Crystal Lake South blows past McHenry to reach playoff eligibility

McHENRY – Crystal Lake South went from neutral to reverse on the first two possessions of Friday night’s Fox Valley Conference game at McHenry.

Once the Gators finally got in forward gear there was no stopping their drive to their fifth victory to become playoff eligible. Nathan Van Witzenburg scored three touchdowns and Brady Schroeder had a hand in three more as they rolled 41-14 at McCracken Field.

“We’re a big momentum team,” said South’s Nate Compere, a four-year starter and two-way lineman. South scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions in less than 20 minutes for a 41-0 lead with 3:16 left in the third quarter.

Van Witzenburg (18 carries, 120 yards) scored on a pair of 3-yard runs and a 76-yard jaunt up the middle in a span of 4:18 to give the Gators (5-2, 5-2) a 27-0 lead 56 seconds before halftime.

“I don’t think I was touched on any of them,” Van Witzenburg said with a smile. “It was just great blocking up front and with the two backs [Michael Prokos and Jake Christensen]. They basically moved everybody out of the way.”

Compere, Andy Burburija, JJ Alonge, KC Brichta-Bachar and Mark McClinton also gave Casimino the time to hit 16-of-24 passes for 157 yards and to run seven times for 70 yards.

Schroeder, a wide receiver, also had a hand in three scores while lining up at quarterback. Schroeder scored on runs of 3 and 6 yards and tossed a 6-yard scoring pass to Michael Prokos. South totaled 335 yards of offense and the second running clock in the FVC this season.

But South’s first possession stalled at midfield after it won the coin toss and elected to start the game with its high-powered offense.

“That first drive really wasn’t us,” Van Witzenburg said.

McHenry (2-5, 2-5), hoping to keep rolling after consecutive wins, drove from its 14 to the South 12. Compere and Kyle Kuffel came up with a big fourth-down stop and Daniel Zebrowski had one of his two sacks on the possession.

“It was huge,” Compere said. “They were driving and had a little momentum.”

The Gators countered and went 83 yards in 21 plays and 6:48 with Schroeder scoring from 6 yards on fourth-and-3.

“If we need 2 yards we’ll get 2 yards,” Compere said of converting five third downs on the drive.

“Offensively sometimes we start in neutral a little bit,” South coach Rob Fontana said. “Once we get rolling a little bit the sideline feeds on it and the defense feeds on it.”

Two fumble recoveries set up Van Witzenburg’s first two scores. The Gators’ starting defense also allowed only 115 yards.

“Our starting defense rolled,” Compere said. “It was fun. We made some plays and did a lot of things.”

McHenry’s Dom Caruso (15 for 24, 222 yards) threw touchdowns of 15 and 18 yards to Zach Maness (5 catches, 75 yards) in the fourth quarter.

“We gave them short fields and you can’t win that way against a quality team like Crystal Lake South,” McHenry coach Joel Beard said. “We didn’t play terrible, but we just turned the ball over and they capitalized and put us in some bad situations.”