Who would have thought that not blitzing would do the trick for Glenbard South?
After allowing Cary-Grove to score on its first drive of the game, the Glenbard South defense stopped blitzing. Glenbard South shut out Cary-Grove for the remainder of the game, winning 17-7 in a Class 5A second-round game Saturday afternoon.
Cary-Grove capped a nine-play, 60-yard drive on quarterback Eric Gold’s 2-yard touchdown run to jump ahead 7-0. After Gold’s touchdown, Glenbard South coach Jerry Barton told his defense to stop blitzing and stay at home. No Cary-Grove drive went longer than 34 yards the rest of the game.
“We tried to blitz Cary-Grove early in the game, and they ran right by us, so the only thing we did differently was stop blitzing and let the defense play,” Barton said. “I’m so proud of those kids. We may give up a lot of yards, but we don’t give up a lot of points.”
Patrick Watkins, who rushed for 94 yards in 28 carries, scored on a 1-yard run as Glenbard South (8-3) tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter.
Cary-Grove had great field position after a blocked punt, but failed on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line early in the third quarter.
“We didn’t do our defense any favors today,” Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay said. “We put (our defense) in a hole. Glenbard South is a fine, strong, physical football team.
“Not scoring on their goal line was the big play, but we can’t go back and look at one or two plays as being the difference. It was a matter of a good, solid team keeping us from moving the ball.”
Late in the third quarter, Glenbard South’s Blake Schaffnit recovered a fumbled punt at the Cary-Grove 29. Three plays later, Chris Smith hit Matt Hamilton with a 38-yard touchdown pass to put Glenbard South ahead 14-7.
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The Raiders clinched the victory on a 75-yard drive capped by Smith’s 26-yard field goal.
Matt Burke led Cary-Grove (8-3) with 76 yards in 15 carries.
Class 5A
Mt. Carmel 24, De La Salle 0: Don Dorham rushed for 107 yards in 23 carries and scored a touchdown for the Caravan (10-1). Marty Quinn contributed 95 yards in 16 rushes and a touchdown.
Frankie Brown rushed for 41 yards to lead De La Salle (8-3).
Richards 17, Bolingbrook 8: Stephen Berdley rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns in 12 carries for the Bulldogs (8-3). Berdley scored on runs of 15 and 1 yards. Richards’ defense recorded three sacks and two fumble recoveries.
“We took a lot of chances and blitzed a lot,” Richards coach Gary Korhonen said. “We just played good physical football.”
Mitchell Marshall rushed for 152 yards in 34 carries and scored on a 41-yard punt return for Bolingbrook (9-2).
Rockford Boylan 14, Crete-Monee 7: Noah Russo’s touchdown on a 92-yard punt return in the third quarter led Boylan (11-0).
Donzell Franklin scored on a 21-yard run in the fourth quarter to cut Boylan’s lead to seven, but Crete-Monee (7-4) could get no closer. Dujuan Johnson led Crete with 156 yards in 26 rushes.
Class 4A
Joliet Catholic 42, Grant 6: Mark Sopko rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another as the Hilltoppers (11-0) rolled. J.R. Zwierzynski added scores on runs of 63 and 4 yards for Joliet Catholic.
“We broke some big plays in the first half, and we were able to make some quick defensive adjustments,” Joliet Catholic coach Dan Sharp said. “Our defense has been playing better and better, which is a wonderful thing to have happen at this time of year.”
Metamora 13, Rich Central 6: Justin Markle and Luke Maurer each had short touchdown runs as Metamora (10-1) held off Rich Central. Tyreece Jones’ 63-yard touchdown run put Rich Central (7-4) ahead 6-0 before Markle scored from a yard out with 12 seconds left in the first half. Jones had 107 yards in 12 rushes.
Morris 38, Washington 0: Kellen Harseim was 7 of 12 passing for 201 yards and threw three touchdowns as the Redskins (10-1) rolled. Harseim connected with Greg Larsen from 66 and 29 yards out and Kevin Orf from 43.
Class 3A
Benton 41, Driscoll 24: Alec Wessinger scored twice–on an 81-yard touchdown run and a 68-yard punt return–as Benton (11-0) rolled to a 27-0 halftime lead.
Mike Kenders led Driscoll (9-2) with 70 yards in 11 rushes and two touchdowns.
Montini 35, DuQuoin 10: Pete Mastandrea threw for 136 yards and three touchdowns for the Broncos (8-3). Mike Borsellino had three scores–two rushing and a 42-yard reception.
Mt. Carmel (Ill.) 34, Wilmington 24: Tim Johns rushed for 96 yards in 10 carries and scored three touchdowns for Mt. Carmel (10-1). Dustin Smith passed for 171 yards and two touchdowns to lead Wilmington (9-2).
Newton 28, Seneca 21: Matt Meinhart passed for 230 yards and a touchdown to lead Newton (11-0). Seneca drops to 9-2.
Class 2A
Sciota Northwestern 36, Walther Lutheran 35 (OT): Jensen Jones tossed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Grisham and Caleb Thompson kicked the extra point in overtime for Sciota Northwestern (10-1).
Walther Lutheran (10-1) scored first in overtime as Clarence Flowers, Jr. threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Dave Zemke, but Walther missed a two-point conversion attempt. Flowers’ 17-yard touchdown pass to Todd Dulaney with under four minutes remaining forced the overtime.
Northwestern, which rushed for 309 yards, had the opportunity to win in regulation, but Thompson missed a 30-yard field goal wide right with 2 seconds left.
Anthony Bell caught five passes for 185 yards and two TDs and made a touchdown-saving tackle late in the fourth quarter to force Thompson’s missed field goal.
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Stillman Valley 40, Hampshire 28: A.J. Briarton had 91 yards in 13 carries and scored twice as Stillman Valley (9-2) rolled. Jaime Walrack rushed for 110 yards in 19 carries and scored two touchdowns for Hampshire (7-4).
Class 1A
Galena 36, North Shore Country Day 6: Chris Petitgout scored three touchdowns for Galena (11-0). North Shore finishes at 9-2.
Catholic Metro playoffs
Holy Cross 20, Loyola 0: Ryan Antonik tossed a 60-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Brock on Holy Cross’ first play from scrimmage as the Crusaders (7-4) cruised. Markus Coleman had 136 yards in 23 carries to lead Holy Cross.