Injury to starting QB too much for Willowbrook in loss to St. Rita

VILLA PARK – One thing Willowbrook has never done under coach Nick Hildreth is back down from a challenge.

So that certainly wasn’t about to happen Friday, even after the Warriors lost their starting quarterback.

Pushing Catholic League power St. Rita to the limit, Willowbrook did eventually succumb 21-9 in a Class 7A second-round matchup in Villa Park.

“We work hard,” said senior wide receiver KJ Rhodes, who saw some time at QB in the second half for the first time in his football career. “We knew this was going to be a tough game. We came out and gave it our all. We lost our quarterback but we’ve got heart and we are strong. We never let up. We kept pushing.”

The Warriors (7-4), who had rattled off six straight victories after beginning the season with a 1-3 record, trailed 7-3 heading into the final quarter. But the Mustangs (9-2) increased that margin on a 13-yard touchdown run by Nicholas Herman, who rushed for 128 yards on 24 carries. And James Kingsbury followed shortly thereafter with a 15-yard fumble return for a score.

Charlie Siegler scored the final TD of the season for Willowbrook with a 53-yard run with under a minute remaining. The senior also hauled in a 51-yard pass in the opening quarter.

“I wouldn’t trade this team for the world,” Siegler said. “Being around these guys every day at practice, the early morning workouts, the team dinners, I love all these guys to death. It’s been an amazing four years.

“Coming into the game, we knew everyone was counting us out. But we knew what type of team we had and we also knew the intensity it would take. We left it all out there.”

Rhodes finished with 59 rushing yards on 10 attempts, all coming in the second half, while also catching two passes for 34 yards. Dean Romano kicked a 46-yard field goal to give the home team an early lead and Mason Knudtson recovered a late fumble.

Willowbrook’s Johanise Reed, who had excelled down the stretch as his team scored 40 or more points in five of their previous six contests, was 3 of 6 through the air for 85 yards before leaving the game early in the second quarter after his arm was hit attempting a pass. The Warriors completed just one pass the rest of the way, for minus-2 yards.

“It is a weird thing to describe,” said Hildreth, whose team advanced to the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. “You always remember your last loss of the season unless obviously you are winning a state championship. This one, I’m just so proud of the guys. They could have quit and backed down at any point but these guys didn’t and instead they continued to battle against one of the elite programs in the state.

“I don’t think we needed to catch a break to win but we certainly caught a bad break (with our quarterback going out). I know it’s hard to prove you are an elite team in a loss but I think they did that tonight.”

Steven Armbruster threw for 145 yards for the visitors, who took the lead for good midway through the second quarter on a 17-yard pass from Armbruster to Tommy Perry.

“They (Willowbrook) are a great program,” St. Rita coach Martin Hopkins said. “They’ve got a lot of athletes. But once they lost their quarterback, that kind of changed things. We chipped away, chipped away and ended up on top at the end.”