It's a win-win for Trieb's tribe, Buffalo Grove
Buffalo Grove running back/linebacker Tom Trieb and his family had a big night, at visiting Prospect's expense, at the Bison's Grant Blaney Field on Friday.
Trieb ripped off touchdown runs of 80 and 61 yards in the second quarter to help lead Buffalo Grove to a 5-0 overall start and a 1-0 conference record in both teams' Mid-Suburban East opener.
A Trieb family member won $485 in the split-the-pot fundraiser at the Bison homecoming win.
"I couldn't believe that I heard 'a Trieb family member won the pot'," said Trieb. "Maybe we should play the lotto."
Trieb rolled for 194 yards in 13 carries against the Knights (1-4, 0-1).
"The offensive line did just a great job tonight," said Trieb. "They made a lot of good things happen. This was my best day as a runner this season."
Trieb cited linemen Maxwell Merriott, Thomas Konwent, Joshua Bleichman, Eduardo Morelli and Alexander Marchok, along with tight end Justin Gold, for the Bison piling up 240 rushing yards.
"On that 80 yard run, I just bounced off a defender and spun to the outside. I had some great blocks on that run," said Trieb of the jaunt that put Buffalo Grove up 7-0 with 6:41 left in the second quarter.
Trieb's second touchdown was a little bit more impressive. He had to fend off Prospect defensive back Michael Cima, who'd latched on to Trieb's shirt but couldn't hang on after being dragged 7 yards before letting go.
Trieb also played strong on defense, with 3 tackles out of his 6 for losses. Also a force was linebacker Justin Gold (7 tackles, 3 for loss, and a quarterback sack).
"I give Prospect a lot of credit," said Gold. "They have been the toughest team that I have played against this year. Their No. 54 ( Brennan Keane) fought hard all night. He gave us a hard time. We closed down the gaps and kept them from getting the big plays.
"It's great qualifying for the playoffs. Now, we have to go out next week against Elk Grove and go 1-0."
The gritty Knights closed to within 14-7 with :24 left in the second quarter.
Prospect went 68 yards in 6 plays to score on junior quarterback Jimmy Martin's 1-yard run.
A 46 yard run by Michael Shafis (21 carries, 108 yards) was the key play on the drive.
Quarterback Connor Adams (15-for-24, 170 yards, 1 interception) helped give the Bison some cushion when he completed a 5-play, 88-yard drive with a 26-yard scoring pass to Troy Nelson with 4:51 left in the third quarter. That touchdown made it 21-7.
"Our defense battled them and did a great job," said Buffalo Grove coach Jeff Vlk. "Our depth really helps us give guys a rest. Many of our No. 2s could be No. 1s on other teams. We're very luck to have the players that we have. Right now the only team that can stop us is ourselves."
Vlk was pointing out that the Bison committed 10 penalties for 105 yards.
"That something we have to clean up," said Vlk.
The Knights left the game banged up, with offensive linemen Andrew Tertle, and Ty Lussow leaving the game with leg injuries.
"We'll have to figure out what we're going to do with our line," said Prospect coach Mike Sebestyen. Our depth is really being tested.
"We had some good efforts. Shafis played hard for us on both sides of the ball, and Martin just keeps improving at quarterback. I think he had his best game out of the five tonight. He really played hard tonight."