Cary-Grove forces four turnovers, rushes for 431 yards to beat St. Francis

In Cary and Fox River Grove, kids grow up counting the days till they can suit up in Penn State-inspired navy blue and white uniforms to play on a pristine grass football field with old-school goalposts.

Caleb Wright was one of those kids hoping to add to Cary-Grove's tradition.

"It's like nothing else, if I'm being honest," the Cary-Grove junior lineman said. "We all dreamed about this before we go to sleep, and it's all seeming to come true now. We've just got to keep executing, getting better every single day."

The No. 25 Trojans have another week to get better after turning four takeaways into 27 points and knocking out defending champion St. Francis 55-36 in a Class 5A quarterfinal Saturday afternoon in Cary.

Cary-Grove (10-2) hosts Sycamore (9-4) next weekend, seeking its fourth state-championship berth since 2018.

"For many years the semifinals were the standard here," Trojans coach Brad Seaburg said. "And now that standard has really been elevated. And so the kids know that yeah, the semifinals is where we want to be right now. But we want to keep going."

Thanks to a big first half by the defense, they will.

Junior Zach Witt had two interceptions, while sophomore Leo Zavala picked off a pass and recovered a fumble forced by Wright.

"Our game plan was just play as a team and just not try to be a hero," Witt said. "We had our D-line having great pressure, our linebackers filling holes, our corners really going after those wide receivers all night."

The turnovers and takeaways were unusual for both teams, Seaburg noted.

"We have not [been creating turnovers] and they have not turned the ball over like that all year," Seaburg said. "So we did some things to them that [caused them to do things] they haven't been doing all year. ... I think that's a testament to our defense."

"I give a lot of credit to those coaches and those kids," St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. "They literally beat the crap out of us. And you can't turn the ball over four times against a team like that."

This was as inexperienced a team Seaburg has had in his 16 seasons. The Trojans had to replace four starters on the offensive line and both tight ends — all key cogs in their triple-option attack.

But they did have one key player back with experience: junior quarterback Jackson Berndt.

"He's got two years of varsity experience," Seaburg said. "And then as a freshman he took quite a few snaps in the playoffs. He's a cool cat back there, very composed."

Berndt ran 11 times for 124 yards and a touchdown. Senior Shamarion Prude had 13 carries for 170 yards and a TD, while sophomore Luke Ceresa ran nine times for 59 yards and three scores.

"We just have a rotation going," Ceresa said. "'Sham' and I, we switch every three [plays]. ... I think we complement each other great and the offensive line just had a great push on all the runs."

Berndt threw one pass, which fell incomplete, while Cary-Grove ran 42 times for 431 yards. The Trojans led 34-14 at halftime and 41-14 midway through the third quarter.

For St. Francis (7-6), junior quarterback Jadon Wilson was 16-of-28 passing for 230 yards and four TDs — two each to Blayke Lohmann and Noah Turner — with three interceptions and a lost fumble. He also ran 16 times for 92 yards.

Tivias Caldwell Jr. had 25 carries for 127 yards and a TD for the Spartans.