April 20, 2024

Features | Friday Night Drive

FVC rivals: The top 5 Prairie Ridge vs. Cary-Grove games of all-time

Purdue guard Shane Evans should have been in a celebratory mood on the afternoon of Nov. 4, 2017, since the Boilermakers had just beaten Illinois, 29-10. But the text from his father, Matt, who was attending the Class 6A second-round playoff game between Prairie Ridge and Cary-Grove, was disconcerting. “It said, ‘Cary-Grove up,’ – whatever the score was – ’50 seconds left,’ ” said Evans, a 2014 Prairie Ridge graduate. “I looked at my phone and threw it in my locker. You can imagine what I said.” Evans went to shower, figuring the Wolves’ 24-game winning streak and shot at back-to-back Class 6A state titles was about to end at the hands of their rival. He could hardly believe what he saw when he returned to his locker.

By Joe Stevenson

October 17, 2019 at 7:19 pm CDT

“There were 30 messages from all my friends, from my dad, everyone,” Evans said. “They said, ‘Your brother scored. They beat them.’ I was like, ‘What?’ ” Prairie Ridge quarterback Samson Evans scored perhaps the biggest touchdown in area football history, racing 66 yards down the left sideline for a 17-13 victory with seven seconds remaining. The Wolves finished their second perfect season in a row with a state championship win over Nazareth three weeks later. The Trojans (7-4) suffered one of the most painful losses imaginable. Two of their four losses that season came against Prairie Ridge by a total of five points. Still, it was a shining example of what this rivalry between two state powers located 8 miles apart has become. “That [C-G] team was amazing,” Shane Evans said. “Some people said Cary wasn’t that good that year, but guess what, they should have won that game. That goes to the competitiveness of the programs and wanting to beat each other.” Prairie Ridge and C-G will meet again at 7 p.m. Friday in a Fox Valley Conference game at C-G’s Al Bohrer Field. Both teams are tied with Huntley at 6-1 overall and 6-1 in the FVC. C-G is ranked No. 4 in The Associated Press Class 6A poll, Prairie Ridge is No. 6. “Both teams know each other very well,” said Trojans coach Brad Seaburg, whose team came back and won the Class 6A state championship a year ago. “Both teams and coaching staffs respect each other very much, and it’s produced some pretty memorable games in recent history here.” In their past eight meetings, only one game has been decided by more than 12 points – a 35-14 C-G triumph in 2012. The Trojans were Class 6A state runners-up that year. “To have a rivalry, the wins have to go back and forth and be hard-fought victories,” Wolves coach Chris Schremp said. “It always seems like we have great games, even if one team’s up or one team’s down a little bit.” Here is a look at the top five games between the two teams that have produced five state championships since 2009. (Shaw Media)

“There were 30 messages from all my friends, from my dad, everyone,” Evans said. “They said, ‘Your brother scored. They beat them.’ I was like, ‘What?’ ” Prairie Ridge quarterback Samson Evans scored perhaps the biggest touchdown in area football history, racing 66 yards down the left sideline for a 17-13 victory with seven seconds remaining. The Wolves finished their second perfect season in a row with a state championship win over Nazareth three weeks later. The Trojans (7-4) suffered one of the most painful losses imaginable. Two of their four losses that season came against Prairie Ridge by a total of five points. Still, it was a shining example of what this rivalry between two state powers located 8 miles apart has become. “That [C-G] team was amazing,” Shane Evans said. “Some people said Cary wasn’t that good that year, but guess what, they should have won that game. That goes to the competitiveness of the programs and wanting to beat each other.” Prairie Ridge and C-G will meet again at 7 p.m. Friday in a Fox Valley Conference game at C-G’s Al Bohrer Field. Both teams are tied with Huntley at 6-1 overall and 6-1 in the FVC. C-G is ranked No. 4 in The Associated Press Class 6A poll, Prairie Ridge is No. 6. “Both teams know each other very well,” said Trojans coach Brad Seaburg, whose team came back and won the Class 6A state championship a year ago. “Both teams and coaching staffs respect each other very much, and it’s produced some pretty memorable games in recent history here.” In their past eight meetings, only one game has been decided by more than 12 points – a 35-14 C-G triumph in 2012. The Trojans were Class 6A state runners-up that year. “To have a rivalry, the wins have to go back and forth and be hard-fought victories,” Wolves coach Chris Schremp said. “It always seems like we have great games, even if one team’s up or one team’s down a little bit.” Here is a look at the top five games between the two teams that have produced five state championships since 2009. (Shaw Media)

