advertisement

Cary-Grove defense stands tall

Cary-Grove defensive linemen Nick Cruz couldn't tell you who caused the hit that forced a fumble deep in Trojan territory with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter of the Trojans' win over Prairie Ridge Friday in Cary.

But what he could say on the play besides the fact he fell on the ball to preserve a 21-14 nonconference victory was that even though the Trojans lost 9 full-time starters from their Class 7A runner-up team last season, their defense that posed serious question marks prior to the season opener was alive and well.

"It just boosted our morality, it just pumped up the entire crowd," Cruz said of his scoop that stopped PR dead in its tracks on the 13-yard-line. "We knew we still had time on the board, so we just had to play strong and dig deep."

Cruz's clutch effort also served as redemption, after the Trojans gift-wrapped a fumble to PR on their own 25-yard-line with 2:40 left. But it wasn't the only time their defense responded.

Junior David Daigle deflected 2 deep PR passes down the field, defensive back Kevin Hughes recovered a fumble on the Wolves' first possession of the game and wrestling standout John Cullen intercepted PR quarterback Samson Evans in the fourth quarter.

The Trojans allowed just 3 first downs in the first half and 11 in total, held PR to 206 total yards (41 in the first half) and had running back Nathan Griffin (11 carries, 97 yards) shut down except for one run, a 71-yard touchdown explosion in the third quarter.

Not bad for a defensive group that didn't receive much playing time last year, right?

"We certainly knew what they had," Trojans coach Brad Seaburg said of his defensive response. "But we felt good about our guys and we may be the only people who knew about them, though."

Tyler Pennington wasn't forgotten. The junior, who rushed for 34 touchdowns last year, was up to his same tricks. He rushed 38 times for 167 yards and a touchdown, an 18-yard run which put the Trojans up 13-0 in the second quarter. Pennington was a big reason why Cary-Grove outgained PR 302-206 and outrushed the Wolves 256-171.

But Pennington received help from quarterback J.P. Sullivan, who threw for 46 yards on 4 of 6 passing and rushed for 48 on 7 carries. Sullivan rushed for a 25-yard touchdown to open up the scoring in the first quarter, and capped C-G's output when he found Ryan Magel in the end zone for a 7-yard pass for a 19-7 lead on the opening possession of the fourth quarter. His subsequent 2-point conversion pass to Pennington padded C-G's lead to 21-7.

Prairie Ridge responded with Griffin's 2-yard touchdown run with 5:21 to bring the Wolves within 7 and Terrell Sheridan's second fumble recovery put some life into the Wolves, who ultimately couldn't dig out of a first half hole.

"We left too many plays on the field to beat a good team," Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp said. "We just didn't match the level of play in the first half. And plays that we had that could kind of slow them down, we didn't make those plays."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.