Woodstock North rolls past Round Lake

ROUND LAKE – With Woodstock North leading by just a touchdown against Round Lake midway through the second quarter, Thunder coach Jeff Schroeder called a timeout in frustration.

When his players approached the sideline, he let them hear it.

“Someone forgot to tell Round Lake they were supposed to roll over for us,” Schroeder shouted. “Those guys came to play. They’re beating us at the line of scrimmage.”

Until that point — which was the 3:24 mark of the first half — the Panthers had outgained the Thunder in total yardage, 210-114. But the Thunder marched down the field for a five-play, 65-yard scoring drive moments later, and eventually cruised to a 48-7 blowout in a nonconference football game Friday night.

North (2-0) dominated the ground game as the evening went on, especially in the second half. It racked up 355 yards on 42 carries on the night, and a large part of those totals came courtesy of senior running back Casey Dycus.

Dycus (24 carries, 218 yards) scored rushing touchdowns in the first and third quarters, then added two more scores in the fourth. He now has six touchdowns in the first two weeks.

"Our offensive line really took what coach said to us during that timeout, and at halftime, to heart," Dycus said. "Those guys responded in a big way. The push they were getting at the line of scrimmage was awesome. They deserve a ton of the credit for responding the way they did."

Thunder junior RB Collin Mergl also benefited from strong play by his linemen in a huge way. He ran the ball just seven times, but racked up 107 yards and three touchdowns of his own.

"We got off to slow start, but I feel like we are right where we want to be going into Week 3," Mergl said. "Our guys showed a lot of character tonight when things weren't going so well."

Schroeder also praised his players after the game.

"This was the first adversity we've faced so far this season," Schroeder said. "People think Round Lake is a pushover, but let me tell you, that wasn't the case tonight. They're bigger and stronger than they've been in recent years."

As fluid as the Thunder looked on offense, the defense forced four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions). And after allowing the Panthers (0-2) to rack up 218 yards of offense in the first half, the Thunder allowed just 19 second-half yards.

Schroeder was asked how good he thinks his team is capable of becoming this season.

"I feel like we're good enough to be a playoff team every year," Schroeder said. "That's the goal. And I feel the same way this season, too. There are always things to work on, but I was proud of how our guys responded in the second half. It tells me a lot about their heart."

UNSUNG HERO

Trevor Stinger

Woodstock North, jr., LB/OL

In just his second varsity game, Stinger had a first-half interception and an ensuing 38-yard return that stalled a Round Lake drive. But he wasn't done. He also deflected a pair of passes, then forced a fumble with a jarring hit in the fourth quarter.

QUICK STATS

Woodstock North 14 7 14 13 — 48

Round Lake 7 0 0 0 — 7

SCORING

First Quarter

RL — Calhoun 20 pass from Larson,10:50

WN — Dycus 1 run, 7:40 (Kick failed)

WN — Mergl 1 run, 4:16 (Mergl run)

Second Quarter

WN — Mergl 35 run, 2:09

Third Quarter

WN — Dycus 3 run, 8:14

WN — Mergl 3 run, 7:12

Fourth Quarter

WN — Dycus 6 run, 11:54

WN — Dycus 3 run, 4:28 (kick failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Woodstock North: Dycus 24-218, Mergl 7-107, Perez 5-31, Zinnen 6-minus-1. Totals: 42-355. Round Lake: Espinosa 15-98, Young 5-47, Tellez 4-16, Enriquez 4-15. Larson 2-8. Totals: 30-176.

PASSING–Woodstock North: Zinnen 4-7-1-72. Round Lake: Larson 4-10-1-41, Young 3-6-1-40.

RECEIVING–Woodstock North: Mergl 3-63, Mazzanti 1-9. Round Lake: Calhoun 5-44, Langwinski 3-37.

TOTAL YARDS: Woodstock North 427, Round Lake 255.

SOPHOMORE SCORE: Woodstock North 46, Round Lake 26

AND ANOTHER THING

Round Lake QB Tabieas Young was taken from the field in an ambulance during halftime due to an apparent arm/shoulder injury. He left the game under his own power in the second quarter following a hit. Young had five carries for 47 yards at that point, and had been causing matchup problems defensively for the Thunder with his speed and agility.