Tell me if you have heard this one before: Cary-Grove’s football team is one win away from State. On the road for the second consecutive season in the final 6A game before the State Championship, the Trojans battle Geneva on their home turf.
CG punched their second-straight semifinal ticket due to a strong offensive performance against Belvidere North. Senior running back Holden Boone got things started by scoring from 73 yards out on third down and three yards.
The Trojans would score touchdowns on their next four drives in succession, responding to an 80-yard strike by the Blue Thunder (the score being 28-7 following that scamper) with one of their own, recovering an onside kick and taking things to the end zone from there.
Senior quarterback Peyton Seaburg took in this touchdown – the final score of half one – from four yards away. Seaburg finished with three rushing scores in the first two frames and also connected on a touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Landon Barnett, giving the Trojans another double-digit advantage after quarter one.
“We got the ball, we executed,” Coach Brad Seaburg said of the offense. “Our kids played really hard. Everything wasn’t perfect all the time, but we did a nice job.”
CG took into halftime a 35-7 lead, finishing things off at Al Bohrer Field in 2024 with one final touchdown – Boone from 41 yards – as the Trojans eliminated the Blue Thunder 42-7.
The defense for Cary-Grove did their part in conjunction with the offense, as senior Jake Cody earned a sack on third-and-eleven following a BN run of 20 yards. In addition, senior linebacker Charlie Ciske took down Belvidere North starting QB Nicolas Tapia for no gain on third-and-five.
Jake Cody finished off a sandwich of great defensive plays by sacking Tapia again, this time leading to a 4-and-15 for the Thunder.
“We knew that if [BN] got the ball out on the perimeter, it would be tough,” Coach Seaburg said. “They did one time, and then everything else we pretty much just shut them down.”
“I think we did great,” Cody – the facilitator of the two aforementioned sacks – said. “I think we just stuck to the basics. We’ve learned the triple option our whole lives, so it was easy to just come out and get to it.”
As the Trojans move on, they eye Geneva in the semi-final in Class 6A, with the winner either taking on Oak Lawn (Richards) or perennial powerhouse East St. Louis down in Bloomington-Normal.
“Two good teams, and we’re gonna do our best,” Coach Seaburg said of CG and Geneva.
“The vibes are up, the vibes are heavy, we’re excited,” Cody said. “We’re excited to get back into this next week and just be able to go into it, and we’re gonna have our heads up high.”