Prior to Saturday’s homecoming football game, Head Coach Brad Seaburg stayed humble when he talked about the Prairie Ridge Wolves, stating that they would be tough to stop. The Wolves seemed like a team that would play toe-to-toe to Cary-Grove, mirroring their triple-option offense, making the smooth road to 5-0 a lot more bumpy than necessary for the Trojans. 

The expectations of this game were not the reality. By the end of the game, they were turned upside down. The things that the Wolves would ordinarily have been happy to have happen ended up with a downside for them.

Even though PR drove down into Trojan territory on the first drive of the game, they were forced to punt. 

Although PR busted the CG secondary with a flea-flicker touchdown in the second quarter, they were down by 21 at halftime. 

Cary-Grove only scored 7 points against Prairie Ridge in the first quarter, but the Trojans still won by 35 in the end. 

The defense was a big aspect of this dominant win over a tough, previously unbeaten opponent like Prairie Ridge.

“We really played physical at the point of attack,” Coach Seaburg said. “Our defensive line played low and did a nice job of disrupting them up front. We did a great job of tackling. We were able to tackle them in the open field, and that made the difference.” 

The Wolves were not physical or talented enough to beat the Trojans on either side of the ball. Both teams run the same offense, but CG is operating at a different level, as evidenced by their #1 ranking in the 6A division by the Associated Press. Even though PR knows their playbook, the Trojans were able to stick to their game plan and run right over them.

“It’s been a great problem where we haven’t run a ton of plays,” Coach Seaburg said of the explosive offense.

He told reporters how the star of the show, quarterback Jameson Sheehan, changed during quarantine as a result of his relentless work ethic.

“He came out of COVID a different player. Some guys went into COVID and maybe took a step back. Jameson had a mission. He wanted to get better,” Coach Seaburg said. 

“When he came back, he was bigger, stronger, more mature, and really was a great leader, too. Hats off to him. He figured out a way to get it done during COVID. Ever since then, he has really emerged.” 

Sheehan, who scored five total touchdowns, took no credit for his performance, showing the humble mindset that has taken the Trojans far time and time again. 

“The team played well,” Sheehan said. “The offense just executed everything. It’s just how we practice. We kept the same intensity. We never went off the gas. The o-line, defense, everyone stepped up big time and everything just worked out.” 

Sheehan knows that the team that wins the battle in the trenches will emerge as the victor, and he thinks his team as a whole did that pretty well. 

“It just all comes down to who’s the most physical team, and I feel like we were that team.” 

Cary-Grove will take on another perennial rival in Huntley on Friday. Although this year’s Huntley team isn’t as strong as previous ones, Sheehan said the team isn’t looking past anyone. 

“We always keep the same path. There is never a big game, it’s always ‘Who’s the next one’? Every game is a big game. Whoever we play is who we got.”

This mindset that the Trojans have has taken the teams of the past to great heights, and only time will tell if Friday’s game against Huntley sparks this year’s team to new levels of greatness. 

It surely seems that way through five games.