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Steady Cary-Grove wins by doing what it does best

Like a continuous trickle of water, the Cary-Grove offense doesn't seem overly impressive until one sees the swath it carves over time.

Cary-Grove's persistent triple-option on Saturday ate away at host Batavia's defense like the world's greatest solvent - drip by drip by drip - in a 42-21 Class 7A quarterfinal victory.

The Trojans (11-1) attacked Batavia (10-2) with fullback Tyler Pennington, hoping as always the steady flow of carries through the 205-pound junior would eventually weaken the dam.

Indeed, Pennington's 21 carries for 90 yards aimed at the foundation of Batavia's normally rock-solid defense enabled junior Ryan Magel to burst through cracks on the perimeter for game-changing plays.

With Batavia leading 7-6 with 30 seconds left in the second quarter, Magel took advantage of the attention being paid inside to Pennington, which sometimes meant nine or 10 Bulldogs in the box, according to Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg.

On fourth-and-3 from the Batavia 46, Magel took quarterback J.P. Sullivan's pitch left, picked up blocks on the edge from Kevin Hughes and Jimmy Freskos and raced untouched for a touchdown that stole the Bulldogs' momentum right before halftime. Magel's 2-point conversion run staked the Trojans to a 14-7 lead.

Asked if he or an assistant coach noticed anything in particular about Batavia's defense they were able to exploit on the play, Seaburg said no. He said it was just an ordinary play.

"That was our execution of the triple option," he said. "J.P. made some great reads on that and the blocking on the perimeter is outstanding. And Magel finished it off."

Seaburg said this week his offense rarely makes adjustments this time of year based on what an opponent does defensively. Doing so, he said, slows the precise execution upon which the triple option relies.

With Cary-Grove leading 28-14 late in the third quarter, Magel took a pitch to the right side and scored untouched from 31 yards. The touchdown looked eerily similar to his earlier 46-yarder.

"It was exactly the same play, just a regular pitch out," said Magel, who finished with 122 yards and 3 touchdowns on 9 carries.

Same play. Same offense. Same execution. Same result.

Drip, drip, drip, drip.

Once the Trojans took a 28-7 third-quarter lead on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Sullivan to Hughes - Cary-Grove's only pass attempt of the afternoon - they made it tough on the Bulldogs from a time-management standpoint. Batavia likely wouldn't get enough possessions or have enough time to make a comeback unless it played perfectly, which was asking a lot considering the Cary-Grove defense had already forced and recovered 2 fumbles.

"Now you're trying to stop that offense and you're watching clock run and you're watching first downs happen," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. "They grind it out on you. They're a good football team."

The win not only avenges Cary-Grove's 2006 quarterfinal loss to the Bulldogs, it advances the Trojans to a semifinal for the third time in four years and for the fifth time since the golden age of Cary-Grove football began in 2004. They are 4-0 in semifinals over that span, quite a swath.

To reach the Class 7A state title game for a second straight season, No. 5 Cary-Grove must defeat No. 1 Glenbard West (12-0) in Glen Ellyn next week. The Hilltoppers make their sixth semifinal appearance in eight seasons.

The Trojans will enter that game as underdogs, but don't expect anything to change offensively.

"We feel comfortable in what we can do," Seaburg said this week. "If the other team is better than us, they'll win. If what we do allows us to win, we'll win."

Drip, drip, drip.

Images: Batavia vs. Cary-Grove, football

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