Prairie Ridge’s Tyler Vasey sets IHSA single-season rushing record with 481 yards, 8 TDs in win over Harlem

MACHESNEY PARK – The way Prairie Ridge’s Tyler Vasey has carved up defenses with his speed, power and elusiveness, it was only a matter of time.

Vasey, who entered Saturday with more than 1,400 rushing yards in his past four games, put together another special performance on his way to making state history.

The Wolves star quarterback ran for a Class 6A playoff record 481 yards and eight touchdowns on 29 carries, breaking the IHSA single-season rushing record and leading No. 2-seeded Prairie Ridge past No. 11 Harlem 69-28.

Prairie Ridge (11-1) advances to the semifinals for the fifth time in seven seasons and will host No. 4 St. Ignatius at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 with a chance of reaching the state championship for the fifth time in program history.

Vasey needed 198 rushing yards against the No. 11 Huskies (8-4) to break Lexington’s T.J. Stinde’s state record of 3,325 yards, set in 2009. He got there on a 44-yard run – his fourth TD of the game – with 8:40 left in the second quarter to give the Wolves a 34-7 lead.

“I’ve never seen a kid like that,” Harlem coach Bob Moynihan said. “He’s extremely fast, and he’s good at what he does.”

Vasey will enter the semifinals with 3,609 rushing yards after a performance that left Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp speechless.

“I really didn’t believe it when I heard the numbers,” Schremp said. “That’s just amazing. I don’t know what to say.”

Believe it.

A week after scoring seven touchdowns in the second round against Kaneland, Vasey did one better and tied the 6A playoff record with eight, scoring from 44, 75, 9, 44, 67, 32, 10 and 40 yards.

Vasey’s 481 rushing yards broke the 6A playoff record and are the seventh most in any game in state history, according to IHSA records. His 50 rushing touchdowns are one short of the single-season record.

Even Vasey was taken aback by his final numbers, calling them “shocking.”

He praised the work of his offensive line – Angel Rodriguez, Henrik Nystrom, Ethan Goudschaal, Zach Helland and John Fallaw – and running backs. Fullback Nathan Greetham ran for 95 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown, and Luke Vanderwiel added 38 yards and a score.

As a team, Prairie Ridge ran for 614 yards on 49 carries (a 12.5 average). Vasey added a 31-yard pass to Drake Tomasiewicz.

“My offensive line and backs, I can’t do any of it without them,” Vasey said. “Coach Schremp trusts me to make the right play call and everything, but once we get there, it’s up to them. If they make the right blocks, I can make someone miss, and we’ll make a big play out of it.”

“It all starts with the offensive line and the backs. I really appreciate them.”

The feeling is mutual.

“He’s just insane,” said Helland, a sophomore. “He knows what he’s doing. He makes my job easier, I’ll tell you that. It’s a really fun time with all of these guys. It’s crazy I have this opportunity to play with them.”

Prairie Ridge’s defense, meanwhile, held Harlem to 248 yards.

Huskies running back Jahmani Muhammad ran for 131 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown. Quarterback Austin Redmon had 30 rushing yards and a score and was 7-of-13 passing for 75 yards.

Prairie Ridge’s Dominic Creatore and Tomasiewicz each had fumble recoveries, with Zander Severson forcing one.

Prairie Ridge feels good with where it’s at heading into the semifinals against St. Ignatius (10-2), a team that also runs the triple-option offense.

“I know last year, we had a good chance of making it [to the semifinals], so it really feels good to pull out the win here,” senior linebacker Ryan Koelblinger said. “During summer camp, we saw a lot of promise in both our offense and defense, and I think we have progressed a lot.

“Every day we just try to get better, and I think we’ve done that.”

Prairie Ridge 69, Harlem 28

Prairie Ridge 14 27 14 14 – 69

Harlem 0 14 14 0 – 28

First quarter

PR–Vasey 44 run (Amherdt kick), 9:40

PR–Vasey 75 run (Amherdt kick), 4:28

Second quarter

PR–Vasey 9 run (Amherdt kick), 10:02

H–Young 84 kick return (Gentry kick), 9:49

PR–Greetham 37 run (Amherdt kick), 9:07

PR–Vasey 44 run (run failed), 8:40

PR–Vasey 67 run (Amherdt kick), 6:40

H–Redmon 2 run (Gentry kick), 5:17

Third quarter

H–Muhammad 59 run (Gentry kick), 11:43

PR–Vasey 32 run (Amherdt kick), 10:06

H–Redmon 8 run (Gentry kick), 4:15

PR–L. Vanderwiel (Amherdt kick), 1:32

Fourth quarter

PR–Vasey 10 run (Amherdt kick), 10:43

PR–Vasey 40 run (Amherdt kick), 8:34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Prairie Ridge: Vasey 29-481, Greetham 14-95, L. Vanderwiel 6-38. Total: 49-614. Harlem: Muhammad 17-131, Redmon 5-30, Young 1-12, Henert 1-0. Total: 24-173.

PASSING–Prairie Ridge: Vasey 1-1-0-31. Harlem: Redmon 7-13-0-75.

RECEIVING–Prairie Ridge: Tomasiewicz 1-31. Harlem: Buskeros 3-36, Muhammad 1-29, Beary 1-5, Genert 1-3, Gillette 1-2.

TOTAL YARDS: Prairie Ridge 645, Harlem 248.