Prairie Ridge defense shines in shutout against Jacobs

CRYSTAL LAKE – Prairie Ridge’s offense put up silly numbers a year ago, led by the nation’s leading rusher in quarterback Tyler Vasey, while the Wolves defense struggled mightily at times to stop teams from reaching the end zone.

On Friday, the defense came to play.

In the second half alone, Prairie Ridge forced Jacobs into three turnover on downs and forced a fumble on the Golden Eagles’ other possession.

A first-quarter touchdown by senior running back Dom Creatore was all the Wolves needed in a 6-0 victory in the Fox Valley Conference opener.

“[The defense] took their lumps last year and they heard all about it,” Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp said. “I think we saw their dedication in the offseason. I told [defensive coordinator Andy] Petersen, I haven’t seen our defense play that fast in a long time.

“We were just flying around and making tackles. It was great to see.”

Jacobs (0-1, 0-1 FVC) actually outgained Prairie Ridge (1-0, 1-0) in total yards 185-138, but the Golden Eagles were unable to come up with a big play against a fast and determined Wolves defense.

Jacobs got the ball near midfield in the game’s final moments, but a sack by Luke Vanderwiel set the Eagles back and forced them to throw up two desperation passes that didn’t come close.

“We preached before the game, bring the intensity no matter what,” said Creatore, who also plays linebacker. “Win the first 15 seconds of the game and keep pushing. Keep being aggressive, keep being the attackers, and that’s what we did.”

Leading the way on the defensive line for the Wolves were John Fallaw, Gavin Tinch, Walter Pollack and Chris McCabe.

Prairie Ridge’s defensive players and coaches met on the first day of summer and had one goal in mind – be better than last year.

“There were no excuses,” Fallaw said. “We had to start carrying our own weight. From that day on, that was our goal. And the defense has been doing pretty well with it. Everyone was on pursuit. A frenzied bad attitude to the ball.”

Creatore scored on Prairie Ridge’s first possession as he followed a block by Fallaw and raced 42 yards to the end zone with 3:17 left in the first quarter. The Wolves missed the extra point, but that wouldn’t matter thanks to a stellar defensive effort.

Jacobs’ best chance to score came in the second quarter on the possession after Prairie Ridge scored. Looking to potentially take the lead, the Eagles had an 18-play, 75-yard drive that stalled out at the Wolves’ 6-yard line. Jacobs was looking to punch it in when the ball was mishandled and recovered by Prairie Ridge’s Zander Severson.

“We were going to run a trap play, the hole was wide open and we fumble the ball away” Jacobs coach Brian Zimmerman said. “That stuff can’t happen. We’re our own worst enemies. It kills me, because we’re a really good football team.

“Two out of three years we’ve gone toe-to-toe with these guys. They’re a great team, but we feel like we shot ourselves in the foot.”

Jacobs’ defense was up to the task, as well, and held Prairie Ridge to 28 yards in the second half. Zimmerman was proud of his defense for not backing down.

“In my four years, that’s my proudest moment from a defensive standpoint,” Zimmerman said. “You can’t ask for anything better. Two series in a row [in the second half], we stopped them on fourth down, and that’s a really good offensive line they have there. Super proud of my guys.”

Creatore led the Wolves with 57 yards on 10 carries, and junior running back Jack Finn ran 13 times for 54 yards.

Sophomore running back Caden DuMelle led Jacobs with 57 yards on nine carries. T.O. Boddie added 47 yards, including a 28-yard run.

Prairie Ridge hosts Crystal Lake South in Week 2, while Jacobs play at home against Hampshire.

Fallaw said the Wolves are confident they can get their offense rolling.

“There’s a lot of potential there,” Fallaw said. “There were one or two assignments that got missed that shot a play down, but the play we scored a touchdown on, it was fluid. We just need more fluid plays where everyone does their 1/11th.”

Prairie Ridge 6, Jacobs 0

Jacobs 0 0 0 0 – 0

Prairie Ridge 6 0 0 0 – 6

First quarter

PR–Creatore 42 run (kick missed), 3:17

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Jacobs: DuMelle 9-57, Boddie 6-47, Rudolph 8-26, Scrivani 9-23, Curran 3-14, Scardina 1-2, Team 2-minus 13. Total: 38-156. Prairie Ridge: Creatore 10-57, Finn 13-54, L. Vanderwiel 8-17, J. Vanderwiel 3-5, Team 2-minus 2. Total: 36-131.

PASSING–Jacobs: Curran 3-8-0-29. Prairie Ridge: J. Vanderwiel 1-2-0-7.

RECEIVING–Jacobs: DuMelle 1-13, Rudolph 1-11, Stec 1-5. Prairie Ridge: L. Vanderwiel 7.

TOTAL YARDS: Jacobs 185, Prairie Ridge 138.