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CRYSTAL LAKE – The music inside Crystal Lake Central’s locker room was as loud as the Tigers’ smiles were wide.
In the biggest game of their season, the Tigers had delivered a performance that was both dominant and difficult to fathom, even for them.
“They’re one of the best offenses in Illinois,” said Tigers linebacker Nathan Talbott, who was on Grayslake North quarterback Merrick Gentile almost as much as Gentile’s jersey. “It’s unbelievable how we stopped them. We tried to beat them by being better athletes.”
Central limited the Knights’ 41.2-points per game offense to 182 total yards and took control of the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division with a 35-6 homecoming victory Friday night at Owen Metcalf Field.
“We owe this one to our defense,” said Central quarterback Kyle Lavand, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for one. “[North’s] offense is high-powered and the way they played just lets us [on offense] do our thing. I thought it would be a shootout. The defense played unreal.”
Central (5-1 overall, 3-0 FVC Fox) and North (5-1, 3-1) established themselves as the best teams in the division, so Central can win the title outright with three more victories.
The Tigers made it look relatively easy in the second half, blowing open a game they led, 14-6, at halftime. On one play, an inadvertent whistle wiped out Lavand’s 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Hjerstedt. On the next play, Lavand fired another strike to Hjerstedt in the end zone that counted.
Later, on fourth-and-24 in Knights’ territory, Lavand hooked up with wide receiver Jack Ortner for a 30-yard touchdown that capped the scoring. Lavand was 13 of 27 for 209 yards, Ortner caught six passes for 104 and two touchdowns.
“I don’t know that I thought we’d shut them down like that,” Tigers coach Matt Fralick said. “We played real physical up front and made them leave their comfort zone [on offense].”
North, which was ranked No. 5 in The Associated Press Class 6A poll, managed only 93 rushing yards on 47 carries. Running back Titus Booker carried 23 times for 93 yards.
“For as poorly as we played, at halftime I thought we were still right there,” North coach Steve Wood said. “We didn’t go into the game thinking we weren’t better than the, but they really played well. The best the snot out of us up front [on offense].”