The primary reason that Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove struggled to gain yards and score against each other is that both football teams traditionally play strong defense.
Another reason is their familiarity with each other. They both run the triple option, so they know the system’s intricacies well.
Prairie Ridge prevailed, 7-6, Friday night in the teams’ Fox Valley Conference opener, with the offensive totals looking more like what the teams might accrue in a half rather than an entire game. Prairie Ridge finished with 237 total yards; C-G managed 139.
“(C-G’s) Don Sutherland’s a great defensive coordinator, and they know our offense like we know their offense,” Wolves coach Chris Schremp said. “You have all summer to prepare for it. It’s a tough matchup. We were hoping to get (quarterback) Samson (Evans) to break a play and get some space.”
The Trojans would not let that happen. Evans finished with 23 carries for 115 yards but had only three runs of 10 or more yards. His longest run was 18 yards. C-G did a commendable job on Evans in last year’s opener as well, holding him to 62 yards, although Evans was also slowed by a quadriceps injury. This time, healthy, the Trojans made it difficult again.
“You have to stop the quarterback, and we did a good job of that,” Trojans coach Brad Seaburg said. “Once he goes, he’s gone.”
Prairie Ridge won last year’s opener, 26-14, the first step to a 14-0 Class 6A state championship season. That scoring total was the lowest for Prairie Ridge and C-G for the entire season.
The opener likely will be a season-low again for both teams this season.
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