A tough blow for Montini
Montini will be without one of its top players Saturday against Prairie Ridge. It doesn't sit well with Broncos coach Chris Andriano.
At the end of a punt return late in the first quarter of Montini's 41-8 Class 6A first-round win at St. Ignatius, Broncos senior Mitch West was ejected for what an official thought to be an attempted punch thrown at St. Ignatius' Charles Loftus. An ejection carries a one-game suspension.
Playing on Montini's punt return unit, video showed West first engaging Loftus at the line of scrimmage. As the two ran downfield West blocked Loftus hard to the turf, shoved him down again and before the whistle blew came in for a third encounter when the pair got in a clinch. As they circled West swung his left arm with a downward motion between the two players.
On video it seemed West's intent was to separate from Loftus rather than to injure or strike the player.
“That's exactly our viewpoint, that it was not a punch, per se. They were players trying to separate each other,” said Andriano, who won his 300th game for No. 9 seed Montini (7-3).
A Purdue-bound cornerback who also is Montini's leading receiver, West had never received any penalty for unsportsmanlike play, Andriano said. West had started 38 straight varsity games.
Regardless, once reported by an official as a punch Illinois High School Association assistant executive director Sam Knox said under current bylaws that report and the subsequent ejection and suspension cannot be overturned.
“We trust our officials to make the calls on the field,” Knox said.
Knox quoted from By-law 6.033 under Protest Procedures: “The decisions of game officials shall be final; protests against the decisions of game officials shall not be reviewed by the Board of Directors.”
As Knox said, “It's an official's judgment call as to what constitutes a punch.”
A frustrated Andriano said he believes IHSA football officials “overall are very good” but felt this was an incorrect call that could have been avoided.
“Our perspective is that the wrong call was made and by hiding behind the bylaws it's not a reviewable play,” said Andriano, who requested a review by the IHSA but was denied due to the statute.
“It's unacceptable for our student-athletes, in my opinion,” Andriano said. “Referees make mistakes, too. That's my opinion.”
As usual, while noting West's absence will not be used as an excuse against Prairie Ridge, Andriano shined a little levity on the situation.
“Any playground that I grew up on,” he said, “that was not a punch.”
Air Hitters:
Like in past seasons — including last year's run to the Class 7A title — Glenbard West (8-2) steadily has increased the focus on its passing game.
In Saturday's 31-28 Class 8A opening win over Neuqua Valley, the No. 20 Hilltoppers took it up more than a notch.
Quarterback Cole Brady, a first-year senior starter, completed 10 of 17 passes for 240 yards, including touchdown passes of 76, 3 and 13 yards. Brady threw the 76-yarder on Glenbard West's fifth offensive play to 6-foot-4 junior receiver Alec Pierce, who had 4 catches for 159 yards.
“Honestly, we've been stretching the field on people since about midseason with Pierce,” said Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet. “He's a very valuable receiver for us. It keeps us balanced if people start packing things in we've got a guy who can take off the top like that.”
With running backs Ryan Diver and Dre Thomas, Glenbard West is typically capable of dominating teams on the ground. On a third-quarter touchdown drive, for example, the Hilltoppers ran the ball on 12 of 13 plays leading up to Brady's 13-yard scoring strike to tight end Alex Pihlstrom.
While Pierce comes up with big plays in the vertical passing game, the 6-foot-5 Pihlstrom has been invaluable in the possession game — especially in the red zone. Pihlstrom also had a 3-yard touchdown catch from Brady.
The Hilltoppers face No. 4 Homewood-Flossmoor (9-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Glen Ellyn's Duchon Field.
“It's a great 1-2 punch,” Hetlet said. “It's as good as we've ever had. Cole's been amazing at quarterback, too.”
Then again:
If this were about a month ago, Benet coach Pat New might have been more upset after a game like last Friday's against Hoffman Estates.
But this is the playoffs, where nothing matters but advancing.
“It's playoff football so I decided I didn't want to dwell on the negative with our players,” New said. “We found a way to win and that's the main thing.”
Benet (8-2), seeded 11th in Class 7A, took a seemingly comfortable 23-0 lead at halftime against the No. 22 Hawks (6-4), who responded by scoring 23 straight third-quarter points with a stiff wind at their backs. All that went through New's mind was surviving the period.
“It was a frustrating quarter,” New said. “We just had to get out of that quarter and get the wind at our back again.”
The Redwings settled down in the fourth quarter and put together a lengthy game-winning drive. Marty Dosen scored on a 30-yard run with just over three minutes left to seal a 29-23 victory.
The reward is a 3 p.m. Saturday second-round matchup at No. 6 Normal (9-1).
“We needed a drive and the offense stepped up big,” New said. “It was great to see. I don't think we let (Hoffman Estates) back in it. I think they just did a great job making plays and coming back.”
Lazer:
Running back Jordan Rowell and quarterback Luke Ricobene get ink for their offensive exploits at IC Catholic Prep (10-0). Deservedly so. Between Rowell's 1,396 yards rushing and Ricobene's combined 1,732 yards passing and 407 rushing they've combined for 3,535 of the Knights' 4,284 yards of offense. That's 83 percent.
Against St. Joseph-Ogden, running back Lazerick Eatman also displayed what coaches in the Metro Suburban Conference have come to realize. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior is dangerous.
“I think he's a special player,” said Knights coach Bill Krefft.
Eatman opened the scoring in top-seeded ICCP's 49-8 Class 3A first-round win over No. 16 St. Joseph-Ogden with a 36-yard touchdown reception. Split wide to the left Eatman took Ricobene's quick pass and sprinted down the sideline.
To open the second half he caught the kickoff, went from left to right then avoided multiple defenders before breaking clear on a 76-yard return for touchdown. Eatman finished the day's scoring on a 21-yard run.
“He doesn't get as much recognition as he should because he moves around a lot. He's a wide receiver for us, sometimes he's a running back, he's a kick returner, he's also playing defensive back for us,” Krefft said.
“So like many of our kids, it's just extraordinary discipline to be able to do all of those things at a high level for us.”
Eatman also is a young man of few words in postgame interviews.
“We're just going one day at a time,” he said.
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