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By Pat Paul staff writer Herald News
Hudetz, Ruettiger, Krisch score TDs in win over Marian
A funny thing happened on the way to the shootout. A defensive struggle broke out.
With Marian Catholic bringing its high-powered offense and a less than stellar defense to Memorial Stadium on Friday to play Joliet Catholic Academy on its homecoming, all was ripe for a high-scoring game.
After all, the Spartans had already lost 73-55 to Mundelein Carmel, and with the JCA offense kicking into high gear recently, the scoreboard figured to overheat.
JCA running back Tyler Hudetz outruns Marian defensive back Kevin Kammert for a 54-yard touchdown in the first quarter Friday.
But it was the two teams' defenses that turned the game around in a 21-14 victory for JCA.
The Hillmen (4-2, 4-0), who have won four straight, kept to the pregame script in the first half, bolting to a 21-0 lead, scoring on its first three possessions of the game.
Marian Catholic, meanwhile, moved the ball almost at will, but couldn't finish until a 12-play drive broke the shutout with :37 left in the half.
The Spartans (3-3, 2-2) were everything as advertised offensively, opening the game with a 17-play march that ran almost 7:00 off the clock, but came up empty. Marian ran 48 first-half plays to just 16 for the Hillmen, but trailed 21-6.
"We gave up a lot of yards," middle linebacker Kevin Rouse said. "But we came up with the big stops when we had to."
The three JCA TDs came on a 54-yard run by sophomore Tyler Hudetz, a 76-yard sprint by quarterback John Ruettiger and a 32-yard jaunt by Connor Krisch, and since the Spartans hadn't stopped the Hillmen yet, everyone expected more of the same potency for JCA in the second half.
But Marian forced a quick three-and-out to start the half and followed that with a strong seven-play, 57-yard march to a touchdown by Nnanna Alozie (15 carries, 90 yards). Clifton Gordon (28 carries, 129 yards) bulled over for the 2-point conversion and it was suddenly 21-14.
The Hillmen answered by driving to the Marian 10 but turned the ball over on downs. The Spartans marched to the JCA 45 before punting with just over 9:00 left.
The Hillmen turned to their bruising ground game to run the clock out but Brandon Geiss fumbled on the eighth play, giving Marian the ball and all the momentum at the JCA 47.
That's when the Hillmen defense stepped up. Trent Earl made a big tackle on third-and-8 and Nick Clancy knocked down a fourth down pass that turned the ball back over to the JCA offense.
"That defensive stop after the fumble was huge," JCA coach Dan Sharp said. "The tradition came out on that one. That is Joliet Catholic football. That is so satisfying and is part of the maturing process. That is something to build on for the rest of the year.
"Their offense came in averaging 45 points a game. Our defense played hard and hit hard and that's what you have to do. This game could have been played back in 1976. It was Joliet Catholic against Marian Catholic, the same as always."
The Hillmen took the ball back after the key stop and ran seven plays to run the clock out.
JCA rushed 40 times for 342 yards. Hudetz (10 carries, 98 yards), Geiss (16-for-97), Ruettiger (5-for-81) and Krisch (8-for-67) all were effective on the ground.
"We wanted to pass the ball more tonight, but you just get pretty conservative when you're getting 5-6 yards a carry and you're trying to keep those three backs standing on the sidelines next to (Marian coach) Dave Mattio," Sharp said. "We knew we'd have limited possessions because of how good their offense is. Our defense may have ben reeling a little bit, but they stepped up and made the big stops when we needed them."
JCA got a taste of its own medicine from Marian, which basically ran a version of the double-wing.
"Half of our league is now running the double-wing, and it's scary," Sharp said. "It's tough to stop that offense."
"Their offense is a lot like ours," Rouse agreed. "We were very prepared for it, but they are a great offense. We gave up a lot of yards and (Gordon) is the hardest hitting back I've faced. But we stepped up when we had to. Shane Liston and T.J. Barrett had great games up front as did all the guys.
"After the fumble, we knew what we had to do. No one was nervous. We were calm and made the stop. That was big."
Sharp was pleased with his offense in the second half, despite not adding any points to the board.
"The second half was all about clock management," Sharp said. "We needed to keep that offense off the field. We did a good job doing that for the most part. The long drive that we didn't get in on hurt us, of course, but we were able to run a lot of clock."
Marian finished with 242 yards rushing on 52 tries.
"They have speed and they mix it up with the fullback and the two wings," Sharp said. "Once we cleaned up the fullback and started stopping that, the rest was a little bit easier to handle. We wanted to force them to throw the ball, but we didn't do that enough. We didn't get them into third-and-long enough.
"Still, the defense held them to 14 points and when you consider how good this offense actually is, that's impressive. Stepping up in key situations like they did shows some maturing."
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