HUGE ONE FOR ANDERSON, HILLTOPPERS
Joliet Catholic’s Jordan Anderson is one of the largest toplevel running backs the area has seen in years, and the 6-3 senior used every bit of his power and skill to punish Brother Rice on Friday night, rushing for 319 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-49 victory.
After the game, Anderson’s big arms were streaked with scratches from defenders who weren’t able to bring him down.
It was a major statement win in every sense for the Hilltoppers (7-0). Just a Class 4A school, they showed they could beat the big boys of the CCL/ESCC Blue on the road. And they did it after taking a punch. Brother Rice (5-2) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game.
“We never went up against something like that before,” Anderson said. “We had confidence in ourselves. We think we are going to win, and that’s what we came out did.”
Anderson, an Illinois recruit, had 29 carries and caught one pass for nine yards. He was quick to spread the praise around to his teammates.
“All of us had a big game,” he said. “Not just me, all of us. The linemen, all of the receivers. It’s just an honor to be on this team.”
While Anderson has played just 11 quarters in seven games this season, missing time with an injury and sitting out when games were well in hand, junior running back Vinny Iannantone has stepped up and delivered — and he did it again on the big stage Friday, with 21 carries for 133 yards.
The other major hero for Joliet Catholic was another Illinois recruit, senior linebacker Malachi Hood. In a game with very few defensive highlights, Hood had the biggest: an interception in the end zone in the final seconds of the first half, at a point where both offenses seemed unstoppable.
“Malachi is a hell of a player,” Anderson said. “He came up big just before half, getting that pick to stop them from scoring.”
The game was tied at 35 at halftime. Joliet Catholic, which had quick scoring drives in the first half, settled in for some relatively longer drives after taking the lead after intermission.
Hilltoppers quarterback Aidan Voss finished 3-for-4 passing for 95 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown pass to junior Jake Fieldman with 6:48 to play. That put Joliet Catholic ahead by two scores.
“We took a couple of punches there at the beginning, and it would have been easy to lie down,” Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski said. “That’s just not who we are. I’m just incredibly proud of the way our guys responded and didn’t flinch.”
Brother Rice quarterback Jack Lausch was 22-for-37 passing for 370 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He had 14 carries for 58 yards.
It was a special game for Illinois recruits on both sides. Crusaders tight end Henry Boyer, who’s also headed to Champaign, had five catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
Brother Rice lost a similar game earlier this season, also at home, when Loyola prevailed 46-43. Ramblers running back Marco Maldonado ran for 335 yards in that game.
“I was hoping [Friday’s game would be high-scoring], but not too many teams play the style of play we do,” Jaworski said. “Some teams have slung it around on [Brother Rice]. Loyola ran all over them a little bit with a different style of play. [Brother Rice] threw a little of everything at us, and credit to our line coaches for sorting it out.”