Brother Rice holds off Joliet Catholic in double-overtime thriller

JOLIET – Brother Rice was in a bad situation.

The Crusaders were facing third-and-26 in the second overtime period against Joliet Catholic Academy after JCA’s Jeremy Johnson sacked quarterback Ryan Hartz for a 13-yard loss the play before.

They needed a miracle, and they got it.

Hartz lofted the pass down the left sideline toward the end zone, and Owen Lyons sprinted after it. He stretched out his 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame until it was parallel with the ground and grabbed the ball with his left hand, his momentum carrying him into the end zone. Jack Welniak’s kick gave Brother Rice a 31-24 lead.

The Crusaders defense then held JCA (5-2) out of the end zone on its possession when T.J. Schlageter’s fourth-down pass was caught by Justin Bonsu, but out of bounds, to preserve the lead and come away with the hard-fought victory in front of a large crowd at Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

The two overtime periods put an exclamation point on what was a wild final few minutes.

Brother Rice (4-3) trailed 14-10 when they took possession at the JCA 38 with 3:47 remaining. Receiver Martin O’Keefe then threw a pass on a reverse to teammate Mike Bos for a 20-yard gain to the Hilltoppers’ 17.

Runs of 8 and 3 yards by Randall Nauden gave the Crusaders first-and-goal from the 6. Hartz then ran and was stopped just short of the goal line before Nauden scored with 1:10 left, and Welniak’s kick put Brother Rice ahead 17-14.

The Hilltoppers began their ensuing drive at their own 20. Completions of 20 and 12 yards from Schlageter to Drew Wills were sandwiched around a 13-yard pass from Schlageter to H.J. Grigsby, moving the ball to the Crusaders’ 35.

After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Schlageter hit Bonsu for a 14-yard gain to the 21. Two plays later, Schlageter ran for an 11-yard gain to the 10. After another spike, a pass into the end zone was broken up by Brother Rice’s Nicolas Matejko, and the next pass fell incomplete with 2.8 seconds left. Ryan Durkin then came on and booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Joliet Catholic had the ball first in the first overtime, and scored on a 2-yard run by Bonsu. Durkin’s kick hit the left upright but bounced through for a 24-17 lead. Brother Rice tied it on a 5-yard run by Nauden and Welniak’s extra point, setting up O’Keefe’s winning catch.

“This was two storied programs going at it,” JCA coach Jake Jaworski said. “It came down to one play at the end, but there were too many plays that we didn’t make that got us to that point. We had some opportunities in the end zone at the end of regulation, and tonight we didn’t finish the job.”

Brother Rice scored on its first possession of the game, getting a 36-yard field goal by Welniak. JCA countered with a touchdown, highlighted by a 26-yard pass from Schlageter (6 of 17, 166 yards) to Bonsu (three catches, 121 yards) on third-and-8. Later in the drive, Schlageter ran for a 35-yard gain to the Crusaders’ 2, and a play later scored on a 2-yard run. Durkin’s kick gave the Hilltoppers a 7-3 lead.

Brother Rice drove deep into JCA territory again, but Trey Swiderski intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop the threat. The two teams traded punts and on third-and-13, Schlageter hit Bonsu in stride. Bonsu split two Brother Rice defenders and outran the rest of the defense for an 81-yard touchdown to give JCA the 14-3 lead which it took into halftime.

“T.J. is a guy who has made some big plays at big times for us this year,” Jaworski said. “So has Justin Bonsu. We like to get the ball in his hands.”