High school football: Jacobs dominates Dundee-Crown

ALGONQUIN – After scuffling early in a loss to Huntley a week ago, Jacobs quarterback Anthony Wilson said it was important for his team to get off to a fast start Friday night against Dundee-Crown.

"We knew we had to come out strong in the first half," the senior said. "Set the tone right away off the bat, just get it rolling."

Wilson rushed for touchdowns on the game's first three drives as the Golden Eagles dominated Dundee-Crown, 41-7, in Fox Valley Conference action in Algonquin.

Jacobs (2-1, 2-1) opened with a 17-play, 76-yard drive that resulted in seven first downs and drained 6:24 off the clock before Wilson finally punched it in from 3-yards out.

The Golden Eagles were shut out in the first half in Week 2 against Huntley and managed only one score in a 42-7 loss. By halftime against Dundee-Crown, Jacobs led 35-0.

"After last week's game with that rough start we had more motivation coming into this week," Wilson said. "We wanted to pound it inside and keep wearing them down."

On the other side, Dundee-Crown watched as its 2-0 start came to a screeching halt.

Two plays after Jacobs took the lead, D-C running back Kareem Dunner fumbled the exchange with quarterback Josh Raby. Jacobs linebacker Aidan Sproule fell on the loose ball, and less than a minute later, Wilson reached the end zone from 3-yards out to extend the Eagles' lead to 14-0.

"(Jacobs) set the tone pretty well," Raby said. "We knew we had to answer back as an offense, but we failed miserably at that. We shot ourselves in the foot."

The Chargers (2-1, 1-1) managed just 33 total yards and two first downs on 22 plays in the first half. Jacobs, meanwhile, had 317 yards and 20 first downs on 47 plays by halftime.

Jacobs defense did a terrific job of keeping D-C's rushing duo of Ricky Ibarra and Kareem Dunner, who both entered averaging more than 100 yards per game, in check. Ibarra was held to 10 yards on five carries, and Dunner finished with 14 yards on six carries.

"They were flat out more physical than us off the ball," Raby said. "They were beating us off ball. We just kind of weren't ready from the start. We kind of got pushed back on plays in the first half."

Wilson added a 36-yard run in the second quarter and finished with 67 yards rushing on eight carries. He also completed 7-of-15 pass attempts for 89 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown to Daniel Klein (3 receptions, 50 yards) to make it 35-0.

Running back Jake Michels added 92 yards rushing with a touchdown on 14 carries, and quarterback Cole Bhardwaj, who played the entire second half in relief of Wilson, connected with Brandon Van De Linde for a 12-yard score in the third quarter.

Jacobs was without offensive tackle Joey Price, who left last week's contest against Huntley with a knee injury. Price, a 6-foot-8, 325-pounder with nine NCAA Division I offers, was on crutches Friday.

Jacobs head coach Bill Mitz declined to say how much time Price could miss.

Raby finished 12 of 26 for 151 yards and one interception. He found Dunner (2 receptions, 60 yards) for a 54-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Tight end Jack Michalski hauled in five passes for 49 yards.

Dundee-Crown will face another stern FVC test next week with a home date against Prairie Ridge, while Jacobs travels to winless McHenry.

STAR OF THE GAME

Anthony Wilson

Jacobs, sr., QB

Wilson needed only two quarters to wrack up four scores against Dundee-Crown. The senior ran for touchdowns of 3, 4 and 36 yards. He also hit tight end Daniel Klein for a 30-yard yard TD.

Dundee-Crown 0 0 0 7 – 7

Jacobs 14 35 6 0 – 41

First quarter

J – Wilson 3 run (Castellano kick), 5:36

J – Wilson 4 run (Castellano kick), 4:31

Second quarter

J –Wilson 36 run (Castellano kick), 11:54

J – Michels 8 run (Castellano kick), 8:26

J – Klein 30 pass from Wilson (Castellano kick), 1:21

Third quarter

J – Van De Linde 12 pass from Bhardwaj (kick failed), 5:23

Fourth quarter

DC – Dunner 54 pass from Raby (Alamillo kick), 10:05