Joliet Catholic makes the plays, survives Fenwick 14-13

JOLIET – Not every football game is an oil painting worthy of hanging in the Louvre.

But Friday night’s victory by Joliet Catholic over Fenwick, a 14-13 outcome every bit as close as the score indicates, gets a place of honor in the Hilltopper Grit Hall of Fame.

In securing their second win of the season, JCA had to overcome the Friars’ junior quarterback Jamen Williams, who ran a hurry-up offense with amazing proficiency. Williams completed 22 of 30 passes for 234 yards, but only one touchdown.

The difference? The Hilltoppers’ ability to make the big play when it mattered.

For instance, Ian Campbell’s 8-yard sack that stopped a Fenwick drive just after the Hilltoppers forged a 14-7 lead midway through the third quarter on Larry Stringham’s 11-yard second-effort touchdown run.

“I got in the backfield and made those two tackles for loss, and it’s all about reading the play and listening to the coaches,” Campbell said. “The biggest play was either the sack at the end or the TFL early. It set us up in a great spot for pass coverage.

“Against that [hurry-up], I give props to their tackle. He was great, but I got past him. You’ve got to grind. You can’t slow down. That’s what makes winners and losers.”

Or how about the big play after the Friars (2-1) scored to make it 14-13 with 61 seconds remaining?

Josh Morgan, Fenwick’s bell cow, had scored on a 7-yard dash, but when the Friars went for two points and the win, Mike Jaworski slapped away Williams’ pass to Nate Marshall in the left corner of the end zone.

“It’s a little nerve-wracking,” Jaworski said. “We prep for this all week. We talk about tempo. We talk about everything. We knew it was going to be a close game, so we kept our heads up, and we kept fighting.”

Somehow, the Hilltoppers kept their wits defensively despite a hurry-up offense that collected a dozen passes of 10 or more yards.

“When the guys behind me do their assignments and I do my assignment, it’s no big deal,” Jaworski said.

The offense was huge after failing to find the end zone last week. Stringham ran 22 times for 100 yards and the aforementioned score, while Nate Magrini ran 25 times for 152 yards including the Hilltoppers’ first touchdown, a 5-yard jaunt off left end early in the second quarter.

“This week, we hit the grinder,” Magrini said, crediting his offensive line. “We had a chip on our shoulder. We changed the mentality, the work ethic.”

More than witness to all this was coach Jake Jaworski, who agreed with the assessment that, first, “it was a [heck] of a game,” and second, offered his thanks for the defense.

“They played their rear ends off for really the third week in a row,” Jake Jaworski said. “They’ve given us a chance to win every game and made some huge stops in the red zone. They forced some field goals, some missed field goals, got a doink. It was a relentless effort.

“We had our hands full and hung in.”

Williams hit Treston Smith six times and Raphiel Stewart five, with Stewart scoring Fenwick’s first touchdown on a 20-yard reception. But when it really mattered, the Hilltoppers were there.

The Hilltoppers may be weary after a battle of this magnitude, but they can’t rest. Marist visits JCA in Week 4.