McHenry County notes: Prairie Ridge dealing with injuries, Richmond-Burton swallows up another KRC contender

The past few weeks have been tough on Prairie Ridge’s offensive backfield.

Since the team’s 18-12 loss to Cary-Grove in Week 5, the Wolves (5-2 overall, 5-2 FVC) have lost quarterback Luke Vanderwiel, fullback Jack Finn and wingback Jesse Kautz to injuries.

Vanderwiel, who suffered a leg injury in a Week 6 win against Dundee-Crown, was on crutches during a 52-21 loss to Burlington Central Friday night. First-year coach Mike Frericks said he is hopeful his QB can return sometime in the final two weeks.

Finn and Kautz suffered their injuries against C-G. Finn, who is dealing with an ankle injury, could be back as early as this week against Crystal Lake Central, Frericks said.

The injuries have put a big strain on the offense, evident in Friday’s loss to Burlington Central. Prairie Ridge fumbled eight times, losing four. Three lost fumbles came in the third quarter, as a 28-21 game went to 49-21 in less than five minutes.

“Anytime you lose a starting quarterback, a starting fullback, a starting wingback, there’s always going to be some growing pains,” Frericks said. “You get guys that don’t get as many reps as other guys do. Our offense is a lot about timing and quickness with the snap. You ask a lot of a quarterback.

“Yeah, we made some sophomore mistakes and just kind of put the ball on the ground, that’s what it is. We can get better.”

Because of the injuries, the team moved linebacker Gio Creatore to fullback and Nick Petty, a defensive back, to wingback. Owen Satterlee, a sophomore, has been at quarterback.

On Friday, however, it was much more than an offensive problem. Burlington Central’s Jackson Alcorn threw for a team-record 469 yards and six touchdowns against a defense that had allowed only 57 points through the first six weeks.

It was the Wolves’ second loss in three weeks after a 4-0 start.

“They came out and basically spread us out,” Frericks said. “It was a smart game plan by them. I think they knew running the ball was going to be tough, so they got away from that right away. I give credit to their quarterback. He did a great job dissecting our defense and figuring out soft spots in our zones. He was putting it on everybody.”

Rockets do it again: For the second week in a row, Richmond-Burton beat a team leading the Kishwaukee River Conference. Now it’s the Rockets (5-2, 4-1) who lead the eight-team conference with two games remaining.

Not only did R-B hand Woodstock North (6-1, 4-1) its first loss of the season, it did so in commanding fashion.

The Thunder went into the game averaging 43.5 points and were shut out 35-0.

With two weeks left, R-B, North and Sandwich each have one loss in KRC play. In the KRC, tiebreakers for the conference title are determined by head-to-head record, and R-B already has wins over North and Sandwich.

North coach Matt Polnow said R-B won the game up front. R-B’s defensive line of AJ Horcher, Logan Garcia, Ryan Wisniewsk, Breckin Campbell and Dylan Falasca held the Thunder to 122 rushing yards, only 40 in the second half.

And an offensive line that includes Mason Lowry, Trevor Szumanski, Shane Falasca, Ethan Nelson, Adam Schuler, Garcia and Christian Ojeda along with tight ends Wisniewski and Luke Robinson helped pave the way for 272 rushing yards.

“We’ve gotten better every week since [a Week 3 loss to Johnsburg],” R-B coach Mike Noll said. “The boys have practiced better, the effort has been better, attitude better, and we’re sticking to our plan. [North] has some real nice players, but I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage.”

Richmond-Burton is on a four-game win streak since a 1-2 start. The team goes to Marengo (4-3, 3-2) this week and hosts Plano (1-6, 0-5) in Week 9.

Noll has seen his team grow up quickly.

“We’ve got a lot of young kids on the field, and they’ve grown up a lot,” Noll said. “Nobody is inexperienced now seven weeks in. We feel really good about where we are.”

Trojans get payback: Cary-Grove and Huntley had one of the area’s most exciting games last year, a game the Raiders won after coming back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter with a TD on the final play followed by a 2-point conversion.

Friday’s rematch had the same drama, just a different winner.

This time, it was C-G that came back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter. C-G, which had trailed 43-29, pulled within 43-42 on QB Peyton Seaburg’s 20-yard TD to TE Quintin Witt with 1:22 left. The Trojans then converted a 2-point conversion when Seaburg found Boone in the end zone for the final 44-43 score.

The Trojans were playing without fullback/defensive end Logan Abrams, last year’s top rusher in the FVC. Coach Brad Seaburg called Abrams day-to-day with a foot injury that he suffered in a Week 6 win against Hampshire.

The team’s kicker, Jadon Apgar, played fullback in the first half, and running back Holden Boone moved to Abrams’ spot in the second half. Boone finished with 158 yards on 13 carries, with TDs of 80 and 23 yards.

“Holden has that other gear. He took one 80 yards right after Huntley scored,” Brad Seaburg said. “He just made some really big plays for us. He’s flexible, because when he was a sophomore he played fullback, and then last year he played slot. He plays them both really well.”

The Trojans (7-0, 7-0) clinched at least a share of the FVC title with the win. C-G can win it outright with a victory in either of its last two games against Crystal Lake South or Dundee-Crown.

Why not Wyatt?: Huntley QB Braylon Bower kept throwing to Wyatt Fleck during the Red Raiders’ 44-43 loss to Cary-Grove on Friday, and the 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior wide receiver kept catching the football.

Fleck, a transfer from St. Viator, had 13 catches for 167 yards and three touchdowns, including 11-yard TDs in the first and third quarters. His 9-yard TD in the right corner of the end zone with 6:16 remaining in the fourth extended Huntley’s lead to 43-29.

“I love Wyatt,” said Bower, who went 26-of-35 passing for 286 yards, four TDs and one INT, also adding a TD on the ground. “He works hard, and he’s somebody I know I can trust that when I throw the ball up, he’s going to come down with it.”

Playoff update: C-G and Woodstock North have already clinched postseason spots, while Burlington Central, Jacobs, Prairie Ridge and Richmond-Burton picked up their fifth wins in Week 7 to likely cement their spots in the playoffs.

Huntley, Johnsburg and Marengo each have four wins; Woodstock has three victories; while Crystal Lake Central, Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown, Harvard, Marian Central and McHenry have two wins apiece.

Friday Night Drive managing editor Steve Soucie projects this year’s playoff field will include more four-win teams, giving additional teams more to play for in the season’s final two weeks.

A more detailed playoff outlook for Northwest Herald area teams will be published later in the week.

Week 7 scoreboard

Fox Valley Conference

Cary-Grove 44, Huntley 43

Burlington Central 52, Prairie Ridge 21

McHenry 19, Crystal Lake South 0

Jacobs 27, Crystal Lake Central 3

Dundee-Crown 21, Hampshire 16

Kishwaukee River Conference

Richmond-Burton 35, Woodstock North 0

Marengo 33, Harvard 29

Sandwich 28, Woodstock 14

Johnsburg 28, Plano 0

Chicagoland Christian Conference

Aurora Christian 34, Marian Central 27

Illinois 8-Man Football Association

Alden-Hebron 65, River Ridge 50

• Northwest Herald sports reporter Joe Aguilar and Shaw Local correspondent Andy Tavegia contributed to this report.