What began with such promise for Riverside-Brookfield did not end the way the Bulldogs hoped.
In their Class 6A second-round matchup against visiting Wheaton-Warrenville South on Nov. 6, the Bulldogs scored the first touchdown less than two minutes into the game. However, the Tigers asserted their dominance in the second half en route to a 45-14 victory.
R-B (9-2) had a nine-game winning streak snapped.
“This was a heck of a season for us,” Bulldogs coach Sam Styler said. “This is the first group to win the conference since 2009 and have the first playoff win since 2015.
“We talked about the legacy we wanted to leave and there is so much to be proud of with this group. There was the leadership of the seniors and they wanted to get after it. This was very much a team-led program and this was the culmination of everything this group did…That’s a very good football team we lost to and I think you’re going to see them make a run in 6A.”
The Bulldogs grabbed a 7-0 lead as Braeden Novak connected with Nico Caputo on a 70-yard TD pass. Novak was 16-of-26 passing for 189 yards. He also threw a 13-yard TD pass to James Organ that set the halftime score at 21-14 Tigers.
“Going into the year, we lost a lot of seniors from last year after an 8-2 season,” Novak said. “And a lot of people were doubting us, but we proved that R-B is on the rise right now. We did even better this year with winning a playoff game.
“Our goals coming into the season were winning a conference championship and making a run or at least winning a playoff game and that’s what we did this year. The season was great even if it wasn’t the way we wanted it to end.”
Caputo finished with two catches for 81 yards while Organ had five receptions for 51 yards. Caputo added six carries for 50 yards.
“The guys put in a lot of work in the offseason,” Caputo said. “We had a really good offseason and the guys showed up every day whether it was in the mornings or after school or late at night. We did a lot of work to get stronger and faster and did a lot of preparations for this year.
“I’m proud of the way we played. We accomplished a lot; we won the conference and everyone showed up every day. They tried their best and that’s all you can ask.”
Mount Carmel 56, Barrington 0: Mount Carmel (9-2) advanced to the Class 8A quarterfinals against Lincoln-Way East as Brady Cloherty threw six TD passes in the first half. Nathan Samuels (20 yards), Quentin Burrell (5 yards), Duran Sims (26 yards), Marshaun Thornton (4 yards), Matthew Winkler (8 yards) and Ty Kennedy (1 yard) were the recipients. Cloherty added a 33-yard TD run for the Caravan, who led 49-0 at halftime. Ryder Startz threw a 7-yard TD pass to Terry O’Connor. Joash Ebeywa recovered a fumble and Cullen Winters added an interception for the Caravan.
Nazareth 49, Simeon 6: Jack Parisi (1 yard, 7 yards), Dylan Wellner (7 yards), Charles Calhoun (1 yard) and Gavin Hartigan (12 yards) scored rushing touchdowns for host Nazareth (7-5) in its Class 6A second-round victory. JJ Chapman passed for 97 yards and TDs to Hank Sakalas and Jackson Flickinger. Rocco Lopez led Nazareth’s defense with two fumble recoveries and a sack. The Roadrunners will host Quincy in the Class 6A quarterfinals.