Senior defensive tackle Ryan Stephan knew Wauconda’s game against Prairie Ridge in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs could be tough sledding.
But no one within the Bulldogs’ program envisioned the 49-20 loss incurred Friday night.
“They punched us right in the face,” Stephan said. “They knew what they wanted, and they took it from us. It took us too long to figure things out.”
The setback brought to a screeching halt a magical ride that featured Wauconda’s first-ever undefeated regular season.
“We definitely made history here at Wauconda — the conference championship and all the other accomplishments,” senior quarterback Vince Bennett said. “That type of thing really doesn’t happen at a school like this.”
It did this season. But virtually nothing went right for Wauconda (10-1) against the Wolves (9-2).
As the score suggests, it was complete domination by Prairie Ridge from the get-go. The Wolves played a near-perfect first half, with Nathan Greetham’s 1-yard scoring plunge 18 seconds before halftime building a 49-6 lead and triggering a running clock for the entirety of the second half.
The Wolves scored touchdowns on their first four possessions to take a 28-0 lead after one quarter. After they made it 35-0, Wauconda senior running back Colin Husko returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.
“I was glad to be able to do that one more time,” Husko said. “I just kept going. There was no quit.”
Husko and Bennett each had touchdown runs in the second half, but too much damage had already been done. Those scores did add to prolific seasons by both players. Husko surpassed 1,200 yards rushing, and he and Bennett each recorded his 16th rushing touchdown.
The Wolves’ 49-0 first-round win against Vernon Hills certainly caught the Bulldogs’ attention, but it was still hard to forecast what occurred Friday against a defense that had allowed just 82 points all season and shut out four opponents.
Wauconda simply had no answer for Prairie Ridge’s triple-option rushing attack, which churned out sizable swaths of real estate on virtually every first-half offensive play.
“It takes all 11 guys on defense working together to try to defend that kind of offense,” Stephan said.
The Wolves had 188 rushing yards in the first half, during which the Bulldogs managed just 19 total yards. The big deficit also forced the Bulldogs to throw the ball more.
“That was definitely a challenge because we’re a running team,” Bennett said. “When that gets shut down, we have to try new things. But passing isn’t our strongest point.”
Wauconda coach Dave Mills has seen a wide variety of teams in his 13 years. This one will always hold a special place in his heart and the community’s, he said.
“Nobody wants to go out on a loss, and we would have liked to have played better and put up more of a fight,” Mills said. “But they smacked us on both sides of the ball and took care of business.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.