Hembry fulfills dream

Cary-Grove's Eric Chandler (right) celebrates with Alex Hembrey after Hembrey's 64-yard touchdown run during the third quarter of Saturday's 6A state championship game against Providence Catholic at Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Cary-Grove won, 34-17. (Travis Haughton – thaughton@nwherald.com)

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CHAMPAIGN – When Alex Hembrey was in seventh grade, he and his Cary Junior Trojans football team filled the stands at Memorial Stadium to watch their idols.

The 2004 Cary-Grove varsity football team was playing for an IHSA Class 7A state title, and Hembrey wanted nothing more than to see that team win. When it didn’t and the Trojans lost to Libertyville, 13-3, Hembrey and his teammates focused on another team – their own.

“When AOL Instant Messenger was so popular, we would message one another all the time and we called ourselves the ‘2009 State Champs,’ ” Hembrey said. “We knew that [2009] would be our senior year, and we wanted to win a state title.”

Hembrey and many of his seventh-grade teammates that had set that goal so many years ago watched it come to fruition Saturday with a 34-17 win against Providence Catholic in the Class 6A final, C-G’s first football state title.

Hembrey created lasting memories not only for himself and his teammates, but for the entire C-G community.

He ran for two touchdowns in the second half – 64 and 45 yards – to cap an outstanding career at C-G and fulfill a dream five years in the making.

“It just feels so good to get the win,” Hembrey said. “It wouldn’t have mattered to me if I hadn’t done anything at all. As long as we won, it didn’t matter.

“A lot of people were favoring [the Celtics]. A lot of people were saying we couldn’t handle their speed, their size. But we came out today and showed what we are capable of doing.”

Proving themselves has been something the Trojans have become accustomed to doing.

When Hembrey’s Junior Trojans team won their Super Bowl title in 2004, they had to beat the Crystal Lake Raiders – another team that had been favored coming into the matchup.

“We’ve never been big,” Hembrey said. “We’ve always been a small team that needs to rely on its speed and its skill to beat people.”

Hembrey bowed out of his varsity career with 18 carries for 187 yards, including two touchdowns.

The first, off a 64-yard run on fourth down late in the third quarter, gave the Trojans a three-point lead, 20-17.

The second gave C-G a 10-point cushion, 27-17, with 10:44 left in the game.

Before the season, the explosive back had ruled out playing college ball, opting to focus on his studies and becoming a doctor.

He said last week that the Trojans’ success this year has made him think again about playing at the next level.

On Saturday, Hembrey relished the moment.

“I’m going to take a couple of weeks off,” he said. “With all the success we’ve had as a team, I don’t know if anything can duplicate what we’ve done.”