Following a 50-7 drubbing of the Crystal Lake South Gators, the Cary-Grove Trojans have notched their first Fox Valley Conference championship in three seasons.
“It’s a really great accomplishment,” Coach Seaburg said. “We’re hoping that it’s just one more step in the process.”
“It’s a great rebuttal from last year,” senior running back Landon Barnett said. “Being with all these guys, it’s a great experience.”
In order to get to that elusive conference title, the Trojans had to come back against two formidable foes in the FVC: Prairie Ridge in week five amidst a 12-3 halftime deficit, and Huntley in week seven amidst 15-0, 22-7, and 43-29 deficits.
The finishing touch on the conference championship, on the other hand, was as easy as it could get. Four plays into Cary-Grove’s opening drive, senior quarterback Peyton Seaburg put the first points on the board with a 51-yard touchdown run.
The CG defense forced a punt after a five-play drive by the Gators, and the Trojans led 14-0 after one quarter, the double-digit lead being notched by senior kicker (and fullback!) Jadon Apgar from nine yards away. Eventually, Cary-Grove was able to put a 21-0 lead on the Gators early on in the second, following a 56-yard, opening-play touchdown run by senior running back Holden Boone.
The defense compiled a nice drive following the Boone run, as a seven-play Gator drive ended in an interception by junior Landon Moore, one of two picks that Moore was able to obtain in the easy, breezy Trojan win over CLS. 24-0 was the CG lead following a field goal by Apgar.
Unfortunately on the next drive, the Crystal Lake South offense, with two seconds to spare in the first half, got their first and only points of the night on a pass to the back of the endzone by AJ Demirov. 24-7 in favor of the Trojans was the verdict at half.
The second half for CG began with their defense recovering a fumble, following an 11-play drive by the Gators. One snap later, Cary-Grove extended their lead to 31-7 on a touchdown run by Peyton Seaburg – the second of three rushing scores Seaburg would obtain for the Trojans against CLS.
The defense did their job the next drive, forcing a three-and-out, and three plays into the CG drive, the Trojans scored on a Seaburg to Landon Barnett passing touchdown.
Eventually, CG gained their final touchdown, being scored by freshman quarterback Jackson Berndt, and that was the cherry-on-top to a strong performance for the Trojans, taking down the Gators 50-7.
“They did great in assignments,” Barnett said of the offense against Crystal Lake South. “Everyone got their job done.”
The 50 points were the culmination of a potent offensive showing throughout 2024’s first eight games, as the Trojans in total have outscored opponents 313-107. CG has averaged 39 points a game compared to their opponents, who averaged 14 points.
For Cary-Grove’s offensive pursuiters – the offensive side of the ball – they have been able to put together short drives as well as big-play touchdowns and combine them with even quicker drives – as CG has notched one-play drives for scores six times in eight weeks, with three of them coming against McHenry.
In addition, the Trojans have been able to plot their own path with the game clock multiple times this season, as CG in back-to-back games (PR and Hampshire) drove down the field in more than seven minutes, as the drive against PR gave CG their eventual 18-12 winning lead after a drive of around that seven minute mark. The CG offensive drive against Hampshire of a long stature was nine minutes and four seconds, extending Cary-Grove’s homecoming lead to 41-0.
Overall this year, the Trojans have leaned on their experienced and tested athletes to create offensive highlights, while also gaining assistance from athletes with less experience to push the offense to greater heights.
“We returned a lot of guys, but we also had some new guys,” Coach Seaburg said of the offense this season. “New guys are playing better, and the veterans are doing what they’re supposed to do.”
For the Trojans “stop-troopers” – the defensive side of the ball – those 14 points allowed on average per game have been possible due to turnovers early on in games (mostly weeks one and two) to grant momentum to CG, with timely stops, methodical playmaking, and resilience to boot helping the cause of excellence throughout some troubling defensive moments in 2024.
Defensive mementos the Trojans have been able to obtain have continued to help their cause, such as a first-play INT against Burlington Central, a pick-six against CLC, a couple of huge fourth-down stops to clinch wins against the Wolves of PR and the Red Raiders of Huntley, respectively, and defensive highlights against Crystal Lake South.
“Just playing hard and making tackles,” Coach Seaburg said of the defense. “It was nice to see a couple of picks (against CLS) by Landon (Moore).”
Moving on to week nine, the Trojans will battle against the Dundee-Crown Chargers on CG’s home field. Cary-Grove seeks a 9-0 record heading into the playoffs for the first time since 2021, aiming to carry that momentum into postseason play.
“Our main goal would be to win next week, take care of business,” Coach Seaburg said. “Hopefully we can finish undefeated.”