Prairie Ridge routs Lake Forest
After an emotional 51-24 second round win at Montini last week, you might have thought Prairie Ridge would have a letdown in Saturday's Class 6A quarterfinal matchup against Lake Forest.
It didn't happen.
Scoring on their first 5 possessions of the game, the top-seeded Wolves moved to a perfect 12-0 for the season by crushing 12th seeded Lake Forest 71-7 quarterfinal action at PR Stadium.
Prairie Ridge, which advances to the Class 6A semifinals for the second straight season, will host DeKalb next week. The No. 7 Barbs shocked third-seeded Cary-Grove 35-21 Saturday.
"We had a very emotional win against Montini last week," said PR coach Chris Schremp. "We talked to the kids after the game that we couldn't have a letdown and we had a great week of practice. We came ready to play and set the tone early. It is a testament to our coaches, the program and our players that we are playing in the semifinals for the second straight year."
Lake Forest (8-4) couldn't contain PR's potent rushing attack spearheaded by junior quarterback Samson Evans, who carried the ball 18 times for 290 yards with 5 touchdowns - all in the first half.
"We knew we couldn't have a letdown after last week," said Evans. "We have taken every game as they come this year and respected every opponent. We established our offense with some early scores. We lost some great seniors from last season but we haven't missed a beat. The new people have stepped in and done a great job."
PR, which ran for 474 yards with 27 first downs in the first half, led the overmatched Scouts 55-7 at halftime.
Cole Brown chipped in with 114 yards rushing which included touchdown runs of 9 and 10 yards during the first 24 minutes.
"With teams concentrating on Samson it gives me opportunities to run," said Brown. "The offensive line was outstanding and it feels great to play in the semifinals for a second straight year. We hope to win one more game than last season and play in the state finals. That has been the goal since Day 1."
The PR defense and special teams also contributed to the win.
On the last play of the first half, senior defensive back Daniel Renteria intercepted a pass at his own 13 and raced unscathed 87 yards for a touchdown.
With 10:30 left, Jonathan Weissman blocked a punt which was recovered by Lake Forest in the end zone for a PR safety.
Lake Forest's only score of the game came with 44 seconds left in the first quarter when Charlie Reinkemeyer connected with Ryan Cekay for a 10-yard touchdown pass.