Belvidere North's Stunning Upset Sends Shockwaves Through the Illinois High School Football Scene
In a game that will go down in history as one of the biggest upsets in Illinois high school football, Belvidere North took down previously undefeated Cary-Grove 17-10 in the Class 5A quarterfinals. The Blue Thunder's dominating performance not only sent shockwaves through the football community but also marked the first-ever semifinals appearance for the relatively new program.
Founded in 2007 with a humble Wikipedia page, Belvidere North had been flying under the radar until Friday night. However, the team's defense played a pivotal role in securing the win, shutting down Cary-Grove's run-dominant offense and forcing the Trojans to settle for a relatively modest 10 points.
The turning point of the game came early, when senior linebacker Noah Rooney scooped up a fumbled ball at the Belvidere North 4-yard line, setting up Jackson Johnson for an 91-yard touchdown return that gave his team an early 7-0 lead. The momentum shift was significant, and Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg later acknowledged that it marked the point where the game was all but over.
The Blue Thunder's offense proved to be equally effective, with quarterback Andrew Bucci connecting with Nathan Alexander for a 71-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to extend Belvidere North's lead. Bucci had a standout performance on the ground as well, racking up 39 yards on nine carries.
For Cary-Grove, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow. Quarterback Jackson Berndt scored on a five-yard run with 9:58 left in the game to cut Belvidere North's lead to 17-7, but it was too little, too late. The Blue Thunder's defense held strong, and the Trojans were unable to mount another significant scoring threat.
The win marked a historic milestone for Belvidere North, which is now set to host the St. Francis-King winner next weekend in the semifinals. Senior Jackson Johnson summed up the team's emotions perfectly, saying, "I'm at a loss for words... To accomplish this and finally be here is huge for us. I just want everyone to know that Belvidere North is here. We have arrived."
In a game that will go down in history as one of the biggest upsets in Illinois high school football, Belvidere North took down previously undefeated Cary-Grove 17-10 in the Class 5A quarterfinals. The Blue Thunder's dominating performance not only sent shockwaves through the football community but also marked the first-ever semifinals appearance for the relatively new program.
Founded in 2007 with a humble Wikipedia page, Belvidere North had been flying under the radar until Friday night. However, the team's defense played a pivotal role in securing the win, shutting down Cary-Grove's run-dominant offense and forcing the Trojans to settle for a relatively modest 10 points.
The turning point of the game came early, when senior linebacker Noah Rooney scooped up a fumbled ball at the Belvidere North 4-yard line, setting up Jackson Johnson for an 91-yard touchdown return that gave his team an early 7-0 lead. The momentum shift was significant, and Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg later acknowledged that it marked the point where the game was all but over.
The Blue Thunder's offense proved to be equally effective, with quarterback Andrew Bucci connecting with Nathan Alexander for a 71-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to extend Belvidere North's lead. Bucci had a standout performance on the ground as well, racking up 39 yards on nine carries.
For Cary-Grove, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow. Quarterback Jackson Berndt scored on a five-yard run with 9:58 left in the game to cut Belvidere North's lead to 17-7, but it was too little, too late. The Blue Thunder's defense held strong, and the Trojans were unable to mount another significant scoring threat.
The win marked a historic milestone for Belvidere North, which is now set to host the St. Francis-King winner next weekend in the semifinals. Senior Jackson Johnson summed up the team's emotions perfectly, saying, "I'm at a loss for words... To accomplish this and finally be here is huge for us. I just want everyone to know that Belvidere North is here. We have arrived."
, that's insane! I was not expecting Belvidere North to pull off such an epic upset against Cary-Grove. 91 yards from the 4-yard line? That's a game-changer right there! 
I mean, you gotta respect Noah Rooney's recovery skills, it's like he had X-ray vision or something 
. And Jackson Johnson's 71-yard touchdown pass is just straight fire 
. The Blue Thunder's defense was on point, Cary-Grove just couldn't seem to score 
.
. And Jackson Johnson's words at the end are so true, it's huge for them that they've finally arrived and made their presence known 
. Bring on the semifinals!
. Can't wait to see what next week brings for this team! 
can't wait to see them play st francis king next weekend 
his teammates played awesome too, especially Andrew Bucci 
.
like belvidere north was literally nobody till friday night but they came out and took down cary grove 17-10 i'm not even kidding it's crazy how noah rooney scooped up that fumbled ball at the 4 yard line and set up jackson johnson for a 91 yard touchdown return. now belvidere north is headed to the semifinals and it's gonna be huge for them and their community they deserve this after years of flying under the radar
. The Blue Thunder's defense is EVERYTHING 
belvidere north's defense was straight fire tho 
like who's even scooping up a fumble in a live game lol? and what's with all these new teams popping up in the high school football scene like belvidere north was just founded in 2007 
anyway, i heard theyre gonna play st frs next wkend... guess ill have to tune in 
. Seriously, can't they just make it stable for once? This win by Belvidere North is a big deal and I want to watch the highlight reel without any of these issues 
. Can't they just keep it simple and say something like "Belvidere North wins first-ever semifinals appearance"? 
. I mean, that fumbled ball Noah Rooney picked up at the 4-yard line? Game-changer 
! And Andrew Bucci's performance was insane 
️! Not sure how much more of a team they can expect, but for one night, they were UNSTOPPABLE 