Marist bests Brother Rice in 34-27 overtime thriller

CHICAGO — Marist senior quarterback Jacob Ritter ran straight onto the field when the final whistle blew Friday night.

Senior running back John McAuliffe and senior Michael Flynn jumped in the air together before McAuliffe hugged his defensive line and ran to meet the RedHawks fans on their rival’s field.

Senior defensive lineman Brad Fitzgibbon threw his hands up in the air and started to cry.

The reactions were all different but the feeling was the same when the Marist defensive line stopped Brother Rice on fourth down in overtime. The RedHawks came back to win 34-27 to add another chapter to the history of the Battle of Pulaski.

“We’re friends with half of those kids on that field, we’re going to see them this whole year,” McAuliffe said. “Beating them, getting bragging rights, it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

The celebrations started after a thrilling last minute in regulation and overtime period. Marist (2-0) took a 34-27 lead after their opening overtime possession when McAuliffe seemed stopped on 4th and 1 on the Crusaders 1-yard line.

But he kept pushing and eventually got into the end zone to give his team the go-ahead score and its first lead of the night.

Brother Rice (1-1) reached the Marist 2 and had two downs to score. After stalling Crusaders running back Tyler Lofton on third down, Marist stopped him once again to secure the win.

“I didn’t know where I was going, I didn’t know what direction I was going,” McAuliffe said of his run. “I landed in the end zone when I opened my eyes.”

The RedHawks came back to tie the game late after Brother Rice took a 27-20 lead on a Lofton run with 1:44 left in the game. Marist went 80 yards down the field and scored when Ritter found a wide-open McAuliffe for a 29-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with 45 seconds in regulation.

It completed a back-and-forth matchup between the two rivals. Marist responded when Brother Rice scored, never allowing the Crusaders to build a larger-than-a-touchdown lead.

Ritter completed 14 of his 29 passes for 181 yards and rushed for 94 yards. McAuliffe earned 36 rushing yards while senior Gavin O’Brochta had 105 receiving yards.

“We all knew this was going to be a tough game, a big rivalry game, but I think the ending is what’s going to be remembered forever,” Fitzgibbon said. “It was an awesome game.”

The Crusaders took the first lead of the night after senior Conner Stack returned an interception to the Marist 4 in the first quarter. Lofton scored on a 4-yard run to take an early 7-0 lead with :39 left in the first quarter.

Lofton scored again on a 1-yard run to give his team a 14-7 lead with 2:55 left in the second quarter while junior quarterback CJ Gray completed a 13-yard pass to junior Jaylin Green to make it 20-14 with 10:35 left in the third quarter.

Gray completed eight of his 15 passes for 123 yards and rushed for 47. Lofton earned 64 rushing yards while senior Jimmie Maxson III had 107 receiving yards.

“We’re friends with half of those kids on that field, we’re going to see them this whole year. Beating them, getting bragging rights, it’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.”

—  John McAuliffe, Marist senior

Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld felt the Crusaders stopped McAuliffe on that overtime score. But he said there were plenty of mistakes before that moment.

“It’s those little things,” Quedenfeld said. “We got all the potential in the world. Potential is potential. We have to execute, including me.”

Brother Rice will host St. Rita on Friday, Sept. 13, while the RedHawks will host Montini the same night.

While there’s still plenty of game left in the season, Fitzgibbon didn’t want to lose the importance of Friday night.

“It’s a statement win,” Fitzgibbon said. “We’re underdogs in a lot of games, we were underdogs in this game. We know our rank, we know our worth. I think now people are starting to realize who we are.”