McHenry County notes: Charlie Ciske’s leadership is clear for Cary-Grove

Coincidence, perhaps. Fitting, definitely.

Cary-Grove senior middle linebacker Charlie Ciske stood at the front of the line by the home-side fence as the Trojans, in single file, exchanged high-fives with fans after their 41-8 win over visiting Antioch in a second-round Class 6A playoff game Saturday.

Ciske often has been the “line leader” this season after home wins (six in as many tries).

“This year I tend to lead it, but anyone can step in front,” Ciske said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, you’re not me. Get out of here.’ Anyone can be there. I just happened to be there this time.”

The 5-foot-10, 205-pound Ciske, a three-year varsity starter, had the first two interceptions of his career in helping defending state champ C-G earn a quarterfinal berth. He rarely gets passes thrown in his direction.

“This is actually one of the first weeks I’ve been allowed to pass-cover,” said Ciske, smiling. “Typically, I’m more like a spy player. Our cage [pass rushers] has been doing great all year, but if [an opposing runner] gets out, I try to fill and limit the damage.”

What made Ciske’s interceptions particularly special for him was that his brother Andy was in attendance. Andy Ciske, a defensive back, played on C-G’s 2020 team, which played a shortened season in the spring because of COVID-19.

“It was great to do it while he was here,” Ciske said.

Coach Brad Seaburg couldn’t have been happier for Ciske.

“He’s a very likable kid and completely locked in to what we’re doing on defense,” said Seaburg, whose top-seeded Trojans (11-0) will play a third straight home game in the playoffs when they face No. 4 Belvidere North (10-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday. “He’s our defensive leader, and whatever success he has on the field he deserves.”

Ciske’s first interception happened on fourth-and-13 from the C-G 24 early in the second quarter, as he picked off Sequoits quarterback Colin Arquilla near the Antioch sideline. Ten plays later, Trojans QB Peyton Seaburg scored from 5 yards out (the second of his four TDs) to cap a 70-yard drive and pad C-G’s lead to 21-0.

Ciske got his second interception when he snagged an Arquilla pass that was deflected by senior defensive lineman Ty Drayton with C-G up 34-0 late in the third.

“The second one, I have to give all credit to Ty Drayton,” Ciske said. “He tipped it up. I happened to be there and got it.”

“I don’t know about that,” a smiling Drayton said after being told Ciske gave him credit for the pick. “He’s got some good hands. I would have dropped that.”

Senior defensive back Preston Walsh also had an interception for the Trojans.

Defense dominates immediately: Cary-Grove’s defense wasted no time establishing the tone against Antioch.

Drayton dropped fullback Marcus Macias for a 2-yard loss on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Ciske then sniffed out a screen pass on second down and tackled Sequoits running back Martin Cohen for a loss of 3 yards.

“We had the wind and said we’d really like to pin [Antioch] back if we can,” Brad Seaburg said. “If you can get a three-and-out on the first [drive], now they’re punting into the wind. We just got them moving backward. I think right from the start our defensive line and our linebackers were very, very physical.”

C-G did indeed get a three-and-out on Antioch’s first series. The Trojans started their first drive at the Antioch 45 after a punt and needed only seven plays to score on Seaburg’s 5-yard keeper.

“It was really good to come out firing right off the bat,” Drayton said of the C-G defense. “We’ve had some issues with that earlier in the season, so it was great to see everyone coming off the ball really quick immediately.”

Antioch’s first-team offense scored on a 33-yard TD pass against C-G’s reserves in the fourth quarter to spoil what would have been the Trojans’ first shutout. Regardless, the Trojans have held their past four opponents to single-digit points. They have allowed only 129 points (11.7 per game), and that includes 43 in a one-point win over Huntley in Week 7.

“A lot of our guys this year, they’re such fast learners,” Ciske said. “They’re smart guys. If they make mistakes, they’re a one-timers. They’ll hear from coaches, from us [players], and they’ll fix it. They take pride in what they do. I’m really proud of that as a leader on this team.”

Vanderwiel returns for Wolves: Prairie Ridge junior quarterback Luke Vanderwiel, who was out since Week 6 with a leg injury, ditched the crutches and was back to being the No. 5-seeded Wolves’ everything man in a 30-21 loss to No. 4 St. Francis in their Class 5A second-round game Saturday.

Prairie Ridge first-year coach Mike Frericks hinted all summer how he wanted to get the ball into his first-year QB’s hands as much as possible – and for good reason. Seemingly any time Vanderwiel touched the ball, something big was about to happen.

The Wolves’ strategy to let Vanderwiel loose was evident again Saturday.

Vanderwiel scored on the game’s opening possession on a 14-yard run and added a second TD on a 41-yard run in the fourth quarter to pull his team to within nine points. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound Vanderwiel did it all for the Wolves (8-3), catching lateral passes, returning kickoffs and ending with a team-leading 135 yards on 26 carries.

Vanderwiel, despite being a bit undersized, took on big workloads all season, including an eye-popping 42 carries out of the team’s 49 attempts in a Week 5 loss to Cary-Grove.

“He’s a special player,” said Frericks, whose Wolves qualified for the postseason for the 11th straight season. “Who knows what would have happened if he didn’t get hurt. He was already having a special season with some really big games. I’m glad he’s back healthy because he’s one of the best football players around. Really looking forward to having him back next year and seeing what he can do to lead the team.”

About the only thing Vanderwiel didn’t do Saturday was throw. Sophomore QB Owen Satterlee completed 4 of 7 passes for 21 yards, while senior fullback Jack Finn, who returned from an ankle injury in a first-round win over Chicago Goode, ran for 89 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

· Northwest Herald Sports Editor Alex Kantecki and Shaw Local correspondent Chris Casey contributed to this report.