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JCA falls short: Hilltoppers hold mighty Mount Carmel at bay until fourth quarter
By Dick Goss
sports editor Herald News
This season opener was big because it was played at Soldier Field.
Big because it matched the Nos. 2 and 4 teams in The Associated Press' Class 7A preseason poll.
But most of all, this was Joliet Catholic Academy vs. Mount Carmel. Regardless of the venue or the early expectations, this one always has the potential to be a classic. The No. 2 Caravan's 13-6 come-from-behind victory Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the annual kickoff tripleheader at the home of the Bears falls into that category.
Winning was not a matter of life or death, especially for the young Hilltoppers, who earned their varsity spurs against one of the state's finest outfits. But by golly, in the true tradition of this Carmelite rivalry, coach Dan Sharp's guys nearly pulled it off.
"With the large number of juniors we have, for them to come out here and play like they did, that's a very good sign," Sharp said. "We thought our conditioning was good, and yet we wilted a little in the fourth quarter. But we will be fun to watch."
The fun began Saturday, when junior quarterback John Ruettiger hooked up with lanky, fleet wide receiver Coby Fleener on a 70-yard bomb late in the third quarter to give JCA a 6-0 lead. And even after Mount Carmel scored on Carter Kopach's 14-yard pass to Pat Jarvis to tie it 6-6 with 7:35 left in the game, Ryan Piechocinski burst in to block the potential go-ahead extra point.
Kopach, who resides in Bolingbrook, smiled at the suggestion the JCA touchdown served as a wakup call. "There was some motivation that came from them scoring, I suppose," he said. "But if playing JCA alone is not enough motivation, you don't belong on this field."
Kopach, who completed 13-of-20 passes for 255 yards, had the motivational juices flowing on the Caravan's next possession as well. First, JCA, with the help of two Mount Carmel holding penalties in the secondary, was looking at second-and-1 at midfield with around 6 minutes left. But an ornery Caravan defense stuffed two running plays to make it fourth-and-1, and Sharp opted for a Piechocinski quick kick. It rolled into the end zone, and Mount Carmel took over at the 20 with 4:41 remaining.
On second-and-9, Kopach launched a 42-yard pass to Jarvis (5 catches, 125 yards) to the Hilltoppers' 37, and four plays later, he found tight end Ron Newcomb alone over the middle with the decisive 21-yard TD toss.
"We talked about character all week, and I think it showed today," Kopach said.
The character element flowed both ways.
"We learned a lot about our team," said Ruettiger, who hit 5-of-12 passes for 144 yards, with Fleener catching 4 for 133. "We have a lot of potential."
That this game was scoreless for nearly three quarters was a tribute to two defenses that were not perfect, but perfected the bend-but-don't-break philosophy.
Mount Carmel received the opening kickoff and took 6 1/2 minutes off the clock while marching 69 yards in 14 plays to a fourth-and-1 at the JCA 9. But Kopach had trouble securing the snap, and junior defensive tackle Alex Foreman took him down from behind at the 12. One bullet dodged by the Hilltoppers' defense, with several more to come.
The Caravan used Kopach's 35-yard hookup with Jarvis in reaching a third-and-goal at the 2 in their next possession, and this time Mount Carmel muffed a handoff, with Hilltoppers outstanding linebacker Kevin Rouse recovering at the 3 to end the first quarter.
The second quarter opened with a bang as JCA sophomore wingback Tyler Hudetz went 68 yards down the right side to the Caravan 29 the first time he touched the ball. Hudetz's 7-yard run on third-and-8, Ruettiger's senak for a first down and Ruettiger's 11-yard hookup wtih Nick Clancy made it first-and-goal at the 8.
Hudetz, who led JCA rushers with 93 yards in 8 carries, was pumped, perhaps too pumped. He took the next handoff toward the end zone, and on his determined second effort, Mount Carmel's defense stripped him, with linebacker Ed Kilroy recovering at the 3.
"That was a big momentum thing, getting inside the 5 and not getting in," Sharp admitted.
Especially against this sort of opponent.
"Mount Carmel is big, physical and well coached," Sharp said. "We couldn't have played harder on defense, and we will be solid on offense. We're young and learning. We made enough mistakes on offense to shoot ourselves in the foot. We had some penalties whent he noise got loud.
"But I really appreciate the effort and toughness of our kids, and how they played so hard against such a big, physical opponent. We made some mistakes, but we never gave up and looked poised. I guarantee you not a lot of teams are going to score many points on this (Mount Carmel) team."
After the JCA fumble, the Caravan journeyed to first-and-goal at the Hilltoppers' 8 — Kopach's 29-yard connection with Dan Knibbs on a third-and-20 the key. But defensive end Anthony Andrews nearly intercepted an option pitch to foil the drive, and Mount Carmel missed a field goal.
JCA punted, and Kopach hit Keith Lewis for 38 yards to the Hilltoppers 17. But time had nearly expired in the half, the Caravan tried another field and missed again.
"Our defensive front was tough and our defense was good in the red zone against kids who can throw and catch," Sharp said. "All that's been said about that quarterback (Kopach) is true."
In a game where Mount Carmel ran 71 offensive plays to 38 for JCA and had approximately a 13-minute edge in time of possession, the Hilltoppers began the second half in the same manner as the first half — by kicking off. They made a mistake at the coin toss, and kicking off again the penalty.
JCA's defense, though, had two three-and-out series in the third quarter, while the offense embarked on a long drive to a first down at the Mount Carmel 17, with Ruettiger's 29-yard jump-ball pass to Fleener the key. But Ruettiger was sacked on third down, and the threat fizzled.
The bomb to Fleener came on the first play of the next possession.
"Coby's a threat, and he may make teams take some guys out of the box against us," Sharp said. "I just wish we could have had the ball more, made more plays and finished off a couple of other drives today."
Mount Carmel retaliated with a quick trip to the JCA 7. But on fourth-and-6, Michael Beutel broke up Kopach's pass intended for Jarvis in the end zone, and the Hilltoppers had their fifth red-zone stop.
Finally, on the two subsequent Mount Carmel possessions, Kopach led the Caravan to the paydirt.
"When you fail, it makes success that much sweeter," Kopach said.
"We held them off as long as we could," Sharp said. "We were right there with them, with a chance to win it. But our kid misjudged the one touchdown pass (to Jarvis) and the tight end (Newcomb) finally got free on the other one after we had tied him up all day."
The Hilltoppers' ledger reads 0-1, but Sharp sees it as a hard 0-1. With Friday's visit to Morris next up, that's not a bad state of mind to be in.
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