An efficient Geneva offense gained some early momentum on their first offensive drive against the Trojans on Saturday, draining the Cary-Grove defense and driving inside the Trojans’ 35 with a strong mix of the run and pass. This all was flipped on an ensuing third and three.
The Trojans forced and recovered a fumble on this down. Senior running back Andrew Prio broke out of a would-be tackle-for-loss and scampered 56 yards for the contest’s opening score. The next drive, senior defensive back PJ Weaver picked off a pass and took it back for a touchdown.
“It gave us a lot of confidence,” Coach Brad Seaburg said. “We were able to take that and just keep it going.”
Momentum was planted in favor of CG. Cary-Grove stormed past the Vikings by a final of 41-7.
This seamless effort from the Trojans continued in the second quarter with a Logan Abrams touchdown run from three yards out, and then Jack Rocen intercepting a Viking pass at the CG 34.
Quarterback Peyton Seaburg showed off his legs with some strong and long runs on the ensuing drive for CG, and Abrams once again scored to give the Trojans a 27-0 lead.
The Vikings offense seemed to start to sputter on the next possession, as their time with the football on this drive was a mere 1 minute and 1 second, forced to punt in the end.
Peyton Seaburg found Prio on a five-yard pass to the end zone to extend Cary-Grove’s lead to 34, which took the clock down to less than 10 seconds to go in the first half.
So the Trojans surely were able to “keep it going”, and then some.
It was certainly a great game for the defense as well, trying to contain a wide receiver in Talyn Taylor with an offer from Alabama and Geneva’s other strong players on the offensive side. Taylor finished with less than five catches, and the Vikings’ offense only got into the endzone once CG subbed out their starters, the score coming late in the third quarter.
“We were always aware of where he was,” Coach Seaburg said of Taylor. “We did a nice job of getting two guys on him when necessary.”
The defense knew what they had to do in order to slow down the strong Geneva offense, and that great start fueled an efficient afternoon on the defensive side.
“It gives our kids belief. Our kids had a good week of practice and executed our gameplan,” Coach Seaburg said. “Just seeing what [Geneva] did last week to Lake Forest, scoring 42 on them. Holding [Geneva] to virtually nothing was great.”
These weekly performances from the Trojans, very strong at that, have been a breath of fresh air after a season last year that ended with CG losing their last five games and finishing 2022 with a 3-6 record. The Trojans seem to be right back to where they have been for the entire 21st century, as they have reached the state semifinals for the ninth time in total. Cary-Grove will battle the Lake Zurich Bears as CG aims to notch their seventh state appearance in 19 years.
“Even though we came up short last year in a lot of ways, nobody ever stopped believing,” Coach Seaburg said.
Trojans @ Bears. 1 PM Saturday. For a state appearance.