Trojans monopolize 2nd half

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McHENRY – It was a bad night to be the McHenry offense, and it was not just because of Cary-Grove’s stifling defense, which forced three turnovers in the Trojans’ 20-0 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division football victory at McCracken Field.

What made it a really long night for the Warriors’ offense was not just C-G’s defense, but also the Trojans’ offense, which kept the ball for most of the second half with a punishing ground game that prevented McHenry from getting the ball back.

“It’s hard for them to get excited when we’re on the field and have the ball for that long,” Trojans coach Bruce Kay said.

“On offense, we executed the option as well as we ever have. And on defense, we got after them and made plays.”

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So, to sum things up, it was almost a perfect night for the Trojans (6-1 overall, 3-0 FVC Valley), who now have won 34 of their past 35 regular-season games.

The C-G defense forced three fumbles, two of which were recovered by linebacker Mike Matthiesen.

“We just played really well as a defense,” said  Matthiesen, whose two recoveries came in the second half.

And once the Trojans had the ball, they were rather reluctant to give it back. With the Trojans already ahead, 7-0, at the start of the third quarter, C-G running back Kyle Gray carried five times on a second-half opening series that went on for 15 plays, covered 65 yards and lasted nearly 9 minutes.

Gray finished it with a 12-yard touchdown run. The senior, who rushed for a game-high 121 yards, was the only player to see the end zone Friday, scoring once in the second, third and fourth quarters. All told, McHenry ran only five offensive plays in the third quarter.

“I didn’t really think I played all that good,” Gray said. “It was all the line. I don’t think I did anything special. We just pounded the ball.

“We’re really improving. I mean, I think it’s got to be hard to defend our option. Our offense is more diverse than it’s ever been.”

The Trojans passed only seven times for a modest 68 yards. But the option offense produced 252 yards on the ground.

Last week, in a win against Woodstock, McHenry’s Mark Iglesia rushed for 216 yards by himself. On Friday, against C-G’s defense, the Warriors (5-2, 2-1) were able to muster only 146 yards of total offense.

“Time of possession is a big part of the game,” McHenry coach Tim Beagle said. “That’s part of being a good team.”