St. Bede steamrolls Walther Christian for first win of season

PERU - After back-to-back intense, grinding, toe-to-toe battles in the first two weeks of the season, the St. Bede football team found what it needed Friday.

A breather.

After playing two hard-fought contests in the first two weeks of the season that resulted in close losses, the Bruins controlled Friday’s Chicagoland Prairie Conference opener against Walther Christian from start to finish as SBA steamrolled its way to a 61-0 running-clock thrashing.

“It was nice to get the W, and we needed it after two close games – two heartbreakers, really,” SBA coach Jim Eustice said. “I’m proud of the kids, the staff, and it’s a great win for us.”

The Bruins’ first victory of the season came after they fell at Tri-Valley 22-16 in Week 1, and had a one-point fourth-quarter deficit turn into a 39-23 loss to Eureka in Week 2. The Bruins first two opponents are a combined 5-1 so far the season.

“The last two games, we were so close and then in the second half a play or two would change the whole game for us and it ended up going the other way,” SBA senior right tackle Jake Migliorini said. “This win shows that we all kept our heads up and we’re not done yet.”

In Friday’s game, there was no doubt from the start.

St. Bede junior return man Jose DeLaTorre returned the opening kickoff 68 yards to the Walther Christian 13-yard line.

Two plays later, sophomore running back Landon Marquez pounded his way in for a 12-yard TD to give SBA a 7-0 lead just 55 seconds into the game.

Less than two minutes later, senior running back Halden Hueneburg scored on his own 12-yard TD run as the Bruins led 14-0 just 2:38 into the contest.

In all, SBA had six different players score eight offensive touchdowns.

“Our offense has always been very diverse, and it will continue to be,” Eustice said. “A lot of guys touched the ball tonight. Up front, we executed a lot better than we have been, but we still have to get better.”

While the Bruin offense had its way, the SBA defense was even more impressive.

In the first half, the unit held Walther Christian to 14 yards rushing, 22 yards passing, junior Carson Riva intercepted two passes and SBA recovered a fumble on a kickoff just before half.

With subs in for the entire second half, the defense pitched a shutout and even returned a fumble for a score.

After taking the 14-0 lead just 158 seconds into the game, SBA waited until the second quarter to strike again – and did so often.

Marquez made it 21-0 when he scored on a 3-yard run, while junior quarterback Gino Ferrari increased the lead to 27-0 when he scored on a 17-yard burst.

A 1-yard TD run by senior Grady Gillan made it 34-0, and a 30-yard scamper from Brennen Hirst pushed the lead to 41-0. Ferrari capped the second quarter onslaught when he scored on a 1-yard plunge to make it 48-0.

In all, the Bruins scored 34 points and five touchdowns in the second quarter to invoke the running clock for the entire second half.

In the third quarter, Bruin freshman Brock Pikul returned a fumble 29 yards for a score, while in the fourth quarter sophomore Brody Burris scored on a 45-yard TD run to cap the evening.

With the win, SBA plays Seneca (3-0) at home Friday and Marquette (1-2) at home in Week 5.

“We still have some fight left in us,” Migliorini said, “and we’re going to go prove it the next couple of weeks.”