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Loud and proud, Cary-Grove's headed downstate

His voice cracking and lungs stretching to capacity, Michael Gomez flailed his big arms as he delivered an intense postgame speech to his fired-up Cary-Grove football teammates on Libertyville's turf.

Top that, Brad Seaburg.

"There's not much more I can say after that," Cary-Grove's coach joked, as his players roared.

Cary-Grove spoke amply with its play on the field during Saturday's Class 7A state semifinal, dominating the No. 11 seed 41-7 to earn its third state final appearance in six years. The Trojans last went to state two years ago. Gomez started at guard as a sophomore on that 2012 team.

"I'm so excited. I'm out of my mind right now," said the senior two-way lineman, who couldn't hold back tears of joy. "The feeling of going to state as a sophomore is amazing. But the feeling of going to state as a senior - your last hurrah - there's nothing better."

Sophomore fullback Tyler Pennington led the way on the ground for Cary-Grove (13-0), which will play fellow No. 1 seed Providence Catholic (12-1) in Saturday's 4 p.m. state championship game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Pennington scored 4 touchdowns, hiking to single-season school-record total to 33, and rushed for 118 yards on 19 carries. Behind a line featuring Gomez, Notre Dame-bound Trevor Ruhland, Owen Henriques, Peter Bardgett and Scotty Topole, the Trojans' option offense generated 291 rushing yards.

"The holes just opened up," Pennington said. "I knew they would be there. They're always there. That's just how the year has gone for us. I just ran through it."

Libertyville, which was playing in the state semifinals for the first time in 10 years, finished 9-4.

"It felt like, 'Hey, we're here. Let's make the most out of that opportunity,' " Wildcats coach Mike Jones said. "But we knew we'd have to play pretty close to perfect to beat them. They're all they're advertised to be."

Cary-Grove was just as impressive defensively as offensively, holding all-state junior quarterback Riley Lees to 15 rushing yards (17 carries), which included a strip and fumble for minus-32 yards early in the fourth quarter. Safety Zach McQuade had 2 more interceptions, giving him five in the Trojans' last two games. Lees' longest run was for 14 yards.

"Our contain on the quarterback was a testament to Coach Sutherland and the whole defensive staff," said Gomez, crediting defensive coordinator Don Sutherland. "We knew that this quarterback was one of the best offensive players in this state. It took good practice. Coach Sutherland is just an amazing coach with great schemes."

"I think the key was just making sure that (Lees) never got a full head of steam going - that we always had him contained and that we always had guys getting to him," Seaburg said. "He's such a great player. I think our guys executed what we wanted to very well."

Cary-Grove built a 13-0 lead on QB Jason Gregoire's 29-yard TD pass to Larkin Hanselmann and Gregoire's 2-yard keeper on the first play of the second quarter, after McQuade's first interception set the Trojans up at the Libertyville 22. But needing a long drive, Libertyville got it. Lees' 3-yard run - his 35th touchdown of the season - capped an 18-play, 90-yard series with 3:12 left before halftime.

While Libertyville ate up nearly nine minutes of the game clock, Cary-Grove needed just less than three minutes to answer. Gregoire marched the visitors downfield, Pennington gained 5 yards on fourth-and-3 from the Libertyville 18, and Pennington scored from 3 yards out to finish a 12-play, 68-yard drive.

"That was huge," Seaburg said. "We were saying, 'Hey, we got three minutes left to go. Let's get a score.' We weren't in a full two-minute situation, but we were in a hurry-up situation, and Jason really just did a great job of leading the troops."

Pennington added TDs runs of 8 and 39 yards in the third quarter, and his 1-yard run accounted for the only score of the fourth. C-G also got 65 rushing yards from Kevin Hughes, 48 from Matt Sutherland and 34 from Gregoire.

"They like to bounce outside a lot, and they were very good at that," Libertyville senior defensive tackle Mark Dunsing said. "There are no slouches at this level. That's why I'm so proud of my team for being able to stick with it and get this far."

Cary-Grove's defense was tough physically on Lees too, but the QB never missed a play.

"There's a reason why they're undefeated," Lees, who was 10-of-21 passing for 72 yards, said of the Trojans. "We played our hardest. They're a good team. Sometimes there's nothing you can do about it. I truly think they're going to win the state championship. I think they're that good of a team, and they've earned that right to be in that game."

Trojans make it clear — they aren't done yet

Images: Libertyville vs. Cary-Grove football

  Cary-Grove's Michael Gomez leads the team on a victory march for fans after the Trojans' 41-7 win at Libertyville in the Class 7A state semifinals Saturday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove's Jason Gregoire (12) leaps up and down repeatedly in celebration of the Trojans' victory over Libertyville in the Class 7A semifinals at Libertyville on Saturday. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Cary-Grove's Larkin Hanselmann enters the end zone, leaving behind Libertyville's Ryan Jackson with the game's first touchdown in the first quarter of the Class 7A semifinal. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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