| JCA routs ND for share of ESCC |
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By MIKE FITZGERALD For The Herald-News
And to think it wasn't even close.
Joliet Catholic Academy claimed a share of the East Suburban Catholic Conference title Friday night by routing Niles Notre Dame 55-14 at Memorial Stadium.
The Hilltoppers (7-2, 6-1) scored first on their second possession of the game. JCA started at its own 11 and after a 3-yard run by running back Jordan Lyles, quarterback Anthony Maddie went to work. He hit end Alex Kolodziej with an 81-yard pass over the middle that brought the ball to the Dons' 5. Running back Josh Ferguson scored on the next play and Rob Cranmer added the extra-point kick to make it 7-0.
JCA needed three plays on its next possession to make it 14-0. Sophomore Malin Jones took it 19 yards to the Notre Dame 48. Lyles followed with a 35-yard run to the 3. Ferguson scored from there on the next play.
Linebacker John Broderick recovered Notre Dame (6-3, 4-3) quarterback Drew Diaz's fumble on the Dons' next possession to set JCA up at the Notre Dame 34. Jones capped a four-play scoring drive to make it 21-0 with 10:10 to play in the second quarter.
Three straight tackles for loss by JCA forced Notre Dame to punt on its next possession. Josh Ferguson took it and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-0.
JCA's special teams were not done scoring, however.
Another Hilltoppers' defensive stop forced the Dons to punt again, but lineman Tyler Gannon got his hand on the punt and linebacker Zach Dolph picked it up and rambled 32 yards for a touchdown that made it 35-0 with 5:47 to play in the second quarter.
"The key for us was our offensive line blocked very well," said JCA Coach Dan Sharp. "Our backs ran very well, and our quarterback made excellent reads. We got the big pass that set up a touchdown. Josh (Ferguson) finished off some drives with touchdowns, and he took a punt and was Gayle Sayers in the mud.
"Josh and our special teams played unbelievable," Sharp said. "Jordan, Ty and Malin also ran extremely well and a great deal of credit goes to Dave Douglas and Rick Raasch for our offensive line play. Our ends are blocking so well. They (Kolodziej and Andrew Elliott) are so unselfish."
The game looked headed for a running clock, but the Dons put two scores on the board in the next 5:00 to pull to 35-14 at halftime. The first score came on a 50-yard run by running back Julian Burgos. The second came on a 23-yard scoring pass from Diaz to Declan Mulcrone with :32 left in the half.
"We got a little sloppy in the second quarter, but other than that our defense played extremely well," Sharp said.
JCA's offense came out rolling in the third quarter. The Hilltoppers went 78 yards in eight plays, capped off by a 40-yard touchdown run by Jones to make it 41-14 after Cranmer's extra point hit the right upright.
The Dons drove to the JCA 17 before linebacker Andy Roth intercepted Diaz at the 4. Ten plays later, Jones found the end zone again. He scored from 24 yards out to make it 48-14.
Senior quarterback Mark Krok capped the scoring for JCA when he drove the Hilltoppers 66 yards in 10 plays in the fourth quarter. Krok scored on a 2-yard run to make it 55-14.
Jones rushed for 159 yards on 11 carries. Lyles rushed for 75 yards on nine carries while Ferguson tallied 54 yards on 10 carries. Freshman Ty Issac rushed for 51 yards on eight carries. Maddie finished 2-of-5 for 97 yards.
"It's great to win the conference championship," Jones said. "I give all the credit to the offensive line. They gave me huge holes. I could drive a truck through some of those holes," he said.
The playoffs start next week with JCA looking to be solidly in Class 5A.
"It (the win) gives us a lot of confidence," Sharp said. "You can see how our kids have grown through the year. I think the Marist game (a loss) was a real turning point for our team as far as our work ethic and focus and confidence. A week after that the kids just started getting better and better. They went beyond my expectation with the way they played.
"We just have to keep getting better, and we're excited to get a chance to go to the playoffs again."
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