Coming off of a state win against the East St. Louis Flyers a season ago, the Cary-Grove Trojans probably couldn’t have drawn up a better start to their quest for a repeat. CG picked off the first pass of the season from Burlington Central, providing an early statement en route to a comfortable 27-3 win on Friday night.
“We just made a great play,” Head Coach Brad Seaburg said. “Then we scored to start the game, which was huge. (It) gave us a ton of momentum.”
The momentum sparked by the early interception remained strong throughout the rest of the game, as the Trojans were able to take an early 7-0 lead off the turnover and keep a 14-3 lead in their favor going into the second half. Those touchdowns, plus another in the third quarter, were all run in by senior QB Peyton Seaburg.
Peyton’s longest run against the Rockets was a 31-yard touchdown run on first down, which was the third-quarter dagger that gave the Trojans a nice 20-3 cushion going into the fourth.
“He had some tough runs and he broke some longer runs,” Coach Seaburg said of Peyton. “He’s playing like seniors should in our program.”
The strong running game by Peyton Seaburg was compounded by senior kicker and fullback Jadon Apgar, who scored the final touchdown in the Trojans’ 27-3 win.
“He’s had tons of experience,” Coach Seaburg said of Apgar. “Tonight was his first game playing fullback. I’m really, really proud of Jadon and what he did tonight.
“To top it off, so many of his kicks were high and deep and sometimes touchbacks. He was still able to do that.”
CG’s defense against Central not only started things off with a turnover, but they held their own with the Trojans and Rockets maintaining a decently close game going into the third.
“Burlington-Central’s got a lot of talent,” Coach Seaburg said. “Our guys did a great job of tackling and playing physical. Our defensive backs made some really nice plays against some really talented receivers.”
The Rockets challenged CG’s defense late in the first half as they were slowly but surely making their way down deep into CG territory after starting the drive at the Trojans’ 31. They converted a fourth down and the Burlington-Central offense stood at the six-yard-line of CG, seeking to strike. Two plays later, the Rockets had to settle for a field goal. That kick ended the first half at 14-3, and the Trojans could exhale.
Cary-Grove’s defense made sure the Trojans didn’t need to hold their breath again, as even with a couple of breaks from BC penalties, CG forced three straight incompletions from the Rockets on their last drive before the fourth. Burlington-Central’s final drive consisted of two incomplete passes with a play for no-gain sandwiched in between. The Trojans were able to close out the first game of 2024 from there, as their final drive chewed up the rest of the clock and punctuated a great way to open the season.
Cary-Grove’s first home game will take place this Friday, September 6th, as the Trojans will square off against the Tigers of Crystal Lake Central. CG will be seeking to add another win to their portfolio, and CLC will aim to get themselves back on track after a tough, double-digit home loss to the Red Raiders of Huntley to start 2024.