CSNChicago.com preps reporter "Edgy" Tim O’Halloran spotlights 100 high school football teams in 100 days. The first 75 team profiles will focus on teams making strides across Chicagoland and elsewhere in the state. Leading up to kickoff on Friday, Aug. 25., we unveil the @CSNPreps Top 25 Power Rankings.
School: Cary-Grove
Head coach: Brad Seaburg
Assistant coaches: Don Sutherland, Mike Walston, Dean Schlueter, Matt Ruhland, Matt Furlong, Mike Manning, Phil Raffaelli, Ryan Passaglia, Ryan Ludwig
How they fared in 2016: 10-2 (7-1 Fox Valley Conference), made the Class 6A state playoff field, defeated Wheeling and Grayslake North then lost to DeKalb in the quarterfinal round.
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2017 regular season schedule:
Aug. 25 @ Prairie Ridge
Sept. 1 vs. McHenry
Sept. 9 @ Hampshire
Sept. 15 vs. Jacobs
Sept. 23 @ Huntley
Sept. 28 vs. Dundee-Crown
Oct. 5 vs. Crystal Lake South
Oct. 14 @ South Elgin
Oct. 20 @ Crystal Lake Central
Biggest storyline: Can the Trojans win the Fox Valley Conference in 2017?
Names to watch this season: senior QB Quinn Priester, senior FB/DB Max Skol
Biggest holes to fill: The Trojans will need to replace both the leadership and production loss with the graduation of FB/LB Tyler Pennington (Arkansas).
EDGY's early take: Cary Grove never takes a backseat to anyone, whether in the Fox Valley or in the state playoffs. Priester will run the Trojans option game and has plenty of talent, along with four returning starting offensive linemen. If Cary Grove can replace some key spots, especially on defense (seven returning starters graduated) this team could challenge for a state title in Class 6A in 2017.