Senior Logan Abrams loudly and happily announced his return to Cary-Grove’s backfield Friday night at Al Bohrer Field in Cary.

All Abrams could do was smile after running 23 times for 175 yard and the Trojans’ opening score to help C-G to its first win of the season over McHenry 36-23.

“It’s really good to be back and just fighting out there with all my guys again,” said Abrams, who rushed for 1,590 yards and 26 touchdowns as a sophomore in leading the Trojans to the Class 6A title.

“I’ve been dealing with a lot of things this offseason, so it’s good to be back and back healthy again.”

Abrams (6-foot-3, 230 pounds) had not taken an offensive snap since suffering a Lisfranc injury in Week 6 last season. The Trojans bruising fullback was back to his usual tough self and runs for the Trojans, none bigger than an impressive 30-yard run in the second quarter in which he busted through the Warriors’ defensive line and stiff-armed another defender for extra yardage.

On the next play, Abrams put his head down and knocked off the helmet of another McHenry player, leading to the first of four total touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Jackson Berndt (81 yards rushing, 3 TDs; 19 yards passing, TD).

Abrams played only linebacker in a Week 1 loss to Prairie Ridge and last week did not see the field in a 10-7 loss to Burlington Central because of a hamstring injury.

Trojans coach Brad Seaburg was happy to see his big fullback back and doing what he does best.

“He’s a difference maker,” Seaburg said. “Not many of those carries were less than four [yards]. He makes second down a lot easier ... and then he has that ability to break them off even longer.”

Seaburg said Abrams worked extremely hard to come back from the Lisfranc injury that cost him most of his junior year.

“That one’s debilitating to some people,” Seaburg said. “Doctors will be up front with you about that and tell you, there’s a chance you won’t be the same. But he worked hard. He’s excited, and I’m just happy for him. There’s kids that don’t come back from that. He got himself in a position to be an impactful player again this year.”

Abrams opened the scoring for the Trojans with a 2-yard run with 11:32 remaining in the second quarter. Berndt then gave C-G a 14-0 lead with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Medina about halfway through the quarter.

McHenry’s Jeffry Schwab (163 yards passing, 3 TDs) answered on the other end with a 10-yard TD pass to Haydn Schmidt in the front corner of the end zone with 1:44 left in the first half.

But a big kickoff return from Landon Moore set the Trojans up in good field position, which led to a 4-yard TD run by Berndt, giving the Trojans a 21-7 lead at halftime.

McHenry coach Colt Nero said the impact of Abrams was felt early.

“He’s a big, physical kid that you need two or three kids to bring down,” Nero said. “If we beat this team, we want to beat them when they have Logan Abrams. That’s a kid that you’re going to get his best every time.”

Berndt added a 1-yard TD run midway through the third quarter and added his third rushing score from a yard out again with 7:44 to go to give the Trojans a 36-7 lead.

“It feels so good out there to get a great win,” Berndt said after the 0-2 start. “Being able to go out there and just do our stuff, nothing feels better than that.”

McHenry, which started 2-0 for the first time since 2007, was without running back/wide receiver Joey Spelman, who suffered a concussion in Week 2 against Crystal Lake South. Mick Reidy was the team’s leading rusher Friday with 59 yards on 13 carries.

Schmidt caught three passes for 44 yards and two TDs, including a 26-yard pass from Schwab with 4:55 remaining. Schwab found William Michalik for a 54-yard TD pass that was almost intercepted for the team’s final score with 1:15 left.

Nero was proud of his team’s fight.

“We wanted to come out here and show that we’re going to play until the end,” Nero said. “That’s the best part about these guys. There’s no quit. Teams are going to have to bring their best every week if they want to compete with us.”

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