Johnsons help Hilltoppers survive
||| NO. 7 JOLIET CATHOLIC 38, NO. 10 NAZARETH 35 Ground game does just enough as Naz rallies from 31- 0 hole
Senior Michael Johnson has been the show for Joliet Catholic this season. The running back has the been the focal point of the unbeaten Hilltoppers offense.
That didn’t exactly change Friday against Nazareth at Joliet Memorial Stadium. Johnson carried the ball 30 times for 103 yards in No. 7 Joliet Catholic’s 38- 35 win over the No. 10 Roadrunners.
Johnson was a workhorse, picking up the tough short- yardage first downs. But it was his younger cousin, sophomore Ke’Von Johnson, that stole the show.
“I can’t believe it,” Ke’Von Johnson said. “I came out focused and ready to go and everything just started to go my way.”
The younger Johnson had 16 carries for 213 yards and four touchdowns. His 60- yard touchdown run in the first quarter made the score 14- 0. It was a dynamic burst.
“It came straight off of patience,” Johnson said. “I just waited for things to develop and then, there the hole was, and I was gone.”
It was the type of breakout performance that can change life a little for an underclassman at a football- crazed school.
“I can’t wait for school next week,” Johnson said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun after this. People will definitely see me in a different way.”
The Hilltoppers ( 7- 0, 5- 0 East Suburban Catholic) needed every single yard from the Johnson cousins.
Joliet Catholic dominated the first half and led 31- 0. The last two quarters were a much different story. Nazareth’s high- powered offense finally showed up in the third quarter. The Roadrunners scored touchdowns on a 20- yard pass from quarterback Carson Bartels to Justin Weller, an 18- yard pass from Bartels to Christopher Simmons and an 86- yard pass from Bartels to Notre Dame recruit Julian Love.
That made it 31- 21 Joliet Catholic. Bartels struck again early in the fourth quarter with an 82- yard touchdown pass to Simmons to cut the Hilltoppers lead to three points.
But it was Ke’Von Johnson to the rescue again. His 18- yard touchdown scamper with 7: 10 to play put Joliet Catholic ahead 38- 28.
Bartels was 19- for- 40 passing for 364 yards and four touchdowns. Love rushed six times for 51 yards and caught two passes for 102 yards. Simmons caught seven passes for 103 yards.