Prairie Ridge vs. Cary-Grove is one of the area’s most vibrant high school football rivalries.
The teams are both state title threats nearly every season. They use the same run-heavy offenses. It’s a game with a special, old-school, played-on-grass, punch-you-in-the-mouth feel that always delivers.
There were crunching tackles all over the field on Friday in Cary. Both teams were undefeated heading in and both came through in the clutch.
Prairie Ridge drove nearly the length of the field to take a seven-point lead on their final drive. Quarterback Joey Vanderwiel topped it off with a four-yard TD run.
Cary-Grove responded with the quickest drive of the game. The Trojans scored in just 1:14, pulling within one point after a 23-yard TD pass from Peyton Seaburg to Luca Vivaldelli.
Then it was decision time. Go for two to take the lead or tie it with 55 seconds to play?
Cary-Grove kicked the extra point. The snap was high and the kick was missed. No. 7 Prairie Ridge beats the No. 25 Trojans 21-20.
“That’s a very, very hard way to lose,” Wolves senior Dominic Creatore sympathized.
Creatore likely took more punishment than any player on the field, grinding out 118 yards on 24 carries. He scored on a 17-yard TD run late in the first quarter.
“They were hitting really hard,” Creatore said. “Both teams brought the intensity today. We basically prepare for this game even before the season starts. We are in the weight room in January thinking about beating these guys.”
Prairie Ridge (5-0, 5-0 Fox Valley) isn’t dependent on the run this season. Vanderwiel was 6-for-8 for 116 yards. Sophomore Luke Vanderwiel, Joey’s brother, caught three passes for 58 yards.
“We don’t pass a lot but if we need it we can break it out,” Joey Vanderwiel said
Vanderwiel (13 carries for 38 yards) and Jack Finn (13 carries for 36 yards) were the other threats on the ground for the Wolves.
“We knew [Cary-Grove] was going to come back [after we scored],” Prairie Ridge coach Chris Schremp said. “That’s just the way it goes. Especially when we play them here. It always comes down to some big play or missed opportunity.”
Sophomore Logan Abrams had 13 carries for 62 yards. He’s a powerful runner that will be an impact player in the Fox Valley for the next several seasons.
Prairie Ridge evens it up on a 17-yard run by Dominic Creatore. Wolves and Cary-Grove tied at 7, late 1Q. pic.twitter.com/MuqjXjKQFT
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) September 23, 2023
Seaburg was 3-for-4 passing for 60 yards and two TDs. Andrew Prio tied the game at 14 late in the third quarter with a 95-yard kickoff return TD for the Trojans (4-1, 4-1).
“We put ourselves in so many bad positions tonight,” Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said. “So it came down to the extra point. We turned the ball over twice and couldn’t get the big third down stops we needed. I don’t think Prairie Ridge had a single penalty.”
The Wolves have dropped down to Class 5A for the state playoffs. Cary-Grove remains in Class 6A. So for the first time in recent memory, the teams will not block each other’s path to the state finals.
“I’m happy about that and [Schremp] would say the same thing,” Seaburg said. “That’s definitely ok with me.”
“I’m so glad this game is over,” Schremp said. “It just brings a lot of extra stuff. And you hate beating each other in the playoffs. We respect each other so much.”
