Brother Rice football cruises past Phillips 50-0 in season-opener

CHICAGO — Tyler Lofton waited eight months to finally show out for Brother Rice. He didn’t disappoint.

The Crusaders senior wanted to put on an impressive performance for his new team after transferring over from Marian Catholic. Lofton scored three touchdowns in the first half to help Brother Rice beat Phillips 50-0.

“I just had to show out for my boys,” Lofton said. “For the team.”

Lofton and the Crusaders tried to get their footing with plenty of new faces on offense. They scored on their first four possessions and four of their five first-half possessions.

Junior quarterback CJ Gray got the scoring going on Brother Rice’s first possession when he hit junior Jaylin Green for a 10-yard pass to give the Crusaders a 7-0 lead with 7:18 left in the first quarter. He kept it going later in the opening quarter with a 6-yard pass to senior Jimmie Maxson III to make it 13-0 with 2:25 left.

Then Lofton got it going in the second quarter. He scored on a 23-yard run, an 11-yard run and a 1-yard run to help the Crusaders run away with the game.

Lofton, who along with most of the starters only played in the first half, finished with 56 rushing yards on three carries. Gray completed nine of his 12 pass attempts for 69 yards. Green added 24 rushing yards.

Although Lofton scored three touchdowns, he’s part of what Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld hopes will be a deep running back room.

“You’ve got to make sure guys are healthy when it matters the most,” Quedenfeld said. “This is only one week of hopefully a long season. We not only want to break in one guy but make sure we’re getting reps so that we’re able to play whoever at any given time.”

While the offense clicked from the beginning, the defense never let the Phillips offense get started. Junior Charlie Barkmeier stripped the ball and returned it for a touchdown in the second quarter while senior Colin Dickman returned a fumble for a touchdown in the second half.

The Crusaders defense limited Phillips to minus-11 offensive yards in the first half and didn’t allow a yard to finish the game.

“I just had to show out for my boys. For the team.”

—  Tyler Lofton, Brother Rice senior running back

Friday also marked the return of senior linebacker Christian Pierce, who missed most of last season with a knee injury. After waiting a year to get back on the field, winning by such a wide margin made the return feel extra sweet.

“Whenever you hold a team to zero points in the whole game, you take some type of pride in that,” Pierce said. “It definitely felt good.”

The Crusaders won’t have too much time to enjoy the win. They’ll take on rival Marist in the Battle of Pulaski in Week 2 on Sept. 6.

While Lofton is new to the program, he’s seen from afar and heard from his teammates how important playing the RedHawks will be.

“I’m excited,” Lofton said. “I can’t wait to get this week started.”