Four downs: Prairie Ridge’s Luke Vanderwiel and Libertyville’s Quinn Schambow emerge as Week 5 shockers

Cary-Grove defeated Prairie Ridge in Crystal Lake on Friday. The Trojans lived up to the preseason hype. Running back Logan Abrams provided the key highlight with his 77-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

But Prairie Ridge junior Luke Vanderwiel stole the show. The junior quarterback was sensational, with 42 carries for 184 yards and 2 TDs. His decision-making in the triple attack was excellent.

“(Vanderwiel) is a great runner,” Cary-Grove linebacker Charlie Ciske said. ‘He can cut so fast. I haven’t seen anything like this this year. Just agility.”

The Wolves showed this season they can make deep runs in Class 5A. Vanderwiel’s performance was reminiscent of two Prairie Ridge players who won the Sun-Times Player of the Year award, Samson Evans (2017) and Tyler Vasey (2022).

“(Vanderwiel) is a game changer,” Wolves coach Michael Frericks said. “What we do with the option is that he always has the ball in his hand and can always make the decision. I like those opportunities that he has football.

Prairie Ridge is favored in the final four regular season games and joins Nazareth, Peoria, Joliet Catholic, Morgan Park and Sycamore as a legitimate Class 5A state title contender.

Quarterback watch

Add another name to the list of talented quarterbacks from the region. Quinn Schambow has Libertyville in the Super 25 and is off to an undefeated start.

Schambow went 23-for-24 for 322 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-0 win at Mundelein in Week 5. He has 1,632 yards passing with 26 touchdowns and just one interception this season.

Schambow is a talented baseball player committed to Oklahoma State, but he’s opening some eyes in his second sport.

Shocking week 5

There were two shocking last-minute wins in Week 5.

Providence defeated St. Francis 27-25 on the game’s final play, which came after the officials called a delay-of-game penalty as St. Francis knelt to seal the victory.

Providence quarterback AJ Rayford found Jayden Mikulski for a 30-yard touchdown to win it for the Celtics.

St. Charles North defeated Wheaton-Warrenville South 37-32 after scoring two touchdowns in the final 37 seconds.

Quarterback Ethan Plumb ran one yard for the first TD. He connected with Braden Harms for an 18-yard touchdown to win the game with 18.8 seconds left.

Season on hold

De La Salle has suspended its football season. The Meteors, down to less than 20 players, lost their game against Fenwick in Week 5.

So far this season they have lost to Argo, Benet and Marmion and have been left out in all of those matches. De La Salle defeated Foreman 64-0 in Week 2. Leo, Nazareth, Joliet Catholic and Marian Catholic are still on the schedule.