Breaking down the Class 6A title game

Lemont junior Danny Hayes (23) has topped the 1,800-yard rushing barrier and is likely to be a prominent figure in Saturday's Class 6A state championship game against Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, which beat Providence Catholic 24-17 in the semifinals.
herald news file photo

November 28, 2008Herald News Staff

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Kickoff: 1 p.m. Saturday at the University of Illinois in Champaign.

How they got here: Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin won the Central State Eight title with a 7-0 record and has beaten Chatham Glenwood 35-21, Peoria Richwoods 48-21, Bloomington 32-12 and Providence Catholic 24-17 in the playoffs. Lemont won the South Suburban Blue and has beaten Lake Forest 39-14, Morgan Park 21-7, Fox Lake Grant 35-14 and Antioch 38-14 in the playoffs.

Playoff history: Sacred Heart-Griffin is in the playoffs for the 29th time and is 53-26 in playoff games. The Cyclones were Class 5A state champions in 2005 and 2006. They got the monkey off their backs last week with the victory over Providence. Prior to that, they were 0-6 in playoff games against Joliet area teams. They dropped 5A championship games to Providence 22-17 in 1995 and to JCA 24-21 in 2003. They also lost to JCA 34-14 in the 1975 title game and lost twice to area schools in quarterfinals -- 31-17 to Minooka in 1996 and 52-35 to JCA in 2000. And last season in Round 1, Sacred Heart-Griffin fell to Providence 28-20. Lemont, the runnerup in Class 6A a year ago, when the Indians lost to JCA 49-7, is in the playoffs for the fifth straight season, 10th in all and is 13-9 in playoff games.

The rundown: Sacred Heart-Griffin raised eyebrows among local observers last week when the Cyclones visited New Lenox and eliminated Providence Catholic in impressive fashion. Featuring a machine-like spread offense, Sacred Heart-Griffin has averaged 42.8 points per game. The 24 points the Cyclones scored last week tied their season low. But what also was impressive was the way Sacred Heart-Griffin defended against Providence's offense. The Celtics were limited to two first downs and 73 total yards in the first half, and if not for Providence's 85-yard touchdown pass in the second half, the Cyclones would have dominated the final stats even more. After opening the season with a 34-31 loss to Montini, Sacred Heart-Griffin beat playoff qualifier Jacksonville 62-16, then went on a six-week stretch when its defense allowed a total of 21 points, with a high 6. Overall, the Cyclones allow 12.8 points per game. Linebackers Blake Pranger and Zach Boente, both of whom familiarized themselves very well with the Providence skill players, are leaders. Pranger has made 50 solo tackles and 121 total, while Boente has made 36 solo stops and 96 total. Sacred Heart-Griffin finished the regular season with a 53-24 victory over Cahokia, which went 11-2 and lost last week to Metamora in a Class 5A semifinal. Cyclones quarterback Tim Dondanville has completed 143-of-209 passes, 68.4 percent, for 2,528 yards and 28 touchdowns. The left-hander has thrown only 4 interceptions. But judging from the Providence game, he also will be a concern running the ball himself. John Lantz has caught 64 passes for 1,194 yards, an 18.6 average, and Dominic Walton has grabbed 47 for 623, a 13.2 mark. Running back Gary Wilson has rushed for 1,524 yards and averages 9.4 per carry to help lead an offense that normally uses the run and pass in something close to a 50-50 ratio. Lemont has spent the season at or near the top of the area defensive charts, and the Indians' performance in last week's win over Antioch, fueled by four takeaways, did nothing but reinforce the thought that Lemont can play defense. The front seven of tackles Pat Driscoll and Angel Cabral, nose tackle Matt Anzalone and linebackers Kyle Cummins, Connor Nagel, Ryan Fejedelem and Luke Anderson has been outstanding. Nagel has made 75 solo tackles, 119 total, while Fejedelem has 73 solo stops among 118 his 118 total tackles. But the Lemont offense is just about as impressive as the defense. Junior tailback Danny Hayes has rushed for 1,801 yards, a 6.6 average, and has scored 27 touchdowns. Andrew Tomala has chipped in with 617 yards, a 6.2 average. Senior quarterback Nick Lawrence is 71-of-127 passing, 55.9 percent, for 1,290 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also has contributed 446 rushing yards and 10 rushing TDs. Sophomore wide receiver Lee Taylor has caught 29 passes for 549 yards, an 18.9 average, and 8 touchdowns. Lemont ranks No. 1 in the Joliet area in scoring (35.8 points per game), total offense (365.1 yards), total defense (123.7), rushing offense (265.8) and rushing defense (59.5), and is No. 2 in scoring defense (8.3).