By Bobby Narang
The Illinois eight-class high school football playoffs wrapped up with a bang Saturday night, November 26, on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign. The two-day championship weekend featured four games Friday followed by four more games Saturday.
• IC Catholic added to its growing trophy case with an impressive 48-17 victory against Williamsville in the Class 3A State championship game Friday, Nov. 25. The Knights have won six State championship, and four since 2016. The Knights pulled away behind a 28-point third quarter outburst. Quarterback Dennis Mandala shined on the big stage. He rushed for 138 yards, two touchdowns and completed 10 passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns (TDs). KJ Parker caught four passes for 86 yards and two TDs for the Knights (13-1).
“Our kids have been that way all year where their resilience just kind of takes over,” IC Catholic head coach Bill Krefft said. “What they’re talking about up here is real: They want to win for each other. I’d love to say we have a great halftime adjustment system. Everyone thinks we do. It’s really just our kids. They get dialed into winning small pieces, and once they win small pieces, that momentum builds.”
• In Class 4A, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin defeated Providence Catholic, 44-20, to hand head coach Ken Leonard his sixth State championship Friday, Nov. 25. The Cyclones, 14-0, controlled the game from the beginning, jumping out to a 38-14 lead after three quarters, to add another milestone to Leonard’s coaching career. Leonard is the all-time winningest football coach in Illinois with a 419-81 won-loss record over 43 seasons.
“It’s a special group,” Leonard said. “We knew how explosive and how good this group is. We also did it for the 2021 Spring team (that finished 6-0) because that group was really special too, and these guys were part of that and we had some dudes on that team and they taught these guys a lot.”
Providence Catholic senior quarterback Lucas Proudfoot completed 14 of 36 passes for 208 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. Charlie Soltys had a big day for the Celtics with six receptions for 136 yards.
• Meanwhile, Saturday morning, Nov. 26, Nazareth head coach Tim Racki endured a nonstop flurry of action and lead changes for an eighth State championship, four at Nazareth and four at Driscoll. The Roadrunners (10-4) defeated Peoria, 45-44, in a thrilling Class 5A championship game.
Sophomore quarterback Logan Malachuk led the way with 245 yards passing and two touchdowns, while running for a pair of TDs. Running back Justin Taylor, a University of Wisconsin recruit, finished with 113 yards and a touchdown. The Roadrunners needed every touchdown. They could not stop Peoria’s Malachi Washington. The senior running back carried the ball 48 times for 289 yards and six touchdowns. The State championship capped an improbable run for the Roadrunners, who opened the season with a 2-4 record.
“We got kicked down pretty good, fell out of the rankings,” Racki said. “I’ve never had a team that has emerged out of the depths to literally where we are now. It’s a very special team. What a reward.”
• In 7A, Mount Carmel head coach Jordan Lynch won his second State championship after a 44-20 triumph over Batavia. The Caravan (14-0) wrapped up a flawless season by ending Batavia’s playoff journey for the second straight year. Last year Mt. Carmel won, 16-14, amid controversy. The Bulldogs (10-4) scored two touchdowns in the second quarter, but couldn’t stop Mount Carmel quarterback Blainey Dowling. The senior tossed four touchdowns to spark the Caravan and finish with 262 yards passing and four TDs to fall just short of 3,000 yards passing for the season.
Batavia head coach Dennis Piron said it was a disappointing defeat for his senior class. The Bulldogs won State championships in 2013 and 2017.
“I’ve known a lot of these boys since first grade, second grade,” Piron said. “This is the type of guys we get in Batavia. They grow up here and we build them into football teams as best as we can. They work their (butts) off together as a team.
“We’re disappointed a little bit in how we played today…We wanted to show better: For our community and for each other. But, in the end, the journey we took is something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. It