Cary-Grove handles Wheeling for 1st round win
Death, taxes and Cary-Grove winning first round football playoff games.
All seem certainties these days.
The third-seeded Trojans knocked off No. 14 seed Wheeling 34-8 in first round action of the Class 6A playoffs Friday night in Cary.
With the victory, the Trojans (9-1) have won a first round playoff game for the 13th straight season.
"Winning first round games for this long shows the consistency of the program," said Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg. "I took over a great program from Bruce Kay and we have been able to keep the winning going. "
Cary-Grove advances to the second round will host No. 6 Grayslake North next week. The Knights defeated Lakes 42-28 Friday.
The Trojans seized control of Friday's game in the first quarter with 3 unanswered touchdowns to take a 20-0 lead after 12 minutes of play.
Senior Tyler Pennington bulldozed to pay dirt from 5 yards out for the Trojans' initial score of the game.
Cary-Grove signal caller Bobby Collins, who carried 26 times for 170 yards, scampered 73 yards for the Trojans' second score.
"I was able to read the defense and my line blocked it perfectly," said Collins. "I had a lot of open space to run."
Ryan Magel scored the Trojans' third TD of the quarter on a 14-yard run to give the home team a 20-0 lead after 12 minutes of play.
Kyle Pressley, who broke several tackles, gave Cary-Grove a 27-0 lead with a 72-yard touchdown run with 8 minutes left in the first half. That was the score at halftime.
"I just try to be consistent and run hard every time I get the ball," said Pressley. "The line gave me a lot of room to run and I kept my legs churning."
Cary-Grove, which rushed for 365 yards on 46 carries, scored its final TD of the night when Collins tallied on a 9-yard run with 2:41 left in the game.
Wheeling (5-5), which failed to score 3 times inside the Cary-Grove 10, amassed 435 yards of total offense, 348 passing.
The Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard with 39.1 seconds left in the game when Jalen Dennis found Frankie DeLuca for a 10-yard score.
"We certainly had our opportunities but give Cary-Grove credit," said Wheeling coach Brent Pearlman. "They have a great team and made some plays. Give our kids credit. They went through a lot of adversity this season. We want to make making the playoffs an expectation not a novelty."
Senior cornerback Collin Walsh led the Trojan defense with an interception and 2 pass break ups.
"The first round of the playoffs is always nerve-racking," said Walsh. "Our defense bent but didn't break. I made a good read on the pass interception."