Joliet Catholic comes back late to top Marist 21-20

CHICAGO — Close games had been Joliet Catholic’s albatross this season.

Both of the Hilltoppers’ two losses this year came in the final minutes when they couldn’t make plays to win. Joliet Catholic finally conquered its albatross against Marist on Friday night, putting together a game-winning drive late to win 21-20.

“It means everything to us,” Joliet Catholic’s Adrian Washington said. “It means we have another chance of making it to playoffs of course but actually making state. It resets our minds to maybe we can win state. It just meant everything.”

Joliet Catholic (4-2, 2-0 CCL/ESCC Green) relied on its playmakers to come through when it had one last chance to win with the ball on its own 7 yard line trailing 20-14 with 6:03 left in the game. The Hilltoppers continuously picked up first downs both by running and throwing the ball, including a key fourth-down completion on fourth-and-7 on their own 39 from quarterback Andres Munoz to Washington.

The two connected again for another 16-yard completion before Munoz found Washington standing on the goal line and completed a 10-yard pass to give the Hilltoppers a 21-20 lead with 25.1 seconds left in the game.

“He’s just an amazing playmaker,” Munoz said. “I can just trust throwing it up and he can go up there and get it. He’s very trustworthy, it makes me a lot more confident as a quarterback.”

The two showed off just how well they could play off each other when they tried to lead Joliet Catholic from an early 14-0 hole. Munoz found Washington for a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it a 14-7 Marist lead with 11:13 left in the second quarter and the two connected again in the third quarter when Washington make an impressive 23-yard catch in the end zone past two defenders to make it a 17-14 Marist lead with 9:22 left in the third.

“It means everything to us. It means we have another chance of making it to playoffs of course but actually making state. It resets our minds to maybe we can win state. It just meant everything.”

—  Andrian Washington, Joliet Catholic wide receiver

Munoz completed 14 of his 30 attempts for 188 yards and three touchdowns while Washington caught six passes for 87 yards and three touchdowns.

Washington worked hard this past week in practice after dropping a few balls he felt he should’ve caught in the previous week’s loss to St. Francis. The senior came up big when it mattered most.

“We felt like he could be an x-factor in this game with how good their front-seven was,” Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski said. “But we thought we had a matchup outside that we could take advantage of and credit to those guys for making plays.”

Marist (1-5, 0-2 CCL/ESCC Green) had a chance to win the game when Marc Coy returned the kickoff to the Hilltopper 45 with 17.2 seconds left in the game. Quarterback Owen Winters completed a 39-yard pass as time expired but there wasn’t enough room for the RedHawks to get into the end zone.

The RedHawks had two drives in the second half where they picked up at least 48 yards on a run but Marist only had one field goal to show for it.

“That won us the game,” Jaworksi said. “If one of those field goals becomes a touchdown, we lose the game.”

The RedHawks scored on their first two possessions when Jack McAuliffe ran in for a 6-yard run with 7:43 left in the first quarter and Winters completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 2:14 left in the first quarter.

McAuliffe ran for 129 yards while Winters completed 3 of his 13 passes for 94 yards and rushed for 121.

Marist coach Ron Dawczak was proud of his team’s effort despite the result.

“Our kids fought, I’m proud of the way that they fought,” Dawczak said. “When it came down to it and the end, Joliet Catholic made plays to extend drives and made the play in the red zone to score the touchdown.”

Marist will host De La Salle on Friday while Joliet Catholic will host Leo on Friday.

The Hilltoppers felt like Friday could be the start of something special. After conquering their albatross, they’re ready to make a push for a playoff bid and a division title.

“To be able to win the game in that situation was a huge moment for us,” Jaworski said. “Hopefully it’s a sign we’re making progress and making plays.”