Crystal Lake South dominates McHenry

Crystal Lake South senior Alex Gardeck predicted a big return after he was forced to sit out last week's game because of a pinhole tear in his trachea.

"Today in study hall I told him (tailback Corey Sheehan) you are going for 200-plus yards," Gardeck said, "and I told him (fullback Kyle Bartusch) you are going to have a big game."

Gardeck was right in the middle of leading Sheehan and Bartusch to career nights as he returned to his center spot Friday night at McCracken Field in McHenry. Sheehan rushed for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns and Bartusch ran for 160 and two scores as the Gators powered their way to a 41-28 victory in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division football opener for both teams.

"That's as dominant a game I've seen Crystal Lake South have in a long time," Gators coach Chuck Ahsmann told his team in the postgame huddle.

The Gators (2-3, 1-0) ditched the shotgun spread for the I-formation as they rolled to 393 of their 409 total yards on the ground behind Gardeck, Niko Polizos, Kyle Loupee, Thomas Mroz, Kevin Amren and tight end Weston Buckner.

Their only plays for negative yardage came when they took a knee twice at the 5 of McHenry (2-3, 0-1) in the final minute. That was also the only possession where the Gators didn't score as they nearly matched the 48 points they scored in their first 4 games.

"That's what we wanted to do," Ahsmann said after the Gators converted all 8 of their third downs. "We wanted to run the ball 5 yards a play if we could and keep the chains moving. We didn't punt and that's huge."

Bartusch surpassed 100 yards rushing for the first time in his career and 53 came on his touchdown run on the second play of the game.

"We've been keeping him a secret, but we started giving him the ball and got back to old-school Crystal Lake South football of getting after it," Gardeck said.

"I was excited," Bartusch said after doing his damage on just 15 carries and adding a 1-yard run for the Gators' final score. "In practice I started getting the ball a lot more. I wanted to try to help the team win and do as much as I could."

Sheehan's 25 carries included touchdown runs of 22 and 34 yards in the first quarter and a 19-yarder in the third to pass his previous high of 200 yards. Quarterback Payton Minogue ran for a 1-yard touchdown 1:10 before halftime.

"It was good to have Bubba (Gardeck) back," Sheehan said. "I trust everyone on offense and I have to trust our front five."

An onside kick recovery helped McHenry score twice in the last 5:25 as Mike Briscoe (12-for-22, 165 yards) finished the scoring with his third touchdown pass to Mike Borst. But Gardeck, who spent three nights in the hospital after his injury against Bloom, was glad to finish things off with his teammates in the victory formation.

"It felt amazing," Gardeck said. "Last week killed me watching from the sideline."