St. Rita junior running back Brandon Johnson Jr. and his teammates knew the challenge that lay ahead of them.
With a Week 9 loss, the Mustangs would finish the regular season with a 4-5 record and still potentially make the state playoffs in Class 7A.
With a win though, all the potential maybes went out the window.
Leaving no doubt about their playoff hopes, Johnson and St. Rita clinched a playoff spot and delivered a dominant 38-21 victory on Oct. 24 over IC Catholic in Elmhurst.
“We definitely wanted to get that fifth win. We knew we needed it,” Johnson said. “A 4-5 record might get us into the playoffs, but five wins, you get in. We may be at the bottom of the bracket, but we can definitely win and make a state-championship run.”
St. Rita (5-4, 1-2 CCL/ESCC Green) will travel to Rockford for a Class 7A playoff opener against Guilford.
In the IC Catholic win, Johnson was a force with 24 carries for 158 yards and three touchdowns.
He suffered a knee injury during spring workouts and missed most of the summer. This fall he’s been a go-to option in the run game, but he said he’s feeling stronger and stronger down the stretch.
“Coming off the injury, I was a little hesitant to cut,” Johnson said. “Now, I feel like I’m 100%. I’m back. We had to get into the playoffs. I had to make big plays to help us get in there and come up big.”
Johnson’s 44-yard TD up the middle put St. Rita up 21-7 midway through the second quarter.
He scored on runs of 4 and 18 yards in the third and fourth quarter as St. Rita pulled away.
Coach Martin Hopkins said Johnson has continued to work at getting better all season.
“Brandon was still shaking the dust off after being off all summer,” Hopkins said. “Now, he’s hitting his stride. He’s hitting the holes and going north to south. I’m glad to see his hard work is paying off.”
St. Rita totaled 45 carries for 256 yards.
Senior Damon Sutton had a 19-yard receiving TD from senior quarterback Steven Armbruster and also blocked an IC punt that sophomore Jack Schapendonk picked up and returned 25 yards for a TD.
The special teams score put the Mustangs up 14-7 in the second quarter.
“It was really just timing the snap,” Sutton said. “As soon as they swing their arm up, I go and angle myself to dive for it. I got it with my hand. That makes me really happy to see my teammates score the TD.”
St. Rita received big defensive efforts from Schapendonk (seven tackles, sack), seniors Josiah Sutton (eight tackles, three sacks), Owen Lynch (five tackles), Jaiden Blunt (five tackles, tackle for loss) and Langston Smith (interception) and sophomore Jaylen Clanton (tackle for loss).
Senior Saul Ruiz drilled a 36-yard field goal.
Hopkins loved his team’s performance with their backs against the wall.
“I had people tell me we’d have an easy draw (in the playoffs) at 4-5,” Hopkins said. “Mentally, it’s hard for me to just fold and then expect us to play hard next week. We wanted to put our head down and win this game to keep the momentum going. We wanted to win and take care of business.”