JCA thumps 'Naz'
LAGRANGE PARK -- Joliet Catholic Academy flexed its offensive muscles Saturday to the tune of 608 yards, turning a highly anticipated East Suburban Catholic Conference showdown with Nazareth into a 55-21 rout.
The Hilltoppers (2-1, 1-0) rushed for 449 yards on 52 carries, led by freshman running back Ty Isaac's 170-yard effort. Jordan Lyles contributed 126 yards rushing, while Malin Jones contributed 92 yards and Josh Ferguson 61 yards.
Highly recruited tailback LaSteven McKinney paced Nazareth (2-1, 0-1) with 137 yards on 14 carries, but JCA struck first on its second possession of the game. After Lyles broke a 53-yard run, moving the ball to the Roadrunners' 17, Jones scored on a 17-yard run with 6:54 left to play.
The Hilltoppers made it 9-0 when defensive end Michael Madrigal sacked quarterback Adam Marske in the end zone for a safety on Nazareth's next possession. Ferguson took the ensuing kickoff 27 yards to the 50. On the next play, Lyles burst through the right side for a 50-yard TD for 16-0 lead with 5:05 left in the first quarter.
"We practiced against that particular defense we played against (on that play)," Lyles said. "I give all the credit to the offensive line. They gave us some big holes. We dedicated this game to Mr. (Dave) Hostert (a JCA teacher who died suddenly last week). We really did a good job, and I give the line the credit.
"It was very important for us to get the lead early. We knew they had a good offense, so we knew we had to score early and often to try and put this game away."
McKinney struck on the Roadrunners' next possession, going 75 yards to make it 16-7 with 4:49 to play. JCA responded with another score, set up by the success of its running game. Quarterback Anthony Maddie executed a perfect play-action fake and then found end Alex Kolodziej downfield for a 21-yard score for a 23-7 lead.
Isaac, the son of former Hilltopper standout Tyrone Isaac, showed off his wares on the next Hilltoppers' possession. He scored on an 85-yard run to make it 30-7. The Roadrunners pulled to 30-14 at halftime when Marske found Michael Dore on an 11-yard scoring pass with 7:08 left in the first half.
However, the Hilltoppers put the game out of reach with their opening drive of the third quarter. After three straight running plays, Maddie found Kolodziej again for a 46-yard completion to the Nazareth 17. Ferguson took it in two plays later from the 10.
Kolodziej, who caught four passes for 157 yards, hauled in a 48-yard pass from Maddie for a touchdown on fourth down to make it 44-14. Isaac finished the scoring with a 23-yard run in the fourth quarter.
"Our offense has been struggling a little bit after playing Carmel and Providence," Kolodziej said. "We wanted to come out here and get our offense going. It was also a great job by the defense. We worked a lot in practice on our run/pass options. We knew the middle of the field would be open, so we took advantage of that. Our coaches did a good job of scouting.
"600 yards of offense," Kolodziej said after a reporter mentioned it to him. "That's very nice."
"We needed this really bad," JCA coach Dan Sharp said. "We got back to playing Joliet Catholic football. We got back to the double wing. We really simplified things. I thought our guys blocked very well. All four of our backs ran very well, and our quarterback took advantage of their aggressive play on defense.
"It was very satisfying. Our defense played well, but there are some things we still have to clean up. We have to do a better job of defending the pass at times."
Sharp also praised Isaac.
"He's a freshman who is mature beyond his age, and he showed it today," Sharp said. "He's good, and he can get better. For him to play in these types of games at his age is remarkable and he's a talent. His dad was a talent, and I hope he's every bit the player his father was. Having his son here is special, especially when you see the way he runs."
