Cary-Grove scores on offense, defense and special teams in FVC win over Crystal Lake Central

CARY – Things couldn’t have gone much better for Cary-Grove in the first quarter Friday night against Crystal Lake Central.

After junior running back Landon Barnett broke free for a 56-yard gain on the Trojans’ third play from scrimmage to keep their opening drive going, senior running back Holden Boone cashed in a 2-yard TD with 8:31 remaining in the first quarter.

By the time Cary-Grove’s offense got the ball back, the Trojans already held a three-touchdown lead.

That’s because C-G scored on a blocked punt and, on the Tigers’ next possession, junior defensive back Jason Ritter Jr. intercepted quarterback Aidan Niederkorn and returned it 20 yards for a TD.

Cary-Grove added a 28-yard TD pass from quarterback Peyton Seaburg to Quintin Witt for the team’s fourth TD of the opening quarter, and the Trojans went on to beat the Tigers 45-14 in their Fox Valley Conference game at Al Bohrer Field.

“Those plays are game-breakers,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said of the team’s blocked punt and interception return. “It allows us to grab the momentum, and we never relinquished it, either. It was just a great effort by our kids on defense. We got great pressure on their quarterback all night, and we made plays when we needed to.”

Cary-Grove (2-0, 2-0 FVC) allowed two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter with a running clock with the team’s starters out of the game. Through two games, the Trojans’ defensive starters have yet to allow a touchdown, giving up only a field goal in a 27-3 Week 1 win against Burlington Central.

On the blocked punt for a touchdown, three Trojans got into the Tigers’ backfield and looked to have a chance at getting their hands on the punt. It was senior Charlie Ciske who got there first. Senior Ostin Hansen, who had an interception on the Trojans’ first defensive play last week, picked up the ball and ran in for a 20-yard score.

“It’s huge, it’s such a momentum builder,” Hansen said. “It’s big for the entire team. The offense might get a little mad that they don’t get to touch the field, but I couldn’t have done that without my teammates. I needed my teammates to get that done.”

Cary-Grove had 230 total yards by halftime, with 189 on the ground. The Trojans’ defense, meanwhile, held the Tigers (0-2, 0-2) to 101 yards, with all of those coming through the air. Central had 10 carries in the first half for minus 8 yards. C-G led 39-0 at half and scored on its first possession of third quarter to start the running clock.

Central coach Dirk Stanger said the Tigers were unable to match the physicality of C-G.

“They’re very disciplined and fundamentally sound,” Stanger said. “I’ve known coach Seaburg for years. Their kids are physical, they’re going to come to play. You saw it in the state championship game last year [a come-from-behind 23-20 win over East St. Louis in Class 6A]. Nobody gave them a chance. I knew these guys were going to beat them. They’re just so physical.”

Cary-Grove welcomed back Boone (game-high 119 yards on eight carries) and junior fullback Logan Abrams (28 yards, 2-yard TD) after neither played in the team’s Week 1 win. Boone was competing in an international CrossFit competition in Alabama, while Abrams, who led Northwest Herald-area running backs last year with almost 1,600 rushing yards, dressed but didn’t play after getting banged up in practice.

The Tigers did their best to bottle up Abrams, but Boone was able to beat them on the outside, averaging almost 15 yards a carry.

“It feels good to be back,” Boone said. “I was super excited to be back on Monday, just being with the team. This is something I look forward to, just being around the guys. The team has been working really hard, and practices have been productive. Everybody’s just trying to do their job, and I think tonight you kind of saw that tonight.”

Seaburg finished with 29 rushing yards and one touchdown and completed 2 of 4 passes for 41 yards and the TD to Witt fot C-G. Barnett had 63 yards rushing on two carries.

For the Tigers, Niederkorn was 22-of-36 passing for 179 yards and one TD – a 2-yarder to Jackson Mason (40 yards receiving) with 27.8 seconds left. Carter Kelley had 51 yards on six catches, and Ben Kolodziej added 29 yards on four receptions.