Loyola’s defense didn’t like the way it started Saturday’s Class 8A first-round game against Plainfield North and made sure to respond quickly on its next drive.

The Tigers drove down to the Ramblers’ 23-yard line to open the game and kicked a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. On Plainfield North’s next offensive play, JT Kurtzweil picked off the first of three interceptions in Loyola’s 45-9 win.

“They took it personally,” Loyola coach Beau Desherow said. “They weren’t going to let it happen again. They really stepped up.”

The Ramblers first-team defense kept the pressure up in the first half. Emmanuel Ofosu returned an interception for a touchdown in the second quarter and Charlie Day picked off another pass in the quarter.

Desherow credited a defensive system the Ramblers have used for 18 years since former coach John Holecek took over the program. The defensive line eliminated the run and forced the Tigers to become more predictable with their passing game.

“They took it personally. They weren’t going to let it happen again. They really stepped up.”

—  Beau Desherow, Loyola head coach

Once the Ramblers secondary figured out what the Tigers were doing, they took advantage of plays started at the line.

“When we get the ball out of the quarterback’s hands fast or if we move him off his spot because of the pressure, we’re making him uncomfortable,” Desherow said. “Maybe they’re making decisions they wouldn’t if they had more time.”

That defense will try to keep up its pace of allowing an average of 8.6 points per game against Neuqua Valley on Saturday in the second round. Desherow is excited for the challenge of a Wildcats offense that features a physical offensive line, talent at skill positions and good quarterback play.

“It’s going to be a challenge for us,” Desherow said.

Celtics’ offensive inconsistency

To say that the offensive attack of Providence could be classified as laborious at times isn’t exactly lost on their coach Tyler Plantz.

“I mean, we know what we need to do,” Plantz said. “It’s just some things work and some things don’t. Obviously, some of that goes back to so many young guys, and we have to make sure that they keep believing. I mean, I think that’s what they did today.”

Providence started with flair in Saturday’s Class 5A opening-round win over Morton as Gavin Hagan sprinted through a gap and scored from 74 yards. But Hagan’s burst ended up accounting for the lion’s share of Providence’s output until deep into the second half.

The Celtics tried seven different ball carriers in the first quarter alone to varying levels of limited success. Passing was an adventure too with just three completions on the day, including a short 6-yard touchdown pass that didn’t look promising going out, but turned into a nice effort of adjusting and finding pay dirt by receiver Xavier Coleman.

Two of the three Providence scores were helped along greatly by field position swings created by defense and special teams. It’s a model the Celtics have used all season long. On the surface it doesn’t seem to be a sustainable course of action long term, but it has been a reliable tact for Providence when it has had success.

And if it doesn’t, the Celtics plan to simply keep putting in more work.

“We’ve got a special way of doing it,” Plantz said. “But it’s got to come back to me. I’ve got to coach better to make sure that we’re not in those situations and there’s a lot of things we got to clean up. We’re going to scratch and claw and try to score more points than the other guy before the clock runs out, that’s all that matters.”

Vikings win first playoff game since 2017

St. Laurence’s 64-0 win over Chicago Vocational in the Class 4A first round Saturday was an important moment for both the Vikings and head coach Adam Nissen. The win was Nissen’s first playoff win with the program since he took over in 2019 and St. Laurence’s first playoff win since 2017.

“Getting that first one under your belt, getting these guys their first playoff win, getting myself my first playoff win, it was really rewarding,” Nissen said. “I think the guys are seeing the fruits of their labor paying off.”

The Vikings were in full control of their game right from the start and many of the starters only played a quarter and a half. Nissen dressed plenty of underclassmen for the game and he played all of his players, getting playoff experience that he hopes is beneficial for the program moving forward.

“We kind of got their feet wet with what playoff football is all about,” Nissen said. “It was a win-win overall.”

Roadrunners felt prepared in first round thriller

Nazareth coach Tim Racki felt like his team was fully prepared for Prairie Ridge in Saturday’s Class 5A first-round win. A tough CCL/ESCC schedule is to thank.

“I knew it was going to be a great game,” Racki said. “We’ve been playing close games all year, and I was hoping our schedule would help us, and that came into play today.”

Racki also credited his scout team and practice squad for doing a good job of mimicking the Wolves’ triple-option offense.

The Roadrunners entered the playoffs with a 4-5 record but didn’t seem like a traditional 4-5 team. Nazareth’s five losses — Kankakee, York, Montini, IC Catholic and St. Francis — all came against playoff teams, while two of the four wins were against playoff teams.

Nazareth will play Glenbard South for the second straight postseason and will try to use more of its experiences to keep the Roadrunners’ run going.

“Because they were young last year, they’re going to be a handful and they’ll have the revenge factor on their minds, as well,” Racki said. “At this point, and what this team has been through, we’ve just got to keep playing how we’ve been playing to survive.”

Caravan’s Manning providing critical depth

Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch continued to be impressed with backup running back Alonzo Manning’s performance this season after the Caravan’s win over St. Rita on Friday.

“He’s a kid that is chomping at the bit, waiting patiently, does whatever it takes to help these kids get ready for the games,” Lynch said. “He does a good job of coming in for packages for us and spelling [starting running back Darrion] Dupree, but he’s every coach’s dream that you want on your team, that’s for sure.”

Manning rushed for 44 yards on eight carries and scored in the first quarter on a 3-yard run. He’s played behind Wisconsin commit Darrion Dupree for the past two seasons and himself committed to Navy over the summer.

Lynch said Manning has never complained about his role and is always ready when his number is called.

“I know it’s tough at times, right,” Lynch said. “He’s behind a kid like Darrion Dupree that’s probably one of the best in the country. But he did a very good job. He’s one of the key reasons we won a state championship last year and he’s going to be a key reason why we make a push this year.”

Hopkins’ first year with the Mustangs

St. Rita coach Martin Hopkins learned a lot during his first season as the Mustangs coach.

“If you want to win big football games, you can’t just show up,” Hopkins said. “You’ve got to execute on every play and do your job on every single play. Little things start to add up throughout the year. Injuries got us, but the little things like not executing and taking care of business kind of snowballed and caught us at the end of the year.”

• Friday Night Drive reporters Alex Kantecki and Steve Soucie contributed to this report