Brother Rice spent all of last season in the headlines. Quarterback Jack Lausch won the Player of the Year award after turning in tremendous performances in the Crusaders’ thrilling, high-profile wins and losses.
It’s been a much different season this year. Brother Rice is rebuilding with a new coach and a new group of players.
The Crusaders arrived in Joliet on Friday at a respectable 3-3 having defeated the teams they were expected to (Hillcrest, Benet, De La Salle) and lost to some of the area’s best teams (St. Rita, Loyola, Mount Carmel).
The Week 6 loss to the Caravan was an eye-opener. Brother Rice gave top-ranked Mount Carmel its best test of the season, losing 28-21.
The Crusaders aren’t as wildly talented this year, but new coach Casey Quedenfeld has a group that will be a factor in the state playoffs. That was evident in the 31-24 double-overtime win against Joliet Catholic.
“This team has woken up,” Brother Rice quarterback Ryan Hartz said. “We’ve come together as a team the past few weeks.”
Surging in St. Charles
St. Charles North’s Drew Surges has emerged as one of the season’s breakout stars. The senior running back has been putting up huge numbers and making a major impact on both sides of the ball.
Surges, a safety and running back, had four touchdowns against Geneva in Week 5.
That was just a minor tuneup for the havoc he created against St. Charles East on Friday. Surges rushed for 133 yards and three touchdowns, caught five passes, made seven tackles and blocked a field goal. One of the touchdown runs was for 55 yards.
Surges (6-1, 195 pounds) entered the season as a bit of an unknown. He currently has scholarship offers from Army, Bucknell, Georgetown and Navy.
Southwest Prairie fun
Plainfield North squeaked into the Super 25 last week. No one is entirely sure what to make of the Southwest Prairie conference this season (which is an annual dilemma).
Much like the Mid-Suburban League, Southwest Prairie football is generally a lot of fun to watch. The game is a bit more open and unpredictable than in the Catholic League, West Suburban or DuPage Valley.
Fans in Minooka enjoyed a real treat on Friday. Demir Ashiru, one of the best quarterbacks I’ve covered this season, helped engineer a 22-21 comeback victory for Plainfield North.
The Tigers rose a bit in the rankings this week and have a good shot of finishing the regular season undefeated.
Freshman watch
Logan Malachuk took over as quarterback for Nazareth late last season. Ethan Plumb started for St. Charles North. It was unique to see freshmen quarterbacks leading major programs.
It’s happening again this season. Jonas Williams, Bolingbrook’s freshman phenom quarterback, is already well-established.
Hinsdale Central started freshman quarterback Riley Contreras on Friday against York. The Red Devils made the move due to injuries, which isn’t quite the same as the other situations, but Contreras is a name to keep an eye on for the next few seasons.
Contreras threw a 26-yard touchdown pass and ran for 43 yards in Hinsdale Central’s loss to York.
