Area teams must prize the ball

Turnovers, for and against, can spell the difference as playoffs reach later rounds

When Joliet Catholic Academy made the long trip to Cahokia last Saturday for its second-round game in the Class 5A state football playoffs, Hilltopper fans had reason for concern.

The Comanches feature a wide receiver/safety in Jimmie Hunt, who has committed to Missouri, and a quarterback in Patrick Ivy, who has stirred interest from Division I colleges.

Hunt, in fact, also does the punting, whenever he decides to punt. He is known to take off running with the punt snap. He went 74 yards for a touchdown against JCA on one of those runs.

But despite facing that sort of talent, the Hilltoppers employed one of their tried-and-true methods of success. They dominated number of offensive plays and time of possession. They had the ball 34 minutes 59 seconds to Cahokia's 13:01. In the second half, the disparity was 19:18 to 4:42.

Hunt's long run from punt formation brought the Commanches within 21-12 in the third quarter. How did the Hilltoppers respond? Why, with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took 6 minutes off the clock and culminated in sophomore quarterback Anthony Maddie's 10-yard TD pass to junior tight end Alex Kolodziej.

Finishing that sort of drive with a touchdown is a sure dagger in the heart of the opponent.

"What we wanted to do is shorten the game and run the clock, and we were able to do that," JCA coach Dan Sharp told our correspondent on the scene, Randy Whalen. "That 80-yard drive was important. We wanted to get back the momentum. That was a great touchdown pass to Kolodziej. Maddie can run or throw, and he did a great job.

"What a great win against a very tough, talented football team."

Of course, there was another element to the equation.

"Defensively, we turned up the pressure, got some key turnovers in the second half," said Sharp, who noted that two of the state's best linebackers, Cahokia's Erwin Fridge and JCA's Jake Stockman, were on the same field. "I'm very proud and pleased."

A year ago, as Sharp noted, the Hilltoppers were putting away the pads after they came up short in a Round 2 overtime loss to Providence Catholic.

I had the opportunity to see Providence 2009 last Friday night at Oswego. The Celtics experienced some issue that you may not have expected after they claimed the Chicago Catholic Blue championship, and they nearly lost, finally pulling out a 16-10 overtime victory.

The reasons for the near upset? A below-average night offensively in terms of blocking, turnovers and the passing game. Plus, a big effort by Oswego on its home field.

Oswego fans will tell you the spot of the ball on a fourth-down stop by the Celtics at their 5-yard line in the third quarter may have turned around the game. We will never know that for sure, but you know what they say, you never want to put yourself in a position where one or two calls can cost you the game.

Had Providence lost, that would have ranked as my biggest surprise of the weekend involving area teams. As it stands, Lincoln-Way East's 17-16 loss at O'Fallon claims that honor.

Whalen also covered that game, and he and I were discussing it. We agree if they play 10 times, East wins at least 8. But on that night, O'Fallon celebrated.

The major culprit, of course, was turnovers. East committed five, and whenever you turn it over than many times in a playoff game, you are likely to at least flirt with elimination.

Providence may rebound better than ever, beginning with Saturday afternoon's home game against Crete-Monee. It's a shame East is gone because I still feel they were good enough to turn this weekend's game against East St. Louis into the state's No. 1 attraction. Unfortunately, we will not see that one.

Bottom line: There are various ways to win a playoff.

Ball control, JCA style, certainly is among them. Creating turnovers and not turning the ball over yourself is another.

How about the ability to strike quickly? Wilmington had six scoring plays -- one defensive -- of more than 50 yards in lst Saturday's 57-26 triumph over St. Joseph-Ogden. That will work.

Lemont employed another method in whipping Morgan Park 49-26. The Indians used their defense to give themselves the short field, and they converted. Total offense of 279 yards is not bad, but normally you do not expect that type of figure to produce 49 points.

Wilmington also has been terrific on defense all season. The Wildcats will play at Carthage Illini West on Saturday against an unbeaten opponent that averages 56.2 points per game and has not scored less than 41 in any game.

However, Wilmington does play defense better than anyone Carthage has seen, and the Wildcats certainly are no slouches offensively.

What else could win a playoff game? How about special teams. Providence kicker Alec Pickett has booted 10 field goals and has been a definite weapon in the close games the Celtics have played. The 38-yard field goal Pickett provided against Oswego wound up being huge.

And speaking of Providence and special teams, how often have Pete Houlihan kickoff and punt returns made a difference?

It is a bit surprising that we have "only" four teams remaining in the hunt for state championships. But nothing is automatic at playoff time, save for a few mismatches in Round 1.

From here on, the team executes better is likely to advance. The team that makes more mistakes is likely to come up short.