| JCA wins big on way to ESSC crown |
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By DICK GOSS Sports Editor
Oh, my.
If you did not believe in the Joliet Catholic Academy football team before Friday night’s East Suburban Catholic Conference championship game against Carmel of Mundelein at Memorial Stadium, you may want to rethink your position.
The Corsairs came to town ranked No. 7 in the state in Class 7A. They left with their collective tail between their legs.
The Hilltoppers (8-1, 7-0) jumped to a 31-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 45-8 victory that will reverberate statewide. Carmel (7-2, 6-1), after all, had won seven straight and its defense had been playing exceptionally well.
“I don’t know, I don’t see how there could be a team faster than us,” said junior wingback Tyler Hudetz — not bragging, you understand, just stating a fairly evident truth.
The speed and precision of the JCA offense struck early and often in a first half where the Hilltoppers piled up 333 yards of offense. They would finish with 470, above their unheard-of per-game average of 453 coming in.
And this was against an opponent that may make some noise in the Class 7A playoffs.
JCA, meanwhile, will be in the 6A bracket when the playoff field and pairings are announced tonight.
“This is definitely a nice way to go into the playoffs,” linebacker Nick Clancy said. “We got a lot of points against a good Carmel team.”
And, the Corsairs got little in return, scoring a consolation touchdown after trailing 45-0 in the fourth quarter, and with the running clock ticking.
“We busted our butts at practice this week, and we got our keys down,” Clancy said. “We keyed their option offense and spied No. 5 (Carmel quarterback David Venegoni).”
Defensive tackle Alex Foreman, who was a genuine Corsair wrecker on this occasion, got things going when he recovered a Carmel fumble after a Trent Earl strip on the first series.
That did not directly lead to the first touchdown, but it gave JCA the upper hand in the field-position game, which on this night was as good as gold.
When the Hilltopper regained possession, they marched 50 yards in 4 plays, scoring when tight end Sean Sheppard grabbed the ball away from safety Aaron Kwasigroch at the goal line for a 17-yard completion from John Ruettiger.
Next JCA possession, 62 yards in 7 plays. A 30-yard Ruettiger strike to a wide-open Sheppard set up Connor Krisch’s 1-yard TD run with 1:14 left in the first quarter.
The Hilltoppers regained possession and had a play left with the wind at their backs. On cue, Ruettiger cranked up his left arm and delivered a 49-yard scoring bomb to Tim Bennett. Just like that, 19-0 after a quarter.
“We wanted to come out and grab the momentum quick and keep adding to it,” said Hudetz, who rushed for 183 yards in 15 carries in what he described as his best game personally. “I think we proved a lot of people wrong tonight because they felt this was going to be our toughest game.”
Second verse, much like the first. On JCA’s first possession of the second quarter, Hudetz took off down the right size, used his blazing speed to outrun the safety and went the 73 yards to paydirt.
One more time. The Hilltoppers drove 88 yards for their fifth score and a 31-0 lead. Krisch, who rushed for 106 yards in 13 carries, set up the touchdown with a 49-yard run and capped the drive with a 3-yard run.
“I look at the second half of Mount Carmel (JCA’s 21-20 season-opening loss), and how we continued to get better ... yes, this is as well as we have played against a quality opponent,” JCA coach Dan Sharp said. “And the way the defense is playing is amazing. That’s really a credit to our defensive staff.”
The beat went on in the third quarter. JCA took the kickoff and marched 70 yards in 6 plays, the final 43 on a Clancy run, complete with his finishing stiff-arm.
Clancy normally does his damage from his inside linebacker post, but he also is a quality running back. Fullback Brandon Geiss, the Hilltoppers’ leading rusher for the season, sat out the second half with a probable hip pointer. Hudetz slid over to fullback, and when Clancy entered at wingback, it was immediate fireworks.
“Just like it said in the story in the paper, you can’t give enough credit to our offensive line,” Clancy said of the unit that includes center Nate Fonck, guards Zak Pedersen and Joe Minor and tackles John Kaminski and Pat Kielian. “You just have to cut back, and the holes are there.”
“Clancy is unbelievable,” Sharp said.
The touchdown to invoke the running clock, scored by Krisch from 2 yards out, capped a 35-yard march.
Carmel used its regulars against JCA’s defensive reserves to get on the board. But that does not detract from the dominance of the Hilltoppers’ defense.
“Clancy and (Josh) Greenback are a good combination at inside linebacker,” Sharp said. “But Carmel runs the Navy-Air Force option, and to defend that, your line has to do the job.
“Especially the tackles, Foreman and (T.J.) Barrett, were outstanding. And our ends, (Kyle) Kleeman and Danny Sharp while he was in there, then (Ryan) Stockman, did a great job containing. And our outside lienbackers (Jake Stockman and Josh Mander) are playing really well.”
How did Foreman spend so much time in the Carmel backfield?
“I didn’t get double-teamed that much, and I got past my guy quite a bit,” he said. “We really pride ourselves in stopping the running game.
“This game tonight, it’s basically a huge push into the playoffs.”
In other words, a complete success except perhaps for the bumps and bruises. Sharp did reinjure the knee that was hurt earlier in the season, Geiss had the hip and Earl appeared to suffer a hand injury.
“This game was physical,” Sharp said. “I’m glad we don’t start playoffs on Wednesday anymore. We need the time to heal.”
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