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Lake Zurich no match for Cary-Grove rushing attack
Lake Zurich senior Jake Stauner looks downfield as he prepares to throw against Cary-Grove on Friday. Julie Fabiszak~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: September 1, 2012 1:16AM
CARY — Lake Zurich’s football team is no stranger to the triple-option offense — the Bears run it every day in practice.
They still weren’t ready for Cary-Grove’s attack Friday night.
Quarterback Quinn Baker passed for one touchdown and ran for another, Kyle Norberg added a score, and Cary-Grove beat Lake Zurich 21-6. The Trojans controlled the clock with their triple-option scheme, dominating the first half with scoring drives of nine and 16 plays while only putting the ball in the air twice.
“We didn’t prepare our boys well enough and we will address that,” first-year Lake Zurich coach David Proffitt said. “It’s hard because you don’t see this offense that often. You cannot simulate in practice the speed that they run it. We didn’t adjust quick enough to that speed.”
Cary-Grove (2-0) scored on its opening drive, moving the ball 50 yards on seven rushes and one pass before Baker dropped back and hit a wide-open Ryan Mahoney for a 36-yard touchdown.
The Trojans rode a hard-charging Norberg to a 14-0 lead on their next possession. The 6-foot-2, 211-pound fullback ripped off gains of 8, 7 and 14 yards before plunging into the end zone from 1 yard out.
“We just wanted to make sure we secured the football and executed all phases of our option,” Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said.
Lake Zurich (1-1) got its lone score when junior Sean Lynch beat the defense to the right pylon from 8 yards out late in the third quarter to make it 21-6.
Proffitt lamented his team’s inability to capitalize on a lengthy drive at the end of the first half. The Bears drove the ball into Cary-Grove territory with less than a minute to play, but a toss for no gain and two incomplete passes left them looking at a 14-point deficit at the break.
“If you go back and look at the game, you put some points on the board before the end of the first half and it’s 14-3, 14-7,” Proffitt said. “Now you come out in the second half and it’s a different attitude.”
