C.J. Gray didn’t throw for many yards Saturday.

He didn’t have to.

Behind a massive and physical offensive line, the Brother Rice senior quarterback ran for four of his team’s six rushing scores to lead the host Crusaders to a 45-17 win over Downers Grove North in a Class 7A semifinal.

Returning to state for the first time since 2018, Brother Rice (12-1) will take on fellow Chicago Catholic League foe St. Rita next weekend at Hancock Stadium in Normal.

Gray was one of three Crusaders who reached the 100-yard plateau on the ground, gaining 134 yards on 17 carries. He found the end zone on runs of 8, 16, 1 and 7 yards.

“I give all the credit to our O-line (Ethan Posey, Joe Siegler, Peter Hosty, AJ Parochelli and Matthew Pikus),” said Gray, who only attempted 11 passes, one in the second half. “They came out and played physically, played like savages. They really moved them (off the line).

“And our defense went and got us the ball back. When we make mistakes on offense, they pick us up. It’s great having the best defense in the state alongside us.”

Jameson Davis ran for 139 yards and a 21-yard touchdown while Jaylin Green totaled 119 yards and a 1-yard TD.

The visiting Trojans (10-3), who were the Class 7A runner-up in 2023, were within 17-10 at halftime thanks to a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown off a tipped pass from Jacob Vroman and a 40-yard field goal by Baker Glomb.

But the offense struggled to string together first downs and Brother Rice started seven of its drives in DGN territory, including back-to-back possessions to begin the second half, which resulted in scores.

Quarterback Owen Lansu did end his stellar high school career with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Will Vala late in the fourth quarter.

Max Troha caught six passes for 86 yards to pace the Trojans, who were held to 40 yards rushing.

“It was a great season,” said Vala, who will continue his career at Illinois. “We showed tons of resilience, we always fight as much as we can. At half, it was a one score game, it was a heck of a fight.

“I have to give props, huge props to our coaches. They get us right every week, both prep-wise and physically. And to Kevin Jay, who stepped up at quarterback (when Lansu was injured). And other guys like Jacob Vroman who stepped up on defense. The last three years, we went to state, to the quarterfinals and now the semifinals. Just all great teams and great groups of guys who were well-coached. And there will be more in the future.”

DGN forced three turnovers on defense, with Connor Crowley adding an interception and Vroman also recovering a fumble.

“Our defense still played awesome with such short fields,” said DGN coach Joe Horeni, whose teams have won 31 games over the past three seasons," and they scored our first touchdown. Our kids rallied, it was a seven-point game at halftime.

“This is an unbelievable group. Six of these guys started (as sophomores). Our center (Omar Duran) started 39 straight games. All of those guys have played in 30-plus games for us. And Owen, he helped put us on the map. They say you know you will have a great team if your best players are also the best people and these guys are. I’m going to miss this group.”

The Trojans certainly felt the loss of one of the top linemen in the state, Purdue-commit Aiden Solecki, who was sidelined with a knee injury since late in the regular season.

“These kids fought through adversity, first losing Owen for five weeks and then Aiden for the rest of the year,” Horeni said. “As a program, we’ve only won 10 games in a season eight times and these guys did it three years in a row. Just so many positive things from this group, they made so many big plays.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/friday-night-drive/2025/11/23/cj-gray-runs-for-4-tds-as-brother-rice-beats-downers-grove-north-in-7a-semis/