Jacobs beats Dundee-Crown again
Playing an emotion-filled Fox Valley Conference Valley Division game before a standing-room-only crowd was a good road test for Jacobs on Friday night.
And the Golden Eagles were well-prepared as they scored 21 points in the first 8:14 en route to a 49-17 victory over District 300 rival Dundee-Crown in Carpentersville.
"We got after it good," Jacobs coach Bill Mitz said after his team's sixth straight victory dating to last season.
"Probably the most important thing when you play a rival team like that is the first few plays you have to match their intensity," said Jacobs junior quarterback Chris Katrenick after throwing for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns and rushing for two scores. "You have to tell them how the game is going to be.
"The next two games will be the same type of atmosphere. I love it and the guys love it."
Jacobs (5-0, 1-0) became playoff eligible going into challenges away from home against Huntley (5-0) and Cary-Grove (4-1). Katrenick finished a 75-yard touchdown drive to open the game with a 6-yard touchdown run.
Junior linebacker Sean Barnes then returned his first interception of the season 44 yards for a touchdown.
"I read their offense well and I saw the tight end go out and picked it off," Barnes said. "The momentum shifted our way right away. The team came out strong and set the tone for the rest of the game."
D-C (1-4, 0-1) lost a fumble three plays later and Katrenick wasted no time finding Nathan Meland (6 catches, 104 yards) with a perfect 32-yard pass in the end zone for a 21-0 lead.
"We've talked to our guys plenty of times that we're not talented enough to give other teams free points," said D-C coach Mike Steinhaus. "That's what happened at the beginning and we were fighting (back) the whole time."
Two bad snaps for 32 yards in losses set up D-C with first and goal at the 10. But the Jacobs defense responded to limit the damage to a 31-yard field goal by Oscar Nava.
"They run to the ball well and they're a lot more physical," Mitz said of Jacobs' defense. "We're going to need that in the month of October because now come the big ones."
Katrenick ran for a 10-yard touchdown and Trevor Loewen and Meland wove through defenders to turn short passes into scores of 48 and 39 yards respectively. Nicholas Washington also had a 2-yard touchdown run.
"It was a good test for us but I think there is a lot of room for improvement for the offense and defense," Barnes said after Jacobs finished with a 362-247 advantage in total yards.
"I thought today was a great game besides a few mental mistakes we had," Katrenick said. "The second half we came out strong and put them away. That's what you have to do if you want to be a great team.
"We have to be our best (the next two weeks). We can't make mental mistakes like that."
D-C lost leading rusher Greg Williams in the second quarter with an injured left shoulder. Junior quarterback Conor Ryan (13-for-32, 100 yards) threw touchdown passes of 18 yards to Sean Jay and 4 yards to sophomore Brandon Rice and senior Patrick Sprouse rushed for 130 yards on 21 carries.
"He's a senior so he's expected to do that," Steinhaus said. "He's a great kid and we put him everywhere. He does his job because he's a great kid."