McHenry County notes: McHenry’s offense kept pace with Prairie Ridge most of the way in opening loss

One could have assumed that McHenry’s offense might take a step back due to the graduation of three of its play-making stalwarts.

Quarterback Andrew Hoffman, receiver Kyle Kamepf and running back Brody Hallin accounted for the lion’s share of the Warriors’ offensive production last season.

That assumption, however, might have been off mark.

The Warriors offense looks poised to make Fridays difficult on opposing defensive coordinators. Quarterback Dom Caruso threw for 260 yards and two scores in McHenry’s 36-28 loss to Prairie Ridge, which opened the season at No. 2 in The Associated Press Class 6A poll.

The one interception he threw was actually a leaping pick by Prairie Ridge safety Dominic Creatore. Caruso showed poise in the pocket and made several quality throws when forced to scramble.

The Warriors also have arguably one of the better 1-2 receiver tandems in Zack Maness and Jacob Zarek. Though not huge targets – Maness stands 6-1 and is 145 pounds while Zarek is 5-9, 160 – the two consistently managed to find open field in McHenry’s 36-28 loss to the Wolves. Maness caught eight balls for 112 yards and one touchdown, while Zarek nabbed five for 105 and one touchdown. Caruso completed passes to six different receivers.

Add to that returning senior Dylan Drumheller in the backfield and a solid offensive line, and McHenry has the potential to turn heads in the FVC.

Facing adversity: Adversity is a matter of perspective. It seems odd that members of both a winning team and losing team mention facing adversity after a game, but both McHenry coach Joel Beard and Prairie Ridge quarterback Tyler Vasey referenced the adversity their respective teams faced.

Beard was impressed how his team faced deficits in each of the four quarters, yet responded with scores of their own. Each time Prairie Ridge scored a touchdown, McHenry tallied to tie the score at 7-7, 14-14, and it pulled to within 22-21 after Ridge recorded a two-point conversion in the third quarter. Seemingly down and out when the Wolves opened a 36-21 lead midway through the third quarter, the Warriors made it a one-score game before the Wolves recovered an onside kick to end the rally.

“I thought we handled adversity well tonight,” Beard said. “That is a good team over there (pointing to the PR huddle) but we stuck in there and kept after them.”

Vasey, meanwhile, lauded his team’s effort after what he termed a “slow start.” The Wolves had two first-time varsity starters in freshman Luke Vanderwiel (7 carries, 51 yards, 2 TDs) and sophomore Jack Finn in the backfield.

Thunder defense got tough: After allowing 259 first-half yards and four touchdowns to Johnsburg, Woodstock North clamped down and yielded only 43 yards defensively the entire second half.

Had it not been for a first-half turnover that led to seven Skyhawks points, the Thunder could have made it even closer than the 27-17 final score.

“We didn’t do anything differently, really, in the second half, other than execute our plays better,” Thunder first-year coach Matt Polnow said. “We went to a Cover-2 defense a few times, but other than that, it was just our kids making plays.”

The Thunder also had a 60-plus yard kickoff return negated on a holding penalty early in the third quarter. North plans on improving from last season’s 0-9 mark.

“I know we lost, but I’m really excited about a lot of stuff I saw tonight,” Polnow said. “We just held our own against a team with big aspirations this season, on their field.”

Nice debut: Johnsburg sophomore A.J. Bravieri had a notable first varsity game with an 11-of-14 passing game for 188 yards and three touchdowns.

“I did my best to make sure I was prepared,” Bravieri said. “I knew if I was prepared, we would be OK. When (Woodstock North’s) corners starting pressing up on us, I knew I would have the opportunity to take some shots downfield.”

One of those deep chances was a long ball for a 61-yard score to Cade Piggott late in the first half, 28 seconds after North had just found the end zone.

Piggott got behind his defender, and Bravieri showed off significant arm strength by making sure the ball got 30-plus yards downfield before safety help arrived.

“My teammates deserve just as much credit,” he said. “They came ready to play. Once we got that first (three-and-out) drive out of the way, we were ready to go.”

Record performance: Hampshire running back Cole Klawikowski’s 407 yards rushing in Friday’s 15-14 loss to Burlington Central was an FVC record.

Klawikowski broke the mark set by Prairie Ridge’s Jackson Willis on Sept. 14, 2018 in a 70-55 victory over Dundee-Crown.

Klawikowski ran 45 times for 407 yards with touchdown runs of 88 and 31 yards.