Following a dramatic win over the Wolves of Prairie Ridge in week five, the Trojans of Cary-Grove went back to the home faithful with an undefeated record and a fun and exciting Homecoming hoopla ahead, as CG prepared to face the Whip-Purs of Hampshire.
Much to the delight of Cary-Grove and Trojans fans, CG swept the Whip-Purs off their paws in a 48-7 win amid bubbling Homecoming festivities.
“Homecoming week, there’s a lot of distractions, a lot of things out there to take us away from the game,” Coach Seaburg said.
The Whip-Purs began against Cary-Grove on the first offensive drive on Saturday with a completed pass to the Hampshire 29. Eventually, the Trojans defense forced a punt at the Whip-Purs’ 34 yard-line following a false-start by Hampshire on the original fourth and four yards. The Whip-Purs’ first drive ended up lasting 3 minutes and 17 seconds. As for the Trojans offense, they didn’t take long to create momentum, as junior fullback Logan Abrams took the first play of the game for CG’s offense 56 yards to paydirt, and the Trojans got out in front by a 7-0 clip. The Trojans’ defensive troops once again provided a punt after Abrams provided a margin to work with for Cary-Grove, as an eight-play drive by Hampshire gave the CG offense a downed punt and possession at their own 42.
Offensively for the Trojans, they didn’t go throughout Homecoming without a bump on the track, as a three-play sequence that collectively gained 39 yards (the ball being spotted at the Hampshire 15 afterwards) was next met by an interception throw from senior quarterback Peyton Seaburg.
Those “stoppage-obtainers” for the Trojans, however, had the Whip-Purs offense back against their own endzone following the INT and a holding call that moved the ball back down to the Hampshire 6-yard line.
Two tackle-for-losses and a no-gain on a QB run later, the Hampshire offense had to punt from their own one, with the ensuing boot landing at the Whip-Purs’ 11, following the ball hitting the turf and rolling back to that aforementioned spot.
Cary-Grove’s offense started their next drive with a fumble, but Peyton Seaburg recovered it. With 10.1 seconds to go in the first quarter, Seaburg was the facilitator of a touchdown and a 14-0 lead for the Trojans, with Peyton scoring from the Hampshire one-yard line.
“Rinse and repeat” was the mantra for CG’s defense against the Whip-Purs, as they forced yet another punt for Hampshire, this time following a six-play possession.
The field flipped for the Trojans’ offense in just the first play of their ensuing drive, as senior running back Holden Boone took off for a 34-yard gain to the Whip-Purs’ 37, and senior running back Landon Barnett capped off a seven-play drive, as Cary-Grove extended their lead to 20 with 7:21 until halftime.
The CG defense – you guessed it – forced once again a punt for Hampshire, this time the drive for the Whip-Purs ending after three plays.
“We’re really good learners, I think that’s our biggest key,” senior linebacker Charlie Ciske said of the defense. “We see our mistakes, we correct them.
“Even in the first drive, we saw some things that we did wrong, fixed it, learned from it, and we got even better.”
Seven snaps following the three-and-out forced by the CG defense, their lead grew to 27 for the Trojans, eventually increased again, this time to 34, and the CG squad cruised to a 48-7 win over Hampshire. The CG offense, as a final statement, was able to take away more than 9 minutes on offense and put the Whip-Purs away for good, extending the Trojans’ lead to 41 with 2:56 to go in the third of four quarters.
“That drive to start the second half was just the whole accumulation of grit, getting two, getting three, getting ten,” Peyton Seaburg said.
“Just did a nice job,” Coach Seaburg said of the offense overall. “Very few penalties, we had [that] one turnover, but recovered after.”
Following a game vs. PR that produced an “adrenaline rush” for players, coaches, and fans alike, it could have been possible for the Trojans to lose sight of what the next week was going to bring, even with a team such as Hampshire (1-4 record according to MaxPreps after five weeks, but not with a lack of close games) coming to town.
“The kids did a nice job all week, had a great week of practice, and it really showed in the game,” Coach Seaburg said.
“I feel like we executed pretty well,” Peyton Seaburg said. “I was really proud of a lot of guys stepping up.”
The Trojans’ next contest is against Huntley on the road, with the Crystal Lake South Gators (also on the road) being on the docket a week later.
“I think we know where we’re at”, Peyton Seaburg said. “I feel like we’re pretty confident (on) offense right now, so we just gotta keep it going.”
“They (Huntley) got their quarterback coming back”, Coach Seaburg said. “They [have] a great tradition and they’ve won some games, and we’re just hoping to knock ‘em off.”