CARY — The Guilford Vikings used three quarterbacks, seven different ballcarriers and a slew of formations in an attempt to throw off undefeated Cary-Grove in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs Saturday.
None of it worked, and in the end the Trojans pummeled the Vikings 47-0.
“We tried to do anything we could. In that second half, we tried it all, but it didn’t matter,” said junior Zane Gilfillan, who played some QB after gaining just three yards on seven carries as a running back. “We just never really had that one special play to get us going. We never gave up, but we couldn’t break off anything on them.”
The Vikings saw their three-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt as they were swarmed under by the hosts. Cary-Grove (10-0) dominated Guilford (5-5) throughout, holding the Vikings to 32 yards rushing and 78 yards of total offense in their worst loss of the year.
The Trojans scored on their first three possessions and took a 16-0 lead into halftime. But they blew it wide open in the third with two quick TDs in the first six minutes. Shortly after, the running clock started, as did the celebration on the home-team’s sidelines.
“Tonight was about as good as we can be when you look at both sides of the ball. We just clicked,” said Trojan quarterback Tyler Krebs, who rushed for 70 yards on eight carries and threw for 90 yards on three completions. “This was fun. Close games are always cool, but this was fun from the first kick.”
It wasn’t much fun for the Vikings, especially those stuck in the trenches. Cary-Grove took control at the line of scrimmage, blowing open wide holes while keeping the pressure off Krebs all night.
“We were prepared, we just didn’t perform,” said Guilford’s 6-foot-4, 265-pound senior tackle Noah Smith. “I can’t put a finger on exactly what they did, but they got us on just about every play. They were just lower than us, and they blew us out of there. It’s a tough one to take.”
Cary-Grove’s Eric Chandler had 79 yards on the ground and Alex Hembry rushed for 67 yards, and they each hit pay dirt twice. The Trojans had 283 yards rushing and 373 yards of total offense.
Guilford’s starting quarterback Jeff Janusevic rushed for 37 yards and passed for 46 yards in a quarter-and-half before leaving with a knee injury. No other Guilford back had more than eight yards rushing, and Tim Hill lost 19 yards on six carries on the night.
“They really came out tough,” Gilfillan added. “It’s very disappointing, but they really stepped up, and we didn’t. They got us; they got us good.”
- Jay Taft, rrstar.com
