Here are highlights and notes from quarterfinal playoff results around the Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference.

St. Rita scores season-high 56 points in shootout with Hersey

An almost perfect balance of run and pass enabled St. Rita to take a high-scoring 7A quarterfinal game against Hersey on Saturday.

Having run the ball efficiently over the last several weeks, St. Rita finally found a spark through the air, with senior quarterback Steven Armbruster compiling 258 passing yards on just eight completions. The Mustangs, who accumulated 263 rushing yards, beat the Huskies 56-42 in a game where both teams combined for over 1,000 yards.

“They have a good offense with a lot of weapons,” St. Rita coach Martin Hopkins said. “Being successful in the run game over the last few weeks has opened up the passing game and we wanted to take advantage of that. Our kids came out and executed on Saturday.”

Running back Brandon Johnson Jr. rumbled for 124 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while wide receiver Walter Jones turned in arguably his best performance of the season, going for 196 yards and two scores on three catches. Running back Damon Sutton Jr. (eight carries, 90 yards) and wide receiver Langston Smith each scored.

“The offensive line did a good job,” Hopkins said. “It was good to see the offense have a good day. I told our defensive guys that this isn’t how we want to win, but sometimes, the other side of the ball has to pick those guys up and they did a good job of that this week.”

For a moment, it looked as if the Mustangs might miss the playoffs. Faced with a 2-4 record, St. Rita committed to getting healthy and running the football. That has resulted in six straight wins for the Mustangs, who beat IC Catholic Prep in Week 9 before beginning their run to the semifinals. St. Rita (8-4) will face Batavia this weekend.

“I know we have a good team.” Hopkins said. “We were a little banged up coming out of camp and we also faced some really good opponents early on in the season... The kids needed to believe in themselves and buy in. Going into the IC game, we talked about how every single week is playoff football and our kids have been up to the challenge.”

St. Laurence to meet 6A power East St. Louis in semifinals

Don’t let St. Laurence’s 0-3 record in the CCL/ESCC White fool you.

Although the Vikings finished fourth in divisional play this season, the White Division has been arguably the toughest division in the Catholic League, with unbeaten Montini (12-0) and Fenwick (9-3) reaching the semifinals while Carmel (8-3) advanced to the second round. A 5-4 team to end the regular season, St. Laurence has won all three of its playoff games, topping Dunlap 28-14 to make the 6A semifinals.

“When you play nine straight weeks of really tough football, that travels well as long as you stay healthy,” St. Laurence coach Pat Swanson said. “The kids fight and that makes my job easy. I made the joke to our staff after Week 9 that it was a bad year to be a first-year coach in the White Division... I looked our guys in the eye and told them that we’ve probably seen the best in the state already.”

Running back Cory Les, a Louisville baseball recruit, carried the rock for 227 yards and two touchdowns to propel the Vikings (8-4) past Dunlap on Saturday. Physical defense and a commitment to the run game have been staples this season for St. Laurence, which has rotated two quarterbacks in Jimmy McDermott and Noah Taylor.

“Our M.O. every week is to win the time of possession and run the ball,” Swanson said. “Physicality, running the football and playing good defense travels in the playoffs and they always will... We challenged our offensive line and we wanted a certain amount of rushing yards. We hit it in the first week, the second week and the third week. They understand the toughest team sets the rules.”

Led by Mickey Lotus and Dan Hyland, who helped the Vikings slow down Dunlap tight end and Alabama recruit Mack Sutter, St. Laurence will now be tasked with stopping perhaps the most explosive team in the state, East St. Louis, in the 6A semifinals. The Flyers, who play a national schedule and are loaded with Division I prospects, have been a 6A juggernaut for years, having won eight championships in 6A.

“Historically, they’re one of the best programs in the state,” Swanson said. “They’re always going to be big and fast. It’s a three-headed monster at running back... Defensively, they have 11 guys who can really go and their nose guard is a problem. We’re going to find different ways to get into the open space and be successful.”

St. Francis reaches state semifinals for fourth straight season

Could this be the year St. Francis finally breaks through?

The Spartans are 0-3 in their last three state semifinal games, but a major roadblock for St. Francis has been Nazareth, the three-time defending 5A champion now playing up in 6A. For a fourth straight year, St. Francis is in the semifinals after beating Chicago King 44-14 on Saturday. The Spartans (9-3) will face Belvidere North next.

“Competing in the best conference in the midwest prepares us for these playoff runs,” St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. “We have to keep coming together and prepare how we have over these first three rounds. I think [Belvidere North] is the best team we’ve seen so far going into the semifinals. We have to do the things we do well.”

Big pass plays highlighted the early part of the season for St. Francis, but success on the ground has pushed the Spartans past Morgan Park and Prairie Ridge in the playoffs. On Saturday, special teams came up huge, as Evan Kolinski drilled three field goals and Bren Kolinski recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown.

“I thought our offensive line played really well and I thought we had success running the ball against both of those teams,” McMillen said. “We took some pressure off Brock [Phillip] and he was able to make easier, less contested throws because they were so worried about the run. I think that’s something we’ve had some success with.”

Without Nazareth to worry about, St. Francis has a great chance to make its first state championship game since 2008, when the Spartans won the 5A title under Greg Purnell. But St. Francis must first get past Belvidere North (12-0), the undefeated NIC-10 champion that knocked off 5A powerhouse Cary-Grove Saturday.

“They’re playing as hard as I’ve seen a team play in the playoffs,” McMillen said. “We’ve watched a few of their games already and from Week 2 to beating Cary-Grove, their kids are playing with a will to win... Their defense has played extremely well and on the offensive side of the ball, they’re efficient and they take care of the ball.”

IC Catholic Prep’s season ends with loss at unbeaten Byron

The last time IC Catholic Prep and Byron met in the 3A playoffs was 2022, when the Knights trounced the Tigers 35-0 in the semifinals.

Saturday marked the latest installment of the series between the 3A powerhouses, but the Tigers earned the victory this time, silencing the Knights 28-6 to end IC Catholic Prep’s season. The Knights (8-4) scored their lone touchdown on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Nate Lang to wide receiver Grant Bowen during the fourth quarter.

Running back KC Kekstadt finished with 100 rushing yards on 15 carries for the Knights, who also faced Byron in the 3A playoffs four years ago, when the Tigers rallied to earn a 15-14 victory. In 2017, IC Catholic Prep scored the lone touchdown to beat Byron 7-0.