Standing tall in the backfield, Marist senior quarterback Alia Rowles scanned the field for an open receiver and then fired a pass across the middle.
She didn’t see a receiver, but countless reps and practices with her teammates had taught her one thing. Someone would be there to reel in the ball.
Sophomore Rose Hart split two Mother McAuley defenders on a catch deep in the red zone, setting up a Rowles’ 1-yard touchdown a play later.
With that, Marist was well on its way to a convincing 34-0 victory over rival Mother McAuley on Oct. 10 in a Rich Sectional semifinal.
“Honestly, I couldn’t see Rose, but I knew she’d be in the spot,” Rowles said. “That’s all that matters. The underclassmen are all very mature and just do their job.”
Marist was scheduled to face Homewood-Flossmoor on Oct. 12 in the sectional championship with a berth in the state quarterfinals on the line. State is set for Oct. 16-17 at Willowbrook.
The RedHawks beat Sandburg on Oct. 7 to win the program’s first regional championship.
Rowles threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in the sectional semifinal win.
A big part of the team’s success has been a wave of younger stepping up into key skill position roles, including junior Mia Bernard and sophomores Hart, Mary Withers and Bella Lacy, along with senior Tess Hernon.
Withers, Hart and Bernard had a receiving touchdown apiece.
Hart was a starting JV quarterback as a freshman but moved to receiver this season. The position change didn’t impact her in the least.
“Honestly, as long as I’m out on the field with my best friends, I really love it,” Hart said. “It’s everything, especially doing this with all my teammates.”
Hart’s 28-yard TD reception put Marist up 13-0 minutes into the first quarter. Rowles’ 1-yard score after Hart’s gutsy catch across the middle extended the lead to 19-0 late in the first.
Hart and Withers both played QB last season.
Plenty of hours before and after practice, in practice, getting together as a group, it’s paid off with some big dividends offensively.
“Being a QB last year, it was a lot of time spent together in practice,” Hart said. “We’d goof around, make jokes and we became closer. For me, I do whatever the coaches say and just be an athlete.”
Rowles, a Western Michigan softball recruit, said she loves the steps forward the offense has taken this year.
“We’re hitting our stride at the right time,” Rowles said. “The team wants to win so badly, the whole team. That’s become evident the last two weeks. It’s having a bunch of fun while being extremely focused.”
Coach Ron Dawczak said he loves what he’s seen.
“It’s a special group with cohesiveness and unity among them,” Dawczak said. “It’s just a fun group that genuinely enjoys being around each other.”
Sophomore Charlotte Jarosik had a pick-six in the third and added a second interception on the next McAuley drive.