Cary-Grove’s Peyton Seaburg gains experience, confidence entering junior year

Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg enjoys the time spent in the car after practices with his sons, Brady and Peyton.

There’s never a dull moment.

“Having Brady and Peyton in the car on the way home makes for some interesting conversations, mainly between those two because I just sit there, drive and let them talk,” said Brad Seaburg, who is 113-26 in 12 seasons at C-G.

“Brady will be the first person to notice if Peyton did something wrong in practice and Peyton will be the first person to tell him he doesn’t care what he thinks. But it’s really been great. It’s great having my kids in school and in the [football] program.”

[ Cary-Grove football ready to come back strong in 2023 after tough 2022 season ]

Peyton Seaburg, a junior, is set to return as the Trojans’ starting quarterback after taking over the position last season. Brady, a senior, played on the JV team last year.

Cary-Grove, which won the Class 6A state championship in 2021, started 3-1 last season but lost its last five games and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

The Trojans also ran into a lot of bad luck.

Fullback-linebacker Collin Desmet was the leading rusher when he suffered a season-ending knee injury, and linebacker Connor Anderson suffered a broken left fibula. Mykal Kanellakis, Alex Schuppe and Hayden Dieschbourg were other key players injured.

In C-G’s triple-option offense, Peyton Seaburg was 26-of-58 passing for 410 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for 299 yards and four scores.

Peyton Seaburg said the transition to varsity football was challenging at first.

“You kind of learn quickly what varsity football is about,” Peyton Seaburg said. “You have to be fast and quick with everything you do. You have to be so precise and so accurate at this level, and there can’t be any mistakes or you’re going to lose.”

Brad Seaburg was proud of the way Peyton grew into his new role.

“He had a lot of learning experiences last year, as a lot of our guys did,” the coach said. “When you’re at quarterback, everybody sees your learning curve. When guys are playing center or guard or linebacker, not everyone sees the mistakes you make because you’re kind of buried.

“Coming in as a sophomore and trying to direct guys in the huddle and taking charge ... not every kid does that naturally. We had to work with him on that, and I thought Peyton came in and did a fine job.”

“We weren’t satisfied with last year at all. We have that 3-6 [record] in the back of our minds. We never want that to happen again.”

—  Peyton Seaburg, Cary-Grove junior quarterback

Peyton Seaburg has put on some weight since the end of last year and is up 15 pounds, from about 145 to 160.

“He’s gotten taller and he’s gotten stronger, and that was really a big point of emphasis for every guy on our team,” Brad Seaburg said. “There are many guys who were 150 last year that are now 170. Those 20 pounds makes a huge difference.”

Brad Seaburg also has seen his son’s confidence grow.

“He’s a pretty even-keeled kid,” Brad Seaburg said. “I think when you talk to him you can sense that. He played varsity baseball this year, he played varsity football last year, so I think he’ll come into the season with a whole lot more confidence than he had last year.”

“Last year, he was a complete unknown commodity in his own mind of what he could do as a football player. Now with two seasons of combined varsity experience, he should come back with much more confidence.”

Peyton Seaburg and the Trojans are excited to improve on last year’s finish. C-G begins the season Aug. 25 at home against Burlington Central.

“We weren’t satisfied with last year at all,” Peyton Seaburg said. “We have that 3-6 [record] in the back of our minds. We never want that to happen again.”