Cary-Grove was missing starting quarterback Quinn Baker Friday night against Dundee-Crown.
Sophomore replacement Jason Gregoire had a direct task. Give the ball to senior running back Kyle Norberg.
Norberg did the rest.
The senior running back rushed for 342 yards on 16 carries as the No. 22 Trojans ripped the host Chargers 46-13 in Carpentersville.
Norberg scored three touchdowns. His second quarter 83-yard burst keyed a 24-point explosion as Cary-Grove jumped out to a commanding 31-0 lead at halftime. He also scored on runs of two and one yard.
“The offensive line was awesome again tonight,” Norberg said. “They deserve all the credit. It’s a team game and I just did my job.”
Despite playing without Baker, who injured his hand in last week’s victory over Huntley, the Trojans (8-0, 5-0 Fox Valley Valley) did not miss a beat in piling up nearly 500 yards of offense.
“I was nervous to start the game, but once Kyle broke off a big run on our first offensive play I felt very relaxed,” Gregoire said.
“(Ryan) Mahoney made some great catches and the seniors expressed confidence in me all week. I was glad I was able to come through and lead the team to victory.”
Dundee-Crown (3-5, 1-4) started the game with an impressive 15-play drive that stalled when they missed a 33-yard field goal and failed to get early points.
“When you play a great program like Cary-Grove you have to do the little things to have a chance,” Dundee-Crown coach Vito Andriola said.
“When you can’t tackle or convert on special teams you really don’t have a chance. Give Cary-Grove all the credit. They totally outplayed us and showed why they are a great team and a great program. They were missing guys and other guys stepped up for them. That is the sign of a great program.”
The Chargers were eliminated from playoff contention after their loss to Cary-Grove.
Dundee-Crown running back Cody Lane was held in check most of the night. He did explode for a 79-yard touchdown run to end up with 151 yards.
CARY-GROVE 46, DUNDEE-CROWN 13
Cary-Grove 7 24 15 0 – 46
Dundee-Crown 0 0 6 7 – 13
CG – Norberg 2 run (Glueck kick), 3:10
CG – Glueck 32 yard field goal, 9:23
CG – Norberg 83 run (Glueck kick), 5:52
CG – Gregoire 18 run (Glueck kick), 5:10
CG – Connington 6 run (Glueck kick), 1:46
CG – Norberg 1 run (Glueck kick), 10:39
DC – Ramirez 32 yard pass from Muscat (kick failed), 9:10
CG – Fields 1 run (Fields pass from Connington), 4:47
DC – Lane 79 run (Schmidt kick), 10:08
Team Stats Cary-Grove Dundee-Crown
First Downs 11 14
Comp-Att-Int 3-6-0 7-13-1
Passing Yards 63 106
Rushing Att-Yards 46-431 36-245
Total Yards 494 351
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Cary-Grove-Norberg 16-342, Gregoire 3-37, Mahoney 5-13, Connington 3-18,Dundon 2-3, Scott 2-8, Lippert 1-1, Sorensen 2-5, O’Malley 1-3, Fields 1-1.
Dundee-Crown-Lane 11-151, Sprouse 10-51, Flynn 4-9, Beasley 5-24,Ryan 2-2, Moss 2-3,Ramirez 1-0.
Passing:
Cary-Grove- Gregoire 4-6-0-63.
Dundee-Crown-Ryan 6-12-1-74, Muscat 1-1-0-32.
Receiving:
Cary-Grove- Mahoney 4-63.
Dundee-Crown-Muscat 3-48, Beasley 2-12, Lodi 1-13, Ramirez 1-32 .
