SPORTS SPOTLIGHT BY JOHN MONTGOMERY
St. Patrick first year head coach Tom Zbikowski was expecting a difficult game on the road against unbeaten Brother Rice (5-0). The Crusaders, who upset Loyola the week before, delivered a dominating performance on the both sides of the football in beating the Shamrocks 56-14.
Brother Rice has good football history winning a state championship in 1981 and five Prep Bowl wins, but the Crusaders were coming off a 6-4 season in 2024.
"I wasn't worried about a letdown after beating Loyola," Brother Rice head coach Casey Quedenfeld said after the win. "We were locked in and focused at practice this week."
Indeed. The Crusaders scored on its first six possessions to build a 42-0 advantage. Brother Rice quarterback Senior CJ Gray threw four touchdown passes in first half and torched the Shamrocks for 308 yards.
The long night on South Side began with St. Patrick falling behind 21-0 to start the game amassing only 25 yards while running only nine plays from scrimmage. The Shamrocks finally got moving late in the second quarter with a 70-yard drive which ended with QB Gavin Gardiner throwing his sixth touchdown toss to Tim Schayer with 1:06 left. Both teams had an interception in the first half.
It was unfortunately a short night for St Pat's star running back Anthony Catron. Catron was knocked out if game in first half and had minus 1 yard on four carries after the game of his life against DePaul Prep with 241 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Shamrocks struggled to move football consistently going 3 for 13 on third downs.
Gray, who will attend Army next year, has thrown for 12 touchdown passes this season. Brother Rice received another solid performance from defensive linemen King Liggins, Mike Fitzgerald, and Brayden Parks. The Crusaders have been stingy on defense allowing only 63 points in five games.
St Patrick quarterback Gavin Gardiner completed 23 of 38 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the loss against a defense that was focused on stopping Catron and Jayden Miranda. Shamrocks finished with only 15 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Jaylin Green scored his second touchdown on a 51-yard run to begin the second half which meant the contest would be running clock for remainder of the night.
Brother Rice has to be considered one of the favorites for 8A championship. The Crusaders upset Loyola (3-1) and they will face Mount Carmel (5-0). Other contenders in class 8A include Maine South [4-1), Fremd (5-0), Lincoln Way East (5-0), and Lane[4-1) who has stunned two suburban schools.
"We are only thinking about going 1-0 next week," Quedenfeld admitted after the game.
Shamrocks will try to rebound against Benet [3-2].
"It's a great school," said Zbikowski who is enjoying his first season with the Shamrocks despite the setback last Friday night. "It's a special place. The kids are great and they have done everything I have asked them to do."
