Brother Rice needed a defensive stand in the second overtime to hold on to a 31-27 in against No. 16 Joliet Catholic on Friday at Memorial Stadium in Joliet.
But the play that will be remembered was being recreated on the sidelines by young Crusaders fans just seconds after it occurred: Owen Lyons made an improbable, diving one-handed grab while sliding into the end zone to score for Brother Rice in the second overtime.
It came on third down after the Crusaders had been beaten back to the 26 after a sack.
“It was a little bit overthrown but I just pumped my arms and reached out and made the grab,” Lyons said. “I kinda blacked out for a second but I opened my eyes and I was in the end zone.”
It was a gutsy throw by junior quarterback Ryan Hartz, who was 9 of 15 passing for 140 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Lyons had five catches for 97 yards.
“It was one of those plays where when in doubt you just go to your best player,” Hartz said. “I have no doubts in calling on him.”
Joliet Catholic (5-2) led 14-3 at halftime after scoring on an 86-yard pass from TJ Schlageter to Justin Bonsu in the final minute of the second quarter.
The Crusaders (4-3) had moved the ball better in the first half, but the big play was the difference in the games.
Brother Rice’s comeback began under another quarterback, junior Jake Dugger. He found Owen Gorman in the end zone on a fourth down play from the 4 to pull the Crusaders within four points.
Brother Rice took the lead three minutes later on a one-yard run from Hartz. Joliet Catholic tied the game at the buzzer with a 27-yard field goal from Patrick Durkin.
The Hilltoppers were able to sustain some long drives with their run game but never broke open a big play.
“For as long as I’m here I will never allow a team to run down our throats,” Crusaders coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “It’s the most demoralizing thing.”
Teshon McGee had eight carries for 45 yards for Brother Rice and senior Martin O’Keeffe had five catches for 46 yards.
The Crusaders have lost to St. Rita, Loyola and Mount Carmel this season so their record doesn’t tell an accurate story. They gave the Caravan their toughest test of the season, losing 28-21.
“We just had the mentality of staying hungry,” Lyons said. “We’re not satisfied with losing to Mount Carmel. We built on that this week and luckily we came out on top today.”
Massive play for Brother Rice. Jake Dugger finds Owen Gorman in the end zone on 4th and goal.
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) October 8, 2022
Hilltoppers lead 14-10 late 3Q. pic.twitter.com/22zE3zlsMH
Brother Rice hosts Marian Catholic next week and finishes up the regular season at home against Marist.
Schlageter led Joliet Catholic on a fast and furious drive in the final two minutes of the game but it stalled at the Brother Rice 10 and the Hilltoppers settled for the field goal as time expired. He was 6-for-16 passing for 171 yards and one touchdown.
Aaron Harvey had 12 carries for 40 yards for Joliet Catholic. Bonsu finished with 13 carries for 44 yards and a touchdown and three receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown.
“We’re seven games into the season now so we can’t really use inexperience as an excuse,” Hilltoppers coach Jake Jaworski said. “But we are still making mistakes as if we are inexperienced and that’s not good. Give credit to Brother Rice but we just left too many plays on the field.”
