LAKE FOREST – Cary-Grove senior Kyle Norberg was a wide-eyed freshman soaking everything in from the sideline the last time the Trojans played in a Class 6A football playoff semifinal.

Norberg and a few of his freshman buddies actually got into the game late when C-G defeated Prairie Ridge, 40-7, on its way to winning the Class 6A state title a week later.

“It was crazy,” Norberg said of the experience. “I was kind of enjoying everything. I can only imagine what those [upperclassmen] were feeling. It’s kind of crazy that we could be in that same situation.”