MCHENRY, Ill. (WIFR) - The Harlem Huskies flag football team is one win away from advancing to the IHSA State Quarterfinals after beating Cary Grove 38-18 in the Sectional Semifinal.
Huskies opened up the scoring in the first quarter. Giada Nowling connected with Taelar Washington on a 26-yard touchdown pass to give Harlem a 7-0 lead.
The Trojans responded with an eight-yard score eight seconds into the second. Harlem led 7-6 after the two-point conversion attempted failed.
Nowling and Washington connected for a second score to put the Huskies up 13-6 in the second. Washington would have three TDs on the day.
Washington also got an interception on defense to set up a Harlem TD. They led 19-6 at halftime.
Huskies went on to win 38-18.
“It was a full team effort offensively defensively. Couldn’t really give up a lot of mistakes,” said Head Coach Nate Dodson. “We had a few and that’s going to happen during a game but the way they were able to rally after those situations, put the pressure on them and take care of business.”
“We’ve been working really hard to get here. They seeded us really low and we’re proving them wrong every time,” said senior Hari Young. “We’ve been playing with each other for a long time and we know what to do when there’s certain circumstances in the game and I think that’s pushing us to be better.”
Harlem will face Antioch at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Sectional Final. The winner advances to the IHSA State Quarterfinals.
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