Ryan Ostry
Bugle Reporter
@RyanOstry_BR18
rostry@buglenewspapers.com
In last weekend’s state quarterfinals at Memorial Stadium, Joliet Catholic Academy did what it has been doing all season long night— beat the opposition down.
Featuring senior running backs Keenan Hailey and Nick Iannantone, the Hillmen defeated Highland 55-21 to advance to the state semifinals Saturday at 2 p.m. in Joliet.
The dynamic duo of Hailey (34, 318 rushing) and Iannantone (17, 208 rushing) combined to rush for 526 yards and eight touchdowns in an offensive explosion that gave the Bulldogs (11-1, 5-0) its first loss of the season.
Hillmen running back Keenan Hailey breaks a tackle in Joliet Catholic’s 55-21 quarterfinal win over the Highland Bulldogs. (Photo by Ryan Ostry)
“These conditions tonight played right into who we are which is ground and pound,” said JCA coach Jake Jaworski. “We are a cold weather team, offensively tonight we were hitting on all cylinders and it was a total team win.”
Jaworski also gave credit to his defense, which held the high-powered Bulldog offense to just three touchdowns after Highland has outscored its opponents on the season 553-195 — putting up 56 and 61 points in its last two playoff victories.
“That’s a very good football team we played tonight, they are very good offensively,” Jaworski said. “To hold them to 21 points is really a testament to our guys, that number one was probably the best receiver we have seen all year so credit our guys for making the plays when we had to.”
JCA (8-4, 4-3) got off to a quick 7-0 lead, and were on the brink of extending its lead by two scores when senior quarterback Jordan Alvarez fumbled the ball on the Bulldogs one-yard line.
The Hiltoppers drove 88-yards in just two plays following a Highland punt, capping it off with a 16-yard touchdown run by Hailey.
After inching back into the game behind the Bulldog offense, JCA answered back with a five-play, 65-yard drive of its own to head into the locker room with the commanding 28-14 lead.
Coming out in the second half with a two score lead, Jaworski’s crew didn’t hold back.
After driving 61-yards on eight plays putting the Hiltoppers in the drivers seat at 35-14.
One more score in the second half is all the Bulldogs would manage. JCA added three more touchdowns, which added to Hailey’s five scores in the game, and Iannantones three.
Jaworski said that even though this next game will determine if his Hiltoppers will head down to University of Illinois to play for a 5A state title game, he knows that its next opponent Hillcrest will not be taken lightly, and his team has a lot of work to get done before next Saturday’s contest.
“One of the other coaches made a good point and said that we’ve worried so much about what other teams do in the past, but the truth is that they have to play us and deal with us,” Jaworski said. “We have to take care of our business, and we will break down their tendencies and film but we have to just go out and be sound in our technique and scheme while playing within our system.”
As it did with Highland, JCA will look to give Hillcrest (12-0, 6-0) its first loss of the season.