Chicago Christian overwhelms Maroa-Forsyth for 2A title

NORMAL – Entering the Class 2A title game, a lot of the talk was Maroa-Forsyth’s propensity to run a high-octane offensive attack.

But what happened in Friday afternoon’s Class 2A State Championship showed almost no octane at all while Chicago Christian imposed its will in winning its first state championship with a 47-0 victory.

It was Maroa-Forsyth’s fifth consecutive loss in a title game and its vaunted offensive attack was held to just 23 yards and had absolutely zero rhythm against a spirited effort from Chicago Christian’s defense.

“Is that what we did? 23 yards? Wow.,” Chicago Christian coach CJ Cesario said. “As we were preparing for the week we knew that Maroa-Forsyth was an absolutely incredible program. But as we watched film and we prepared, I have a wonderful coaching staff, there were certain keys and certain tendencies that I thought we could match up really well with.

“And if we could be tough and physical and then all be tough and physical and then also be excellent in the execution of that part of our specific plan defensively, honestly, we thought we could dominate.”

Chicago Christian opened the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown run from Kenny Jager and extended that lead to 13-0 near the end of the first quarter on a nifty 39-yard touchdown scamper from Christian Flutman.

And while the Knights were imposing their will, the Trojans countered with almost nothing. Maroa-Forsyth’s passing attack which had averaged nearly 300 passing yards in the first 13 games of its season finished the first half with just 16 passing yards.

Chicago Christian out-gained Maroa-Forsyth 238-32 before the break as Jager ground out 97 yards on 19 carries as the Knights racked up 10 first downs to just one for Maroa.

“When I get the ball in my hands, I feel like a whole different person,” Jager said. “Every time I get the ball, everything just feels so natural.”

Further proof of the fact that it was simply Chicago Christian’s day came just before halftime. Flutman launched a pass that was batted up in the air apparently seemed up its way to be intercepted by Maroa-Forsyth before the ball ended up on a second ricochet in the hands of Niko Griggs, who turned and raced into the endzone for a 59-yard score that stretched Chicago Christian’s lead to 21-0.

That wave of momentum carried into the second half as the Knights tacked on another score to start the second half as Flutman broke down the defense for an 18-yard touchdown run after a lengthy drive. Flutman added another 9-yard touchdown on Chicago Christian’s next possession and the runaway was officially underway.

All Maroa-Forsyth coach Josh Jostes could do at the end was compliment the dominant performance put on his team by the Knights.

“Hats off to Chicago Christian they beat us in every phase of the game,” Jostes said. “It’s on me. I didn’t have our kids ready. We didn’t play Trojan football today and that falls squarely on my shoulders.”

The win culminated an amazing season for Chicago Christian, whose five playoff victories this year nearly equaled the entire score of playoff victories for the Knights in school history as they’d won just six postseason games in the previous 49 years.

“It’s a whole new feeling. Like, it hasn’t settled in yet,” Flutman said. “I’m going to be extremely excited later and it’s just going to hit me. I’m going to start bawling my eyes out. There’s no better way to end my high school football career than this.”