St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller decided to go to his top weapon when the Wolfpack needed a spark against Joliet Catholic on Friday night.

The Wolfpack trailed 10-0 in the second quarter when Miller put in 6-foot-4, 310-pound lineman Justin Scott at running back. The Ohio State commit didn’t disappoint and showed off his athleticism, running in 17 yards for a touchdown to give his team life.

“It did seem to have a presence out there,” Miller said. “The momentum really swung when he ripped off a 17-yard run, kind of like oh boy, how are we going to stop it? You just kind of felt a shift on our team and their team I think.”

Scott finished the night with nine carries for 30 yards plus a converted two-point conversion run to lead the Wolfpack to a 23-10 win and a CCL/ESCC Green title.

Friday might’ve been the first time Scott rushed for the varsity team, but Scott started his football career as a fullback for the junior varsity team as a freshman. His early rushes were how he caught many college coaches’ attention.

“It did seem to have a presence out there. The momentum really swung when he ripped off a 17-yard run, kind of like oh boy, how are we going to stop it? You just kind of felt a shift on our team and their team I think.”

—  Matt Miller, St. Ignatius head coach

Scott moved to the defensive line and played a little tight end his sophomore season and played on both sides of the line his junior year. After missing a game and a half with an injury this season, Miller and his staff left Scott on the defensive line but Scott wanted a way to contribute on offense.

Miller decided Friday was the right time to give Scott his chance on offense.

“He’s just as quick as about anybody on our team,” Miller said. “I figured we’ve got it, we might as well use what we’ve got and maximize his potential, ability.”

Miller wasn’t sure how often the Wolfpack would continue to use Scott as a rusher in the playoffs because they want to protect Scott’s health. But it is something the coaching staff will have to ponder.

“I think it’s something, it’s something we should consider,” Miller said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Ramblers’ Fitzgerald does it all

Loyola quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald knew he was in for a bruising game against Mount Carmel on Saturday and was ready for the test.

“The coaches told me ‘We’re going to have to run you a lot this week,’” Fitzgerald said. “Going into the week, everyone told me to prepare your body for how hard they hit. So when the coaches told me ‘We’re going to need you to run,’ I was fully prepared to take those shots.”

Fitzgerald ran for 110 yards, scoring twice on runs of 19 and nine yards. While his offensive line did a good job of protecting him and creating holes, Fitzgerald wasn’t afraid to put his body on the line in order to get an extra few yards.

One of those plays was when Fitzgerald ran for eight yards late in the fourth quarter to pick up a first down and end the game.

Plays like that are why Loyola coach Beau Desherow is confident in Fitzgerald no matter what the scenario is.

“Whether it’s picking up a first down with his legs or hitting a pass, when we’re up against it, I love having the ball in his hands because he’s going to make something happen for us,” Desherow said.

Caravan want to see improvement heading into playoffs

Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch wasn’t looking for positives after his program lost its first game since 2021 on Saturday against Loyola.

“I’m not a believer that you can always learn from a loss, forget that,” Lynch said. “This is a good team we have and that’s a great team over there. All the credit goes to Loyola.”

The Caravan held a 22-game winning streak and last lost to Brother Rice in the Class 7A quarterfinals in 2021. They went undefeated last season, won the Class 7A title and were 8-0 heading into Saturday’s game.

Mount Carmel came within a failed two-point conversion of tying Saturday’s game. The team also drove deep into Loyola’s territory early in the game but failed to gain any points.

Lynch thought his players played great and wanted to see more out of his coaches.

“Our kids competed their butts off,” Lynch said. “Coaches need to get better, coaches lost that game today. Myself on the offensive side of the ball, defense and special teams, we need to get better as coaches because we need to put these kids in the best situations possible.”

Crusaders come together to earn playoff berth

Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld was proud of the way his team overcame injuries throughout the season in order to make the playoffs with a win over St. Rita on Friday.

“It’s key for the kids to understand that we’re one team and we’re going to need everyone to be a part of it, whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior,” Quedenfeld said. “It’s got to feel really good for them to get over some of the obstacles we had to face, but at the same time everyone is facing obstacles across the state.”

The Crusaders thought they would have a great season after giving Maine South its lone loss of the season to start the year. Then different injuries started to pile up, most notably to junior linebacker Christian Pierce, who holds offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Texas and Illinois.

Quedenfeld and his staff needed to adjust their defense as juniors and sophomores stepped into different important roles. Players also put away their egos when they met as a team a couple weeks ago and agreed that they’ll do whatever it takes to make the playoffs. That included taking less repetitions if it helps the team.

Brother Rice defeated both Montini and St. Rita during the last two weeks of the regular season to get back in the postseason. Now the Crusaders will try to continue their run against Batavia to start the Class 7A playoffs.

“That might mean some guy takes a little bit less reps and they bought into that,” Quedenfeld said. “Right now it’s working, hopefully it continues to do so.”

Mustangs ‘control their own destiny’

St. Rita coach Martin Hopkins didn’t like the way his team ended the regular season in a loss to Brother Rice.

He thought the Mustangs had too many self-inflicted wounds, which stopped them from building momentum heading into the playoffs with a win. Hopkins said it’s up to the players as they start the playoffs against Mount Carmel on Friday.

“We control our own destiny,” Hopkins said. “We’ve played some good football games and we’ve seen when we don’t play good football games what happens.”

CCL/ESCC playoff numbers

Fourteen CCL/ESCC teams qualified for the postseason, one more than last year. It’s the second-most teams to qualify for the playoffs since the megaconference formed in 2019. Sixteen teams qualified in 2019.

Loyola (9-0), Mount Carmel (8-1), Carmel (8-1), St. Francis (7-2), IC Catholic (7-2), St. Ignatius (6-3), Joliet Catholic (6-3), St. Laurence (6-3), Montini (6-3), Brother Rice (5-4), St. Rita (5-4), Providence (5-4), St. Viator (5-4) and Nazareth (4-5) all qualified for the playoffs. All members of the Blue made the postseason while the Orange and White each had three. No Red team made the playoffs.

There will be a CCL/ESCC showdown in the first round. Mount Carmel and St. Rita will meet again in Class 7A. The Caravan won that matchup 38-7 in Week 4.