Gutsy call turns tide for Trojans

Travis Haughton - thaughton@nwherald.com Cary-Grove's Alex Hembrey breaks a tackle on his way to a 64-yard touchdown run on fourth down 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 ())

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CHAMPAIGN – Coach Bruce Kay knew his team could pick up at least 1 yard.

After an entire season of watching his triple-option offense embarrass many of its opponents, Kay thought little of instructing his Cary-Grove football team to go for it on fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter of the IHSA Class 6A state title game Saturday against Providence Catholic.

The Trojans trailed by three, 17-14, but never would again. C-G running back Alex Hembrey converted the fourth down by running 64 yards for a score that put the Trojans ahead, 20-17, and made the C-G coaching staff look like geniuses.

C-G went on to win the program’s first state title with a 34-17 victory against the Celtics, thanks in part to two momentum-shifting fourth-down plays.

“[Alex] made a big play,” Kay said. “We felt like the toss play was there and had been there for a while, but we hadn’t used it. Alex did a nice job of staying in bounds and went down the sideline there.”

Hembrey cut to the outside and darted down the left sideline toward the end zone off the pitch from quarterback Tyler Krebs. Hembrey had been held to 30 rushing yards on eight carries before the outburst, but finished the game and his career with the Trojans with 187 yards on 18 carries.

“I got around the corner and saw the seam along the sideline,” Hembrey said. “I made a move on the kid and was able to find the opening I needed.”

Going for it on fourth down generally comes with plenty of risks, but the Trojans could have gone for a few more. Instead, they decided to play conservatively; they punted four times.

On fourth-and-4 on the Celtics’ 16-yard line, during the Trojans’ second possession of the first quarter, it would have been easy to settle for a field goal. But Krebs ran for 15 yards, setting up the Trojans’ first touchdown of the game. Krebs punched it in from the 1 to give C-G a 7-3 advantage with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter.

“I’ve had a lot of confidence in this offense all season,” senior linebacker Kyle Leibforth said. “Every fourth down we’ve had I thought we could convert. No one has stopped us all postseason.

“ ... I thought we made great decisions in this game. We could have gone for a few more of them (fourth downs), but then we could have gotten pinned down, and no one wants to play like that with your backs against the wall.”