas Burton, Jack Hissong, Sam Diaz and Kelly Mace and tight ends’ Jake Hornok and Luca Vivaldelli have come up big time and time again.

“We felt pretty good about what we were getting on each play, and we were very conscious of where the clock was,” Brad Seaburg said. “We knew if we didn’t score there, it was all over. It was all in, and we were able to to punch it in right there.”

Abrams said the final drive was business as usual for the Trojans, who now have four state titles.

“We didn’t really change many things,” Abrams said. “We just kept grinding every single play, getting 3, 4, 5 yards. We just pounded them.”