The Trojans, in seven of their first ten games this season, were able to go out in front by at least 14 points before the second quarter. CG against Antioch on Saturday made that eight of eleven.
Cary-Grove’s strong defensive performance (two straight three-and-outs forced) in the first frame led the way for the Trojans to take a 15-0 advantage into the second. Senior QB Peyton Seaburg and senior running back Landon Barnett were responsible for the two opening scores for CG.
Although this fast start for Cary-Grove was another one in a long list of them, Antioch wasn’t going to tuck their tails between their legs – even against a Trojans team that has gained leads of 29-0, 27-0, and 38-0 in first quarters this year.
The Sequoits faced a fourth-and-16 following a sack by senior defensive lineman Ty Drayton two plays into the second quarter. However, a missed punt helped Antioch, as Sequoits starting QB, sophomore Colin Arquilla, who was plastered right after a fourth-down flick left his hand, got the ball far enough to be caught – taken for an Antioch first down.
You usually won’t see a play like that work out for a Cary-Grove opponent – or any opponent. The Sequoit fanbase, after this surprisingly successful play, showed some hearty happiness.
The positive cheers – perhaps relief – from the Antioch fanbase ended with the Sequoit offense not doing much, in spite of the gift CG’s special teams handed them.
Even worse for Antioch, on fourth-and-12, CG senior linebacker Charlie Ciske batted a pass and picked it off, ending a Sequoit drive in emphatic fashion. This would be one of two interceptions that would occur in the middle of an Antioch offensive pursuit.
The second INT was from senior Preston Walsh amid a 27-0 lead for the boys in navy blue and white.
“Those were huge for us,” Coach Seaburg said. “Getting stops, not letting them score, and then changing the momentum, too.”
Senior linebacker Mike Sorenson agreed that those interceptions were pivotal contributions to the game flow.
“It’s all about the momentum,” Sorenson said. “You build it up, there’s big plays like that, [they] change the game. It gets everyone fired up.”
The Trojans were able to score off both of those two tide-turning turnovers. In total, Cary-Grove’s offense moved the ball well against the Sequoit defense, using 43 offensive plays to score 41 points in a 33-point victory over Antioch.
CG’s first three drives (all TD’s) lasted over four minutes each, with the next two drives – and scoring trips – taking 2:49 and 1:50 off the clock, respectively. Of the overall plays during scoring drives, 38 of 43 were in those first five touchdown possessions.
“It was methodical,” Coach Seaburg said. “Instead of breaking it maybe for 60 [yards], we had 20 [yards].”
“Antioch doesn’t see a lot of [the] triple-option in the regular season,” senior center Lucas Burton said. “They ran a couple of different fronts, and that was really what they stuck to.”
Speaking of the triple-option, the Trojans’ next opponent, the Belvidere North Blue Thunder, will be bringing their triple-option offense to town against Cary-Grove on Saturday at 1 p.m. A semifinal appearance awaits the victor, with a battle in the trenches likely to ensue.
“We’ve seen it a couple times this year,” Sorenson said of the option. “I think we’re ready for it. We just gotta put our feet in the ground and we’ll be good.”