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Wauconda stuns Grant

The annual battle of the Bulldogs went Wauconda's way Friday night as the visitors upset playoff-bound Grant 19-6.

"It's been a good rivalry over the years," Wauconda head coach Dave Mills said. "For about 17 years there, they beat us every year, but the last five years or so, we've had their number."

That the Wauconda Bulldogs did on a cold October night, as the host Bulldogs couldn't get anything going on offense for most of the night.

Short drives, with some positive gains, would be negated by a boatload of penalties throughout the evening.

And it was a big play early on that got the visiting Bulldogs on the board as on the first play of their second drive, Wauconda quarterback Nicholas Bulgarelli linked up with Camden Janik on a 56-yard strike at the 9:08 mark of the first quarter to make it a 6-0 game.

That was all the scoring of the first half, though it looked like Grant got on the board just before halftime when Jimmy Taylor took a backward pass and launched his own pass into the end zone, where Ben Jensen came down with it.

But an offensive pass interference call brought it back and the score remained 6-0 Wauconda at the break.

Grant did open up the third quarter with a 13-play drive that got it to the Wauconda 39, before giving it up on downs.

The visitors then rode four good strikes from Bulgarelli, including a 30-yarder to JJ Jacobo and a 24-yard scoring pass to Jeverius McGuinn with 3:20 left in the third.

Colin Husko converted the extra point kick for a 13-0 lead.

The score remained there until 3:07 remained in the game, when a sack in the its own end zone led to a Grant fumble, which was pounced on for a touchdown by defensive lineman Alec Smith to make it 19-0.

With one last drive, the hosts were able to muster up some consistent gains before Christian Perez hit Taylor with a 19-yard touchdown pass to provide for the final margin with 31 seconds left.

"It's not the way you want to end the season heading into the playoffs," Grant head coach Chris Robinson said. "We're really banged up (including starting quarterback Tyler Elfering, out with a bad ankle), like most teams are at this time of year.

"But with the playoffs coming up, we just have to make our adjustments and do whatever we can to be ready."

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