Coal City football moves on to Final Four

COAL CITY – On its first drive of the game Saturday, Wheaton St. Francis marched 77 yards and scored seven points.

Then, Coal City’s defense shut the door.

After St. Francis scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to Ben Bettag with 10:12 left in the first quarter, the Spartans did not score again as Coal City’s defense forced five turnovers to help the Coalers (12-0) to a 25-7 win in the Class 4A quarterfinals. The top-seeded Coalers will host second-seeded Richmond-Burton in the semifinals next week, as the Rockets defeated Elmhurst Immaculate Conception, 24-14 on Saturday.

Coal City got a pair of interceptions from junior linebacker Ashton Harvey and one each from sophomore defensive back Abram Wills and senior linebacker Austin Pullara. Sophomore defensive lineman Nick Seplak recovered a fumble as well.

“It was a little bit of a rough start for us on that first drive,” Harvey said. “But the rest of the game, our coverage was great. Both of the passes I intercepted were off the receiver’s hands. I was in the right place at the right time. The tip drills we do all the time really helped today.”

After St. Francis scored, the Coalers wasted little time with their answer. After the kick was returned to the Coal City 40, Daniel Jezik ripped off a 21-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. The next play was faked to Jezik, Harvey took the counter handoff and burst through the right side of the line for a 39-yard touchdown run. The extra point kick was wide and St. Francis still held a 7-6 lead.

“We planned on running that play,” Harvey said. “We knew they would be keying on Daniel, and then he got a big gain on the first play. Everyone followed him on the next play and I was able to take it in.”

Jezik did most of the rest of the damage throughout the day. The senior finished with 191 yards and three touchdowns on 40 carries and also caught two passes for 21 yards. His nine-yard touchdown run with 48.3 seconds left until halftime gave the Coalers the lead for good at 13-6.

“The offensive line did a great job today,” Jezik said. “My first touchdown, I probably could have scored from 99 yards, the hole was so big.

“The win is the most important thing. We were able to win and move on.”

The Coal City defense continued to give St. Francis fits in the second half. Junior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse completed just 12 of 39 passes for 188 yards and was intercepted three times. Senior Michael Baffa took over late in the fourth quarter and went 3 for 10 for 13 yards and was picked off once.

“We had way too many three-and-outs,” St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. “Coal City is a helluva football team and they played a great game. We couldn’t get our ground game going and our passing game wasn’t as effective as it usually is.

“It was still a very good season for us. 10-2 is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. We are excited about what this group of seniors did for the young guys coming back. We will learn and grow from this.”

Late in the third quarter, Coal City’s Brady Best sacked Rittenhouse and popped the ball out of his hands. Seplak caught it and gave the Coalers the ball at the Spartans’ 11. A shovel pass to Asa Cooper on 3rd and 5 put the ball at the 1, and Jezik scored on the next play for a 19-7 lead. The final score of the game came on a 19-yard Jezik run with 2:32 to play.

“Another great team win,” Coal City coach Dan Hutchings said. “Ashton Harvey was all over the field. He’s just a hard-nosed football player. I don’t like to give the ball to Daniel 40 times, but this was the type of game where you had to go with the guy who got you here, and he’s been that guy for us all year. The offensive line did a great job again, and [quarterback] Payton [Hutchings] hit a few passes when he had to. And [defensive coordinator] Coach [Francis] Loughran had a great game plan and the kids executed.

“The great thing about this team is they are just competitors. When football is over, Daniel and Ashton and some of the other guys will go put the wrestling gear, Payton, Jack Bunton, Austin Pullara and Brady Crawford will play basketball. Then in the spring, they will either be running track or playing baseball. They just like to compete.”