By the nature of their position, defensive linemen usually are anonymous types.
In Brother Rice’s 28-6 victory over visiting Loyola on Sept. 19, however, there was little doubt as to whom the MVPs were for the Crusaders.
Defensive tackles King Liggins and Brayden Parks, along with edges/linebackers Michael Fitzgerald and Kameron McGee were the gentlemen up front who controlled the line of scrimmage so well that the Ramblers — known for their excellent running game and sizable offensive lines — were limited to just 8 yards rushing over the course of the CCL/ESCC Blue matchup.
“They were born with a lot of talent,” Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “They’re disciplined kids and they’re very, very talented. Our defensive line coach (Damon Gladney) does a really good job with them.
“There’s leadership there with our senior defensive tackle who is committed to Illinois in King Liggins. And … we have a defensive lineman in the (2027) class who I get calls during the day from Alabama about … and he’s got offers from everywhere in the country and his name is Brayden Parks.
“And we have a senior captain in edge/linebacker Michael Fitzgerald and he does a phenomenal job and it’s rounded off by Kameron McGee from the Class of (2028) who’s ranked as the 10th-best prospect in the country. When you have talent, you’ve just got to send them out there and they have to play sound football. They have to play relentless and that’s what they did.”
McGee finished with two sacks, a tackle for loss and a pass defended as the Crusaders (4-0, 1-0) snapped the 13-game overall winning streak for the Ramblers (2-1, 0-1). Also ending was Loyola’s six-game winning streak against Brother Rice. Before this game, the Crusaders last defeated the Ramblers in 2018 by a score of 35-3.
“This win just continues to give our team and our program confidence that history is history and that’s behind ourselves,” Quedenfeld said. “The only thing we can worry about is what’s in front of ourselves.
“With that type of confidence and when you beat a program — and I repeat, a program — like that, it just gives our kids the mindset of ‘Hey, why not us? Why not us?’”
Brother Rice quarterback CJ Gray rushed for touchdowns of 5 and 71 yards in the second half, while also throwing a 21-yard TD to Lucas Strang earlier in the game. Strang finished with six catches for 94 yards. Gray, who’ll attend Army, was 18-of-22 passing for 218 yards with two TDs, including a 47-yarder to Darrion Clinton. Gray totaled 10 carries for 89 yards.
“[The Ramblers are] always led by their defensive front seven, they always do a phenomenal job,” Quedenfeld said. “They have some excellent linebackers and they have a really talented interior guy and an edge guy over there.
“We knew going into the game that running the football would be pretty tough, but we do know that quarterback runs are always a good thing against them because of numbers-wise. We were able to run the football later in the game, especially in the second half, and when we tried to throw the ball and make some plays, our receivers did that and CJ put the ball where it needed to be.”