High school football: Crystal Lake Central outlasts Grayslake North

CRYSTAL LAKE – Nevermind the drive just before halftime when Crystal Lake Central ran out of time on Grayslake North’s 4-yard line.

Or that Knights running back Titus Booker had shredded the Tigers’ defense for 262 yards and four touchdowns of 54 yards or longer in the first half.

Central players still picked up positive vibes at halftime, trailing by four points.

“We carried over what we were doing in the first half moving the ball,” Tigers wide receiver Jack Ortner said. “We knew we could score points. I knew we were going to win the game.”

Central scored on two second-half drives that could not have been more different and slowed down Booker enough to take a 37-34 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division football victory Thursday night at Owen Metcalf Field that was delayed for more than an hour in the third quarter because of lightning.

For Central (4-2 overall, 2-2 FVC Fox), the win could not have come at a better time. North is 3-3, 2-1.

“We’ve had a tough couple of weeks, but we were able to push through it,” safety Brad Garber said.

Central travels to Champaign Centennial (5-0) next week, so another loss might have put the Tigers’ playoff hopes in jeopardy.

“This was a huge win for us,” Tigers coach Matt Fralick said. “We really needed it, especially coming off last week [a 49-27 loss to Woodstock North]. We needed this and we got it.”

Booker ran wild in the first half, scoring on runs of 68, 75, 56 and 54 yards. He had 262 yards at halftime, but the defense slowed him down in the second half.

Central grabbed a 30-27 lead early in the second half on Matt DeCoste’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Alan Pawlicki. Moments later, lightning struck and the game was delayed for 1 hour and 12 minutes.

The Tigers stopped one Knights drive inside the 10, then cornerback Mario McGinn made a diving interception at Central’s 2 to halt another drive.

Central used its Godzilla package, just a power running game, to move 98 yards in 13 plays and devour 6:40 to take a 37-27 lead. The Knights finally scored with 1:12 remaining, but Marcus Rios recovered North’s onside kick to seal the game.

“This was a really big win,” Ortner said. “We were embarrassed by Woodstock North, but we came back and had a good week of practice and did it.”

Game Ball:

Central DE Alec Baron came through big in a rare offensive appearance in the fourth quarter as the Tigers drove 98 yards in 13 plays, eating up 6:40 on the clock for the game-deciding touchdown. Baron carried five times for 50 yards on that drive.

The number 20

Grayslake North RB Titus Booker ran for 282 yards and four long touchdowns, but Central’s defense limited him to 20 yards in the second half.

The big play

Central QB Matt DeCoste fired a strike on the run to WR Alan Pawlicki for a 45-yard touchdown early in the second half that gave the Tigers the lead for good.

Crystal Lake Central 37, Grayslake North 34

Grayslake North    6    21    0    7    –    34

Crystal Lake Central    20    3    7    7    –    37

First quarter

GN–Booker 68 run (kick failed), 10:45.

CLC–Williams 1 run (Chen kick), 6:35.

CLC–Ortner 33 run (Chen kick), 2:37.

CLC–Williams 10 run (Chen kick), 0:20.

Second quarter

GN–Booker 56 run (Meyer kick), 11:50.

GN–Booker 75 run (Meyer kick), 7:10.

CLC–FG Chen 30, 3:35.

GN–Booker 54 run (Meyer kick), 2:40.

Third quarter

CLC–Pawlicki 45 pass from DeCoste (Chen kick), 10:44.

Fourth quarter

CLC–Sances 6 run (Chen kick), 5:40.

GN–Gentile 4 run (Meyer kick), 1:21.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Grayslake North: Booker 15-282, Gentile 13-68. Totals: 28-350. Crystal Lake Central: Williams 35-180, Baron 7-61, DeCoste 13-42, Ortner 3-34, Sances 6-21, May 1-0. Totals: 64-330. PASSING–Grayslake North: Gentile 9-23-1-157. Crystal Lake Central: DeCoste 17-31-0-147. RECEIVING–Grayslake North: Atwater 3-81, Baker 3-49, Martineau 2-19, Booker 1-8.  Crystal Lake Central: Ortner 7-58, Pawlicki 5-65, May 2-13, Williams 2-8, MacAlpine 1-3. TOTAL TEAM YARDS–Grayslake North 507, Crystal Lake Central 477. Sophomore score: Grayslake North 26, Crystal Lake Central 6.