Class 5A IHSA playoffs: Joliet Catholic rides defensive TDs, strong running game to rout Triad

JOLIET – On Triad’s first offensive play Saturday, the snap sailed over the head of quarterback Isaac Ackerman. The ball began rolling and rolling, eluding multiple recovery attempts from both teams before Joliet Catholic junior Zak Beitler jumped on it in the end zone for a touchdown.

After that, it was the Hilltoppers who rolled.

Joliet Catholic scored two defensive touchdowns in the first half and piled up 337 rushing yards in the game, rolling to a 56-7 win in a Class 5A second-round battle at Memorial Stadium.

“I was just trying to go down and make the play and help out, and then I saw my friend hit the ball, and it went bouncing around, and I just decided to pick it up and score,” Beitler said. “That’s what we wanted to do from the beginning. We wanted to make some noise from a defensive perspective, and that’s what our coach wanted us to do.”

Nico Ronchetti returned a fumble 70 yards for a touchdown, Max Hrvatin had two sacks and a forced fumble, and Michael Jaworski pulled down an interception to lead the defense for the Hilltoppers (8-3), who will play at Morris (11-0) in a quarterfinal next weekend.

On the offensive side, Keegan Farnaus piled up 130 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just seven carries. HJ Grigsby ran for 104 yards on 14 carries, while Larry Stringham added two rushing scores.

Andres Munoz threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Washington.

The Hilltoppers continued to use a bevy of running backs, keeping Grigsby fresh.

Jake Jakovich, one of the leaders on Joliet Catholic’s offensive line, loves seeing all the different looks his team can give defenses through the running game.

“Everyone knows what HJ can do, and then Keegan Farnaus is a really good athlete who is good at wiggling out and making plays come out of nowhere,” Jakovich said. “Nate Magrini is a good, hard runner who we can always count to fall forward for 3 or 4 yards. Larry (Stringham) and Vince (Bremner) are amazing fullbacks. They’ll have three guys on them, and you’ll think they’re going down, and, bam, they get 3 more yards.

“It’s awesome having that much diversity in the backfield.”

After Triad (7-4) recovered a fumble on Joliet Catholic’s opening drive, Beitler’s touchdown was an immediate momentum-changer on the next play.

“That was awesome, because we had turned the ball over, and you’re kind of frustrated and then those guys get out there on the first play and get that positive mojo going again,” Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski said. “Just being opportunistic on defense.

“Those are momentum, game-changing plays, and in the playoffs, it goes a long way.”

“Those are momentum, game-changing plays, and in the playoffs, it goes a long way.”

—  Jake Jaworski, Joliet Catholic head coach

The Hilltoppers capped a dominant first half with another huge play on defense. On the last play before halftime with the Knights trying to get on the board, Hrvatin sacked Ackerman and forced a fumble. Ronchetti scooped it up and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown to give Joliet Catholic a 42-0 halftime lead.

Triad was held to 140 yards of total offense, much of that coming on a late touchdown drive against the Hilltoppers’ reserves.

“Those turnovers and touchdowns on defense are very big,” Betiler said. “We need those going forward. We need to make big plays on defense and get the ball into our offense’s hands.”

And there are many hands on that offense to carry the ball, including Farnaus, who ran for touchdowns of 9 and 6 yards.

“With our scheme, we’re such a diverse group of players, and we have so many different skill sets,” Farnaus said. “I think it’s really hard for opposing defenses having to try stop three, four, five different guys and not knowing who the ball is going to go to.”

Now, the Hilltoppers will prepare for a trip to undefeated Morris, which won a thriller Saturday at Sacred Heart-Griffin.

“I like home field, but being out on the road in enemy territory for the playoffs, there’s something cool about that too,” Jake Jaworski said.