Crystal Lake South grinds out win in crosstown rivalry

CRYSTAL LAKE – Crystal Lake South had plenty of pent-up frustrations Friday night at Ken Bruhn Field – unfortunately for rival Crystal Lake Central.

Last week’s blowout opening-week loss to Marian Central easily could have derailed South’s season, or at the very least killed its focus. However, the Gators reminded the Fox Valley Conference they consider themselves among the league’s best in their grind-it-out 16-6 win. Central has not beaten South since 1999.

“We worked hard in practice and talked about responding and they did,” South coach Chuck Ahsmann said. “I was really proud of them.”

South’s defense wreaked havoc on an undersized Central offensive line, leaving few openings for the Tigers’ backfield at the line of scrimmage. South nearly shut out Central, but the Tigers capitalized on a fourth-quarter interception, punctuated on Connor Hines’ 3-yard touchdown run.

The Gators (1-1) did not allow a rushing yard in the first half, and the Tigers ultimately managed only five yards on 16 attempts. Central was held without a first down until 7:43 remained in the second quarter, and the offense did not run a play in South territory until three minutes were left in the third.

“Our biggest goal was to come out in the second half and really play four quarters,” said defensive back Dennis Gardeck, who recorded an interception. “Our motto was ‘finish strong,’ so that’s what we were going for. We were out there having fun.”

Running back Eric Landis grinded out the tough yardage for South, amassing 74 yards on 21 carries – part of the Gators’ 160 yards. Quarterback Austin Rogers connected with receiver Eric Schiller for a 31-yard touchdown that gave the Gators their biggest lead of the game, 16-0, with 5:44 left in the third.

“Our offensive line had a huge push today, and then it opened up holes for me to run through,” Landis said. “I got my job done and so did the offensive line.”

Tigers coach Matt Fralick knew running the ball against South’s big defensive line would be a struggle. Central implemented a spread offense specifically when playing teams such as South. But junior quarterback Kyle Lavand, coming off a 320-yard passing performance, found few open receivers. Lavand finished 15 for 38 with 138 yards and an interception.

The Tigers (1-1) relied heavily on their air attack, trailing 9-0 at halftime, which forced Lavand to attempt 30 passes in the second half without much success.

“We just couldn’t get a rhythm going,” Fralick said. “They were playing that Cover 2 and dropping eight guys and it took us a little while to get a rhythm going. We didn’t really start getting it going until the end of the third, fourth but by that point it was too late. Just couldn’t get in sync tonight for whatever reason.”

Ahsmann utilized a two-quarterback system in part to keep Central’s defense on its heels. Austin Rogers, who started the game, went 3 for 6 with 44 yards and a touchdown, and Greg Galloway finished 2 for 4 with 14 yards and an interception. Because Rogers also plays defensive back, using both quarterbacks allows Ahsmann to give him a breather.

“They’re both juniors, they’re both young,” Ahsmann said. “They both have strengths, so we’re going to give both reps in the game and hopefully keep things off balance.”