Cary-Grove prepares to defend state championship with many new faces

When Cary-Grove won its second Class 6A state championship in 2018, the Trojans returned a good chunk of their offensive and defensive starters the next year.

This year’s Trojans won’t be as lucky.

Cary-Grove, which beat East St. Louis, 37-36, last fall to claim its third state title since 2009, had a whopping 30 seniors on its final roster. The Trojans graduated their quarterback, fullback and starting offensive and defensive lines, among other key positions.

The turnover is big, but the Trojans – who only have three losses since the start of 2018, going 41-3 – still feel like they are in a good place.

“We feel like we’ve got the guys to fill those spots,” said Trojans coach Brad Seaburg, whose 2019 team went 9-3 and lost to state runner-up Prairie Ridge, 14-13, in the 6A quarterfinals.

“It’s just a matter of finding them. There’s no learning curve in terms of the season. We go into Week 1 [Aug. 26 at Dundee-Crown] and we expect to win. That’s the biggest challenge, the urgency of finding guys to fit those spots not Week 3 or Week 4, but Week 1.”

Last year’s Trojans, who finished a perfect 14-0 and won by an average margin of four touchdowns, had such big leads on their opponents that they often rotated in backups and less experienced players in the second halves of games, sometimes as early as the first few possession of the third quarter.

That experience gained by non-starters, Seaburg hopes, will pay off.

“Last year, 12 of our 14 games, our backups finished the game, so we were able to get a lot of experience, a lot of playoff experience,” Seaburg said. “Each week, it felt like most of our JV guys were getting time. A lot of those JV guys are going to be guys we are counting on this year.”

“In a sense, we do have a lot of experience coming back. A lot of times, they were playing the other team’s starters. But it is different. It’s different when the expectations are higher for you and now you’re the guy and not following a guy.”

Senior Alex Schuppe, who will be one of C-G’s running backs this season, said last year’s state title run was an eye-opening experience. Schuppe got some playing time late in games last season and also was on the Trojans’ special teams.

He got a good look at the electrifying Luther Burden III of East St. Louis, Friday Night Drive’s 2021 Offensive Player of the Year, in the state title game and got a feel for what it is like to play against top competition.

“Very memorable, I loved every moment of it,” Schuppe said of the state championship at Northern Illinois’ Huskie Stadium. “Looking up into the stands, seeing all those people there for us, it was just an amazing feeling. I loved it.

“I’m excited to get out on the field and play for my teammates and school this year. I’m excited for the shot.”

The Trojans with the most experience on the offensive line are senior Brian Coles, who started last fall against Hampshire, and Colin Videtich. On the defensive line, senior Thomas Burton brings back the most experience.

Seaburg said many of last year’s backups would have been starters on most teams. C-G’s seniors on both lines were just too dominant.

Burton, who started on the offensive line against Crystal Lake South last season, said he learned a lot from last year’s seniors, especially on the defensive side.

“[Michael] Dec and [Nicholas] Wojcik were great teachers,” Burton said. “They made so many plays for us. You watch them work their tails off. They always told us not to [expect to make plays] behind the line of scrimmage, that’s not always going to happen. [Wojcik] was making tackles 20 yards down the field all the time. Their work ethic is amazing.”

“It’s a lot to learn, but I think we’re doing great so far. We’re catching up with where we were. We’re working hard.”

Senior Colin Desmet, who will switch from defense to fullback after the graduation of Nick Hissong (second in the area in 2021 with 1,717 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns) believes these Trojans are capable of another long run.

“I think a lot of people may be doubting us because we lost a lot,” said Desmet, who earned Northwest Herald All-Area first-team honors on defense with a team-high 130 tackles and four interceptions. “I think that everyone out here can prove that we’re worthy of another state championship.”

The goal remains the same.

“I think if you asked any of the kids, I don’t think our goals have changed,” Seaburg said. “The kids know that when we say our goal is to make the playoffs, win the conference and make a run for a state title, it’s a real goal. You’re not fortunate to get it done every year, but it’s a goal we set, and that hasn’t changed. They saw what it took last year.”