“If you can shut out teams, it puts you in a position to win a lot of games in the Fox Valley,” Coach Seaburg said after his Trojans shut out the McHenry Warriors en route to an 18-0 homecoming win.

While that may seem like an obvious statement, the shutout was an important step forward for the Trojans’ defense, which allowed at least three touchdowns in each of their first three games.

“We saw a lot of improvement,” Coach Seaburg said. “We tackled really well. The defense did outstanding.”

The Trojans made multiple crucial stops throughout the game, and they put a pin on a great day at the office for their D with a fourth-down stand on McHenry’s final drive.

“The other play that was probably just as big was our fourth-down stand earlier in the (third) quarter, [which] set up our touchdown,” Coach Seaburg said.

The offense had their share of improvements as well, as they turned the ball over four times in the first quarter, but never wavered and eventually scored three touchdowns. 

Coach Seaburg didn’t have a lot to say to his team early on other than putting their struggles to the side and scoring some points. 

“The message was we had to execute better, and we had to finish drives,” Coach Seaburg stated. 

The type of game that McHenry and Cary-Grove played Saturday afternoon showed exactly why both sides of the football (and special teams) are crucial, and how one mistake made by either side needs to be countered quickly and effectively. 

There were a lot of errors between the Trojans and Warriors, but the team that countered the errors would improve in the left-hand column. Cary-Grove was that group. 

“It’s a team game. Offense, defense, special teams. Today the defense played overwhelmingly well, and [they] put us in a position to win a game,” Coach Seaburg said. 

Some of those defensive standouts were also key contributors on the offensive side of the ball for the Trojans. 

“It’s just kind of the dynamic of the team,”  Coach Seaburg said. “Having two-way guys is good, but at the same time, you’ve got to be conscious of how tired they might be getting throughout the course of the game, and mentally, and hopefully they don’t get overloaded.”

The conference reshaped after CG won and Jacobs handed PR their first loss, and as a result, week five will feature four teams looking to move into a tie for first in the FVC with Jacobs.

Most notably, a battle between two of the four 3-1’s in Cary-Grove and PR will take place, with Coach Seaburg excited to take on a formidable foe in the Wolves. 

“They’ve got some explosive players on offense. They are a very well-coached, very disciplined team, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”