McHenry County notes: Cary-Grove ends remarkable run in Class 6A semifinals

GENEVA – Two one-handed catches didn’t singlehandedly derail Cary-Grove’s football season Saturday.

While Geneva wide receiver Talyn Taylor wowed fans, the Vikings’ displayed more than one weapon in the Class 6A state semifinal. The Georgia commit had 11 catches for 206 yards and a touchdown, as No. 3 Geneva pulled out a 28-26 win over top-seeded and defending state champ Cary-Grove.

“[Taylor’s] got some good hands – all of their receivers,” C-G senior safety Preston Walsh said. “They got some great talent on the offensive side of the ball.”

C-G (12-1) hadn’t allowed double-digit points to any opponent since Week 6, when it scored a late touchdown to beat host Huntley 44-43 after trailing most of the game. The Trojans had held their previous five opponents to a combined 29 points and hadn’t seen a strong passing game since their game against the Red Raiders.

“That [Huntley] game definitely prepared us for times like these, but we just came up short in times that we needed to make plays,” Walsh said.

C-G made plays on both sides of the ball, just not enough. Walsh intercepted a high pass intended for Taylor late in the first half, setting up the Trojans at their own 45. Nine plays later, Holden Boone, who rushed for 227 yards on 26 carries, scored from 10 yards out, but the PAT kick was blocked, and the Trojans trailed 14-13.

Up 28-20 early in the fourth quarter, Geneva (12-1) had first-and-goal at the 8, but C-G cornerback Michael Dunkin recovered a fumble. The Trojans proceeded to march 88 yards on 11 plays, scoring on Peyton Seaburg’s 42-yard run. The TD pulled the visitors within two, but Boone was stopped on what would have been the game-tying PAT.

“Great game,” C-G coach Brad Seaburg said. “Both teams had guys making plays.”

Geneva’s playmakers included quarterback Tony Chahino, who threw for 388 yards on 22-of-25 passing and two TDs, Finnegan Weppner, who had five catches, including a 26-yard TD, for 102 yards, and Bennett Konkey, who had four receptions for 65 yards.

Geneva was 5 of 9 on third-down plays, and that included taking a knee on the game’s final play. The Vikings were 2 of 2 on fourth-down conversions.

The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Taylor had one-handed grabs covering 19 and 30 yards in the first half.

“This is not Huntley,” Brad Seaburg said. “They don’t have players like No. 1 [Taylor]. They’re really good.”

“I mean, they’re great players,” Trojans linebacker Charlie Ciske said of the Vikings, who will play East St. Louis in the state-title game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Illinois State University in Normal. “They made plays. We just didn’t show up when we needed to. That’s as simple as it is.”

Embrace the work: Cary-Grove had its 19-game winning streak snapped, but expectations should be high again in 2025 for a team whose returning players could include Logan Abrams, Jason Ritter, Jack Hissong, Brady Elbert and Landon Moore, as well as freshmen Trae Kole and Jackson Berndt, who got varsity snaps late in the season.

The work starts now.

“There’s no way around it. It’s going to stink at times,” said Ciske, who was an Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-State selection in his final season. “No one likes waking up at 6 in the morning to lift, but ultimately it comes down to what you make of it. If you’re going to sit there and sulk, it’s not going to be fun. But if you embrace the time you have with those guys, and you see them as your men, you’ll fight for them. It gives you a whole other level of motivation.”

Ciske said he talked to Kole about the whole high school football experience.

“I said, ‘I remember when I was in your shoes. Freshman on varsity. Dude, it flies,’ “ Ciske said. “It’s a cliche, but there’s a reason why it’s a cliche.”

Impressive run ends for FVC: This year’s Class 6A state championship won’t feature a Fox Valley Conference team for the first time since 2015. Prairie Ridge or Cary-Grove appeared in every 6A title game from 2016-2023 (not counting the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020).

Prairie Ridge won the 6A championship in 2016 and 2017 and was runner-up in 2019 and 2022. C-G won the title in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

Double duty: In addition to his regular responsibilities at quarterback, C-G senior Peyton Seaburg also was used in the defensive backfield for a select number of playing against Geneva as the Trojans tried everything to slow down the Vikings’ passing attack.

“We were doing whatever we could do to stop them, and Peyton’s a great athlete,” Brad Seaburg said. “Just trying to do whatever we can to slow them down.”

Peyton Seaburg and the Trojans entered Saturday’s semifinal on a 19-game winning streak – and the loss to Geneva was only the second in the playoffs for the team since the start of 2018. The Trojans were 20-1 in their previous 20 postseason games.

Peyton Seaburg said his biggest area of improvement since taking over as the team’s starting QB as a sophomore has come off the field.

“I feel like I’ve become better as a person,” Peyton Seaburg said. “Leadership wise, I understand how to command a team better and motivate guys to give it their all every single play.”

• Northwest Herald sports editor Alex Kantecki contributed to this report.