1. Prairie Ridge, 17, Cary-Grove 13, 2017 Class 6A playoffs, second round Schremp chuckled when asked about his most memorable game in the rivalry. “It doesn’t get much more memorable than Samson breaking that long play,” he said. “That was really unbelievable. The best part about these games is you really see the best of the kids.” Although C-G lost twice to Prairie Ridge in 2017, Seaburg remembers how competitive both games were. “Both were some of the most physical games I’ve been a part of,” he said. “A lot of people I talked to thought those were loud, hitting, physical football games.” (Shaw Media)

2. Cary-Grove 22, Prairie Ridge 21 (OT), Week 9 of 2011 Seaburg was in his first year as the Trojans coach when they pulled off a bit of a shocker at Prairie Ridge. The Wolves (13-1) went on to win the Class 6A state championship, their first of three in seven years. “No one gave us much of a chance to win; they were undefeated, and we won in overtime,” he said. Quarterback Quinn Baker hit receiver Zach Marszal in the end zone on fourth down, then running back Ryan Mahoney dived across the goal line for the two-point conversion. Shane Evans, who was a part of the 2011 team, feels C-G did the Wolves a favor. “We thought we were just going to roll through and we were the best team (in Class 6A),” he said. “They showed us, ‘Hey, look, we’re always good.’ They woke us up. I thank them for helping us win the state championship.” (Shaw Media)

3. Cary-Grove 21, Prairie Ridge 14, Week 8 of 2018 The unbeaten Trojans fell behind, 14-0, but scored before halftime, then tied the score in the third quarter. Quarterback Ben McDonald scored on a 1-yard run with 2:57 remaining in the fourth quarter for the winning score. C-G went on to win the Class 6A state championship. “That was another real competitive game,” Seaburg said. “Probably a game that could have gone either way. You could say that about most of the games the last five or six years.” (Matthew Apgar)

4. Prairie Ridge 16, Cary-Grove 14, Week 2 of 2007 Prairie Ridge’s late drive set up kicker Cullen Fahey for a 42-yard, game-winning field goal. C-G had taken the lead with 1:30 remaining with a touchdown. Trojans assistant coach Eric Chandler, a 2009 C-G graduate, was a sophomore fullback making his first varsity start. “What I remember most was the environment there was electric,” Chandler said. “I remember looking up in the stands on both sides and it being absolutely packed. Both teams had high expectations that year. I was a little bit in awe of that moment.” Chandler attended grade school and junior high with boys who eventually ended up at Prairie Ridge as opponents. Later, the High School District 155 boundary lines were changed. “There was a familiarity with the players that made it a heightened sense of awareness,” Chandler said. “If you played a team from a couple towns over, you really don’t have that. That was a cool thing to beat those guys you grew up with.” (Matthew Apgar)

5. Cary-Grove 21, Prairie Ridge 14, Week 1 of 2015 Sophomore Samson Evans made his first varsity start at quarterback. It was one of only two losses he suffered in three seasons running the Wolves’ triple-option. Both teams ended up in the playoff semifinals. C-G lost to Glenbard West in Class 7A; Prairie Ridge lost to Montini in Class 6A. “The level of physicality and competitiveness in those games is absolutely beneficial to your team,” Chandler said. “They always feel like playoff games. The more you get your players in that atmosphere throughout the season, you’re better off. You can’t replicate it any other way.” Shane Evans concurred.

Joe Stevenson

I have worked at the Northwest Herald since January of 1989, covering everything from high school to professional sports. I mainly cover high school sports now.