Registering one big first-half play after another, the McHenry Warriors made quick work of the Crystal Lake Central Tigers Friday night, winning 33-14 at Crystal Lake’s Metcalf Field.
McHenry (2-1) led 27-7 at halftime, scoring a pair of touchdowns in each of the first two quarters and putting the game out of reach.
The Warriors were averaging 27 points per game coming into Friday’s contest. Crystal Lake Central (1-2) was averaging 29 points per game.
McHenry took the lead on its opening drive and never trailed. The Warriors went 75-yards–66 of them on the ground–on 14 plays, capping the six-minute drive with a 7-yard touchdown run by senior Mack Sherman.
Crystal Lake appeared poised to tie the game, moving the ball and taking five minutes off the clock, but a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown by McHenry’s Jace Sayler shifted momentum and put the Warriors up 13-0.
Sayler, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior, picked the pocket of Crystal Lake senior quarterback Tom O’Hagan, who had dropped back to pass and was engulfed by the McHenry defense. Sayler emerged with the ball and bounded uncontested into the end zone for the touchdown.
“It happened so fast for me,” said Sayler. “(McHenry junior) Dan Philips made the hit on the quarterback. I got a hand on the ball and tipped it to myself. It was just one of those fluke plays that work for you every once in a while.”
The Tigers struck back after senior Russ Rydin recovered a fumbled McHenry punt at the Warriors’ 23. The turnover led to a 1-yard TD run by Crystal Lake junior tailback Chuck Lowitzki, making it a 13-7 with 7:46 left. Momentum, thanks to two plays, shifted in just two minutes, swinging back in McHenry’s favor.
Following Lowitzki’s touchdown, McHenry sophomore Pete Rasmusen scored the first of his two touchdowns on the night, taking the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a back-breaking score and a 21-7 lead.
“The wedge was perfect and I broke right off Mack Sherman’s block,” said a tired, but not beaten Rasmusen, his left shin bandaged after a second half collision. “It’s those kind of blocks that give me the confidence that I can break one at any time.”
Less than a minute later, McHenry’s defense continued the suffocation of O’Hagan. The Warriors sacked the Tigers quarterback, forcing a fumble that was recovered by McHenry senior Mike Fleming at the Crystal Lake 18.
Two plays later, Mike McDonough scored on a 2-yard run making it 27-7 with 5:34 left in the half.
“One of our main goals in practice this week was to come out strong . . . set a good pace,” said Sayler. “We didn’t do that last year and it hurt us. We want to come out fired up every game we play.”
