At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, with a scruffy face and a torso that would make a sporting goods store mannequin blush, Cary-Grove senior Logan Abrams is what varsity football looks like.

Boys are on the 1-yard line of manhood. And for an even better understanding of what this physical maturity looks like, check out the full, curly beard of Trojan’s offensive lineman Jack Hissong (6-1, 265).

Standing next to Abrams after C-G’s regular-season-ending 44-29 win over host Jacobs on Friday night was freshman Ty Tenopir, 6-1, a couple of syrup-drenched pancakes shy of 160 pounds, with nary a whisker.

Tenopir is 14, after all, only a few months removed from graduating from eighth grade.

But like two-way stars Abrams and Hissong, Tenopir and his classmate Leo Zavala have been impact players for the Trojans (7-3), who enter the state playoffs riding a seven-game winning streak. The Trojans, a No. 6 seed in Class 5A, host No. 11 Sycamore (5-4) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Coach Brad Seaburg hasn’t been shy about giving the ball to Tenopir or Zavala this season. Mind you, few freshmen play varsity football, especially running backs, since they will get hit – and often hard – by 17- and 18-year-olds.

“Going into the season, we knew they were varsity caliber in terms of their talent,” Seaburg said of Tenopir and Zavala. “They just needed time to get acclimated to varsity football. I mean, they’re going right from Junior Trojans [feeder football] to varsity football. It’s a huge jump. But they’ve gotten better every week, every week, every week, and they’ve been playing pretty consistently.”

Tenopir (five carries, 119 yards) used his speed to race outside and bust off touchdown runs of 74 and 20 yards against Jacobs. The 5-8, 150-pound Zavala (seven carries, 56 yards) had a 16-yard TD run and caught a 35-yard pass.

In Week 6 against Dundee-Crown, Zavala rushed six times for 105 yards and scored three TDs.

“They add a lot, a lot of speed to the outside,” Abrams, who rushed for 149 yards and two TDs against Jacobs, said of Tenopir and Zavala. “They’re good at making plays. That’s what we need. When chips are down, we need those guys.”

Tenopir, who also plays basketball and runs track, is just happy for the opportunities.

“It is such a blessing to be out here,” Tenopir said. “It’s such a level change, and the intensity is much higher than Junior Trojans, but it’s super nice to be out here and have super-nice teammates who always encourage me and lift me up after I make mistakes.”

The support comes from his coaches, too.

Tenopir fumbled the ball away on C-G’s opening series of the second half against Jacobs. When the Trojans got the ball back less than two minutes later on Jason Ritter Jr.’s interception, Seaburg went right back to Tenopir, who took a pitch and raced 20 yards into the end zone to cap a three-play drive and extend C-G’s lead to 30-21.

“He just said, ‘Get back in there the next play and shake it off. Keep going,’ ” Tenopir said of Seaburg.

Props to Crystal Lake South: A lot of teams pack it in once losses start piling up.

That never happened with Crystal Lake South, which completed a 1-8 season with a 54-26 loss to FVC champ Prairie Ridge on Friday.

The Gators trailed Prairie Ridge only 38-26 at halftime and kept the high-scoring Wolves off the scoreboard in the third quarter. A week earlier, South trailed Jacobs only 21-19 at halftime before losing 44-30.

“I’m super proud of these guys that stayed resilient and continued to fight that didn’t give up, that battled through injuries,” Gators coach Rob Fontana said. “The seniors that stuck it out continued to grind and continued to be good leaders and really provide that spark for our younger guys to see and learn from and continue to build from.”

Wide receiver/cornerback Noa Franch is one of those seniors. He caught a 29-yard TD pass from Michael Silvius against Prairie Ridge.

“I’ll miss that even though we didn’t have the best of records, even though we had hard times, we still found a way to look at the bright side and enjoy the moment,” Franch said.

Week 9 scores

Fox Valley Conference

Prairie Ridge 54, Crystal Lake South 26

Cary-Grove 44, Jacobs 29

Huntley 42, Hampshire 27

Burlington Central 42, Dundee-Crown 6

McHenry 20, Crystal Lake Central 14

Kishwaukee River Conference

Richmond-Burton 48, Plano 0

Woodstock North 49, Woodstock 0

Johnsburg 45, Harvard 14

Marengo 46, Sandwich 27

Chicagoland Christian Conference

Aurora Christian 44, Marian Central 20

Illinois 8-Man Football Association

Alden-Hebron 26, Ashton-Franklin Center 8

• Shaw Local News Network correspondent Mark Winter contributed to this report.