RedHawks bring the noise
Dayton recruit Agee finishes with 145 yards, two TDs as Marist pulls away from South Elgin in fourth quarter
Senior receiver Ak’Tavion Agee missed a couple early opportunities Saturday, dropping passes on potential big plays for Marist.
The Dayton recruit made sure he delivered when it really mattered in the second half.
“As a receiver group, we think about it as the next play is the biggest play,” Agee said. “I had a few drops. That’s something I’m not used to doing.
“I just had to get it out of my mind and be ready for the next play. I know the coaches believe in me and they’re going to continue to get me involved in the game.”
Agee finished with five catches for 145 yards, including a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as 18th-seeded host Marist pulled away late for a 30-7 victory over second-seeded South Elgin in a Class 8A second-round playoff game.
The RedHawks (8-3) will visit Glenbrook South (9-2) — a 14-7 winner over Hinsdale Central — in the quarterfinals.
South Elgin (10-1) trailed 17-7 after three quarters, but Agee gave Marist some cushion on the first play of the fourth by catching a 55-yard TD pass from Dontrell Jackson Jr.
“It felt great,” Agee said. “I had to give a speech at halftime to get the boys fired up. I told them the score shouldn’t be as close as
it was, so we had to come out 10 times harder.
“Everyone’s behind me, so that’s a great feeling.”
Jackson completed 11 of 18 passes for 219 yards and three TDs.
Agee, who committed to Dayton earlier in the week, added a 9-yard TD catch from Jackson with 1 minute, 48 seconds remaining.
“I’m excited,” Agee said about committing to the Flyers. “I was
ready to get it over with and find my home.”
Marist coach Ron Dawczak was happy to see Agee respond to the early adversity.
“He settled down and just played his game, looking the ball in and catching it,” Dawczak said. “He’s such an electric playmaker.
“All he has to do is secure the ball and he’s a home-run threat every time he gets the ball in his hands. He did a great job in the second half.”
The Storm entered averaging 45 points a game behind an option attack, but only managed 136 yards against Marist.
South Elgin moved the ball well early, forcing a 7-7 tie on a 7-yard TD run by Anthony Marshall with three seconds left in the first quarter, but could not sustain offensive success.
“I think not having playoffs in the spring hurt us,” South Elgin coach Dragan Teonic said. “I think the lack of being ready for the big game hurt us. I’m not sure if it’s a conference thing or it’s a playoff thing, but their best players showed up really well and, at times, ours didn’t.
“I’m still proud of our guys. You have to give credit to Marist. They’re just a really good football team.”
Kai Paz had an interception and Michael Tringali had a fumble recovery for South Elgin.
Jackson threw a 40-yard
TD pass to Ryan Sims to get Marist on the board less
than two minutes into the game.
Jaylen Johnson ran 19 times for 95 yards and a TD for the RedHawks.
Senior defensive end Jayson Harris-Woodward led a big defensive effort with a sack, a fumble recovery and several tackles.
“We don’t usually get to see a triple-option team like
that,” Harris-Woodward said. “That was a 10-0 team,
but we’ve been battle-tested the whole season.
“We wanted to see if we could put those guys under adversity. I guess my switch hit. I played for my team.”