Jacobs showcases offensive versatility, defeats McHenry to clinch 4th straight playoff berth

McHENRY – Jacobs junior quarterback Connor Goehring rolled out to his left and found tight end PJ Barnes on the run near the front of the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown on the Golden Eagles’ opening possession of the second half.

Goehring, who already had a 24-yard TD run in the first half after narrowly escaping a sack by McHenry’s Eli Guardyak, has been scoring in all kinds of ways recently.

“His decision making has improved a ton,” said Barnes, who also plays defensive end. “He’s a good decision maker under pressure. He doesn’t fold. Like that touchdown, he didn’t fold. He threw me that touchdown. It was a great ball.”

Goehring almost had another touchdown throw to Luke Gormsen later in the game on fourth-and-6, but Gormsen could not keep his feet inbounds on a 30-yard toss to the end zone. Still, Jacobs and Goehring continued their run of good play Friday to beat McHenry 35-19 at McCracken Field for their fourth straight victory and lock in a spot for the Class 7A playoffs with win No. 6.

It’s the fourth year in a row the Eagles (6-2 overall, 6-2 FVC), whose only two losses are to undefeated Cary-Grove and 6-2 Prairie Ridge, are heading to the postseason.

“It feels awesome. I’m just really proud of the kids,” said Jacobs coach Brian Zimmerman. “I thought we had a great week of practice, and I thought we came out pretty strong. We were resting a couple of our starters this week, so that plays in some things. Backups got some opportunities, and I thought all the kids did a really great job today.”

Jacobs was without starting guard Lucas Retzler. Gormsen, who normally plays both offense and defense, only played running back Friday.

But the Eagles made it work, going into the half with a 21-7 lead and holding a 175-86 advantage in yards after two quarters. McHenry (2-6, 2-6) had 80 of those yards on its first drive, scoring on a 2-yard run by sophomore Mick Reidy.

Jacobs, however, scored on all three of its chances in the first half. T.O. Boddie (52 rushing yards) had a 1-yard TD to open the scoring, followed by the 24-yard run by Goehring and a 4-yard run by Caden DuMelle (75 yards on 13 carries, two TDs).

In last week’s win over Crystal Lake Central, Goehring threw for three TDs. The pass wasn’t needed as much Friday against McHenry, but Goehring made the most of his chances connecting on 6 of 11 passes for 66 yards and a score.

“I know for him he’s probably a little frustrated we weren’t passing a little more early, but last week was really kind of the coming-out party for him,” Zimmerman said. “And his brother [wide receiver] Carson is a heck of a threat, too. Connor did a great job commanding the offense.

“If we’re going to continue to grow offensively, we don’t just want to be a running threat. We want to be able to run and pass if we want to make a deep run into the playoffs.”

Connor Goehring said his touchdown pass to Barnes is something they’ve worked on a lot.

“That’s our bread and butter,” Goehring said. “We came out and executed perfectly. Amazing job by our O-line. I didn’t even get touched. They allowed me to make plays all night. We’re a tight group. We’re happy with where we’re at and we obviously want more.”

Mike Cannady had 38 rushing yards for Jacobs and Barnes caught two passes for 48 yards. On defense, Cooper Gulgren had an INT and Matthew Scardina and Cooper Peterhans both had a sack. Scardina also recovered a fumble on McHenry’s first possession of the second half.

McHenry was led by senior Conner McLean with 67 yards on 10 carries, including 45 on the final drive and a TD with 16.3 seconds left.

Quarterback Dayton Warren threw for 48 yards and an INT, also recording for 55 yards on four rushes. Reidy ran for 53 yards and Jacob Jones had 42 yards, both scoring a 2-yard TD. Jeff Schwab had two catches for 21 yards.

Despite the final score, McHenry coach Jeff Schroeder felt the Warriors showed that they’re an up-and-coming team.

“I think tonight showed that they’re not intimidated anymore,” he said. “It’s been a struggle, but they finally realize they can play pretty good football. I told them, we were only one flag away from punching it on and making it a one-score game with a team that’s already clinched a playoff spot. They have to be proud of that. I don’t think the score was indicative of the kind of game it was.”