Cary-Grove contains Jahleel Billingsley, beats Phillips

Phillips set a new standard of excellence for Public League football the past few years. Watching the Wildcats win a Class 4A and a Class 5A state title raised the goals and changed the mindset of every team in the city.

It would have been easy for Phillips coach Troy McAllister to keep the team in the smaller classes and continue to dominate with his SEC-quality recruits. But the Wildcats aren’t about standing still, so they petitioned up to play in Class 6A.

Talk from the team in the preseason was all about wanting to play the best, to keep raising the bar.

Phillips met its match on Saturday in Cary. Undefeated Cary-Grove knocked off the Wildcats 34-24 in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.

“It’s exactly what we asked for,” McAllister said. “You want your young men to compete at the highest level. They are the number one seed and we were right there with them.”

The Trojans (12-0) were able to contain Alabama recruit Jahleel Billingsley. He had eight carries for 14 yards and one touchdown and caught three passes for 77 yards and one touchdown.

Cary-Grove’s Jason Petko (63) runs off the field. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Jahleel Billingsley (9) stiff arms Cary-Grove’s Dymitri Kanellakis. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Leonard Smith (5) stays in the pocket. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Cary-Grove’s Ben McDonald (17) hands the ball off. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Blake Skol (9) of Cary-Grove celebrates. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Cary-Grove’s Blake Skol (20) gets a touchdown. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Ben McDonald (17) of Cary-Grove fakes a hand off. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Ronald Pledger (4) brings down Cary-Grove’s Blake Skol (20). Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Jahleel Billingsley (9) gets a first down. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Blake Skol (20) of Cary-Grove heads straight for the end zone. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Blake Skol (20) of Cary-Grove gave Phillips’ defense a hard time. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Jahleel Billingsley (9) of Phillips gets taken down. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Cary-Grove’s Ben McDonald (17) gets tripped up. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Anthony Anderson (44) gets pulled down. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Anthony Anderson (44) of Phillips escapes. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Byron Lewis (3) catches a touchdown pass. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Cary-Grove’s Ben McDonald (17) runs out of the backfield. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Blake Skol (20) of Cary-Grove fights for a first down. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Leonard Smith (5) fires a ball down field. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Anthony Anderson (44) of Phillips leaps over Cary-Grove’s Luke Eletheriou. | Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times

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Phillips’ Anthony Anderson (44) runs up field. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Phillips’ Davion Jordan (23) pops the ball away from Blake Skol (20) of Cary-Grove. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Cary-Grove’s Danny Daigle (21) tries to break free. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Cary-Grove’s Dymitri Kanellakis (37) celebrates the win. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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Blake Skol (20) of Cary-Grove gets picked up by Phillips’ defense. Worsom Robinson/For the Sun-Times.

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“The field is sloppy and it got worse as the game went on,” McAllister said. “You get used to playing on turf and you come out here and it takes away some of the speed. No excuses, we knew how it was going to be.”

Phillips (9-3) pulled within 27-24 on Billingsley’s two-yard touchdown run with 9:18 to play.

On the next drive Cary-Grove ate up clock on an impressively gritty march down the field. Then the Trojans found a little magic. It came on a fake put on fourth down at the Phillips 35.

Quarterback Ben McDonald connected with Quinn Priester for a 25-yard completion and a first down.

“It was not the route that was called,” Priester said. “It was the route that was open. I’m just glad Ben picked up on it or I would have been in a lot of trouble.”

Blake Skol ran 10 yards for a touchdown on the next play to give the Trojans a ten-point lead.

“You can’t measure the size of a kid’s heart,” Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said. “They played hard and gritty and got things done against a super-talented team.”

McDonald was 4 for 7 for 51 yards and one touchdown. He had 19 carries for 75 yards. The other two weapons in the Trojans’ triple-option were just as effective.

Senior Danny Daigle had nine carries for 115 yards and three touchdowns. His 10-yard touchdown run on a fourth down midway through the second quarter was a backbreaker. He also grabbed an interception.

Skol, a junior, picked up the tough small yardage. He had 21 carries for 116 yards and one touchdown.

“Daigle is a stud,” Seaburg said. “He just plays hard and just battles, like every kid on the team. I don’t think he ever came off the field. Blake rarely fumbles the ball. I felt pretty good giving him the ball in the second half.”

Phillips quarterback Leonard Smith was 8-of17 passing for 154 yards. He threw two interceptions. The second, picked off by Priester, came deep in the red zone near the very end of the first half.

“We stopped them when we needed to,” Seaburg said. “Both teams are championship caliber teams. We were able to make a couple more plays than they were.”

The Trojans will face the Antioch-Notre Dame winner in the semifinals.

“It’s insane,” McDonald said. “It is something I’ve always dreamed of as a kid.”