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Cary-Grove throttles St. Charles North

Cary-Grove didn't do much to surprise St. Charles North in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs Saturday in St. Charles.

The Trojans didn't need to. They ran their triple option with great success while their defense didn't give up a point. The North Stars scored a pair of defensive touchdowns but it was far too little in a 35-14 loss.

"I tip my hat to coach (Brad) Seaburg and the Trojans," North Stars coach Rob Pomazak said. "They tell you what they are going to do and you have to figure out a way to stop them. I wish them the best in the next couple weeks and I hope they win a state championship."

Cary-Grove (11-0) will try to take the next stop toward that goal when it hosts Geneva (10-1) in the quarterfinals.

The Vikings will try to slow a Trojan offense that ran for 420 yards Saturday with Tyler Pennington (22 carries, 129 yards, 4 touchdowns) and Matt Sutherland (10-107-1) both cracking 100 yards.

Pennington scored on 1-, 9-, 22- and 2-yard runs.

"We played a real football game today," Pennington said. "We haven't played a real football game in a long time. We love it. This is what we sign up for. It was more competitive, more physical, they weren't going to give up, we weren't going to give up. We haven't played in the fourth quarter in awhile."

It took less than three minutes for Pennington to put the Trojans up 7-0. After a three-and-out - the Trojans defense opened the game with four straight three-and-outs - quarterback Jason Gregoire broke free for a 37-yard gain to set up Pennington's score.

"In the first half our defense got us the ball," Seaburg said. "They are fast and they hustle and we have a lot of guys who play very hard. Our defensive line was doing a really nice job getting pressure. I thought our defense played phenomenal."

Two more Pennington touchdown runs had the Trojans up 20-0 midway through the second - even though they also had three touchdown runs called back on holding penalties in that same stretch.

Sophomore Tyler Mettetal gave the North Stars life by picking off a pitch and returning it 35 yards for a touchdown, bringing the North Stars within 20-7 at halftime.

"We realized we're half the field that can score, we can do some damage," North Star senior defensive end Jordan Bergren said. "We got that first touchdown and got a little confidence back but there's only so much you can do with one touchdown from the defense.

"They have linemen bigger than anyone we've ever seen. They are dangerous no matter who you put in front of them."

Cary-Grove quickly regained momentum in the third quarter. A face mask penalty on the opening kick gave the Trojans a short field, and Sutherland's cut back sprung him on a 37-yard score for a 28-7 lead just 55 seconds into the second half.

"Coming out the second half the first minute or two kind of broke our backs," Pomazak said. "If we get three-and-out and put up a score it's a different ballgame. But that's why they are 10-0 and that's why we are going home."

The North Stars, who didn't get a first down until quarterback Nathan Didier scrambled for one 22 minutes into the game, put together their best drive. After Didier ran for 12 yards for a fourth-down conversion, Mettetal's 6-yard carry on a reverse set up first-and-goal - and snapped an 0-for-6 on third downs.

That drive stalled at Cary-Grove's 1-yard line, and the Trojans responded by going the other way 99 yards for their final score, a 2-yard plunge from Pennington for a 35-7 lead. Cary-Grove rested many of its starters from there, the only other touchdown coming on Jack Callaghan's 11-yard fumble return.

"Even though the score was a 3-score it didn't feel like that," Seaburg said. "They were very physical and made us earn everything we got today. That's what playoff football is about."

"We're one of 8 now we're right where we want to be. What more can you ask for?"

Didier completed half of his 24 passes for 98 yards before leaving late in the fourth quarter after taking a hit in the head.

"There were some good moments where I thought the defense did some nice things but all in all they just outmuscled us and they had their way with us in the front seven. My kids continued to fight and kept their heads high and finished off what I think was a great season for the program."

The North Stars (8-3) tied a school record for wins while starting 12 juniors or sophomores Saturday. Their sophomore team went 8-1 and won the UEC River.

"Coming into the program two years ago the goal was to make us relevant again, put St. Charles North back on the map as a football team," Pomazak said. "I give all the credit to my seniors for being the leaders they were. Last year missing out at 5-4 was a huge disappointment but the work they put in from November all the way through, this wasn't a 3-month season for us. This has been 9 months in the making. Very rarely in your life do you commit that much time to something especially a 17-year-old kid. The kids paved the way and set the table for our juniors and sophomores and freshmen."

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