Cary-Grove’s senior football players stood tall on Al Bohrer Field, smiling and posing for pictures under the lights long after their victory.

Never mind that it was senior night and C-G had just beaten visiting Hampshire 40-7 to clinch a playoff berth for the 20th time in 21 seasons.

Six weeks ago, the Trojans weren’t smiling.

“We definitely felt the urgency,” senior linebacker Oliver Antonelli said. “We had the belief in ourselves, but we knew we had to work so hard to put it together. Credit to all of my teammates. They really took it upon themselves to put in the work and keep getting better.”

Cary-Grove, ranked third in Class 5A in the Associated Press poll, improved to 6-2 overall and 6-2 in the Fox Valley Conference with its sixth win in a row Friday night.

Never mind that the Trojans’ two losses to start the season came against Prairie Ridge and Burlington Central, the teams that occupy the top two spots in the FVC standings.

“Compared to Week 1, we all just work so much better together now, just communicating and knowing the plays and formations,” said senior offensive lineman Jack Hissong, whose thick, curly beard has mirrored his team’s growth.

C-G fullback Logan Abrams rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries, as the Trojans piled up 392 yards on the ground. Lance Moore added 86 rushing yards on only five carries, and quarterback Jackson Berndt had a pair of short rushing TDs. They ran behind a line that featured Hissong, brothers Andrew and Patrick Bolf, Brady Buhl and Josh Humphrey.

“We have a lot of guys who have improved,” said C-G coach Brad Seaburg, whose team won the FVC last season with a veteran group. “We knew what Logan [Abrams] was. It was all the unknowns coming into the season. ... I think we’ve seen improvement across the board for our whole team.”

C-G’s triple-option attack asserted itself immediately against Hampshire (3-5, 3-5), which came into the game having won two games in a row for the first time since 2021.

Abrams’ 8-yard run capped a seven-play drive on the game’s opening series. The Whip-Purs didn’t help themselves, as they were whistled for encroachment twice.

The Trojans then scored again on their next series, as Berndt kept the ball and ran into the end zone from the 3, after freshman Leo Zavala (five carries, 54 yards) gained 15 yards to give C-G first-and-goal.

“They’re a very good football team, and they got a good program,” Hampshire coach Shane Haak said. “We knew it would be a good challenge ahead of us to try to match that, and we weren’t able to get it going the right way.”

C-G got two more TDs from Abrams (58 and 33 runs) in the second quarter. In between, Moore scored from 18 yards out on fourth-and-5. Berndt faked the handoff to Abrams, Hampshire bit, and Moore took the pitch.

The junior running back veered left and sprinted into the end zone, padding the Trojans’ lead to 27-0 with 4:35 left before halftime.

“They were really doing a nice job of clogging things up inside,” Seaburg, whose team was up 33-0 at the break, said of the Whips. “We were trying to find ways to get it to the perimeter. We got it to Lance a couple of times, and he made some nice plays.”

Bernt added a 5-yard TD run with 4:49 left in the third quarter, commencing the running clock.

Hampshire broke the shutout when Uriah Beamon recovered a C-G fumble in the end zone. On the previous play, C-G sophomore Caleb Wright recovered a Hampshire fumble at the home team’s 1-yard line.

C-G’s defense limited Hampshire to 137 yards of total offense (56 rushing) and nine first downs.

“I just really love to see our growth,” said Antonelli, who made a diving interception (the first of his career) and also broke up a pass. “I feel like our commitment was always there, but our intensity at practice has picked up a lot. We’re building a lot of trust in each other, and trusting the coaches helps so much.”

Hampshire played its second game in a row without running back Tymere Marshall, who is battling an injury, Haak said.

Hampshire hosts Huntley next week, needing a victory to have an outside shot at making the playoffs.

“Our goal is to get that fourth win and see what happens from there,” Haak said. “We got another week here to get better in practice, and that’s been our motto each week, and really the last few weeks we’ve made some big strides.”

C-G finishes the regular season next week at Jacobs.