Nothing could stop Brother Rice in the Class 7A second round against host Jacobs on Nov. 8, including some miserable weather.
The Crusaders (10-1) won 46-0 and will host St. Charles North (10-1) in the quarterfinals.
Brother Rice jumped out to an 18-0 lead after the first quarter and didn’t look back.
“Overall, I’m just proud of the kids and taking it one game at a time,” Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “They understood what the (cold, rainy) conditions were going to be and all that good stuff.
“Credit to all the leaders on this team.”
Especially senior running back Jaylin Green, who ran for five touchdowns in the first half. Green scored on runs of 74, 67, 7, 2 and 1 yards. He finished with 188 yards rushing and didn’t play in the second half as the Crusaders enjoyed a 32-0 lead at intermission.
“It was a muddy mess out there,” Quedenfeld said. “It rained the entire time. It was tough to get our footing as far as getting any type of passing game going, so we relied on Jaylin, who does a great job for us.
“He’s a really patient young man and he was able to break through because of some tremendous holes by the offensive line. You know he did his job and he had an amazing night. We really leaned on him, so we’re really proud of him.”
Providing Green with the ample running room required were tackles Ethan Posey and Matthew Pikus, guards Joe Siegler and Aidan Parochelli and center Peter Hosty along with tight ends Colin Goggin and Jack McNamara.
“I think the offensive line deserves a lot of credit,” Quedenfeld said. “Because in those types of conditions, it gets a little sloppy and your footing gets difficult to move people and move yourself at the exact same time.
“I’m just really proud of those five to seven guys with our tight ends and just executing the game plan.”
Defensively, Brother Rice’s first-team unit didn’t allow Jacobs to cross midfield. Linebacker Sean McGann led the way with six tackles and defensive back Jack Badke chipped in five. Highly recruited defensive lineman Brayden Parks also provided an interception on a screen pass at the Jacobs 25 that led to Green’s 7-yard TD run and an 18-0 advantage.
“Yeah, I’ll probably never hear the end of it,” Quedenfeld said with a laugh regarding Parks’ pick. “Yes, he had an interception and he’ll probably bring that up for the remainder of the season.
“I’m pretty sure it was third down and there was a tendency that we saw based on their formation. They were heavy screens in two specific formations and our linebackers did a great job of echoing the possibility of that because it’s a tendency. He was able to feel the (offensive) linemen release and then follow them and get in their hip pocket and he just made a play on the ball.”
Class 8A
Mount Carmel 48, Belleville East 29: Visiting Mount Carmel (11-0) rolled to a 34-7 halftime advantage as Nathan Samuels scored on runs of 30 and 1 yards.
Emmett Dowling connected with Jamari Brown (47 yards, 5 yards), Marshaun Thornton (26 yards), Quentin Burrell (1 yard) and Duran Sims (47 yards) on TD passes. Defensively, Gavin Conjar and Brandon Rogers Jr. intercepted passes while Garrett Mann recovered a fumble.
The Caravan will host Lincoln-Way East (9-2) in the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Nov. 15. The game will be televised by WCIU.
Fremd 45, Lyons 21: EJ Kuhlman scored on a 12-yard run and a 17-yard pass from Jack Slightom (26-of-39, 257 yards) for Lyons (8-3).
Slightom also connected with Owen Matela (13 receptions, 138 yards) on a 6-yard TD toss.
Class 6A
Nazareth 28, Wheaton-Warrenville South 7: Trailing 7-0 at halftime, Nazareth (10-1) rallied as Justin Watson scored on runs of 16 and 6 yards while Charles Calhoun had TD carries of 14 and 1 yards.
The Roadrunners will host Lake Zurich (9-2) in the quarterfinals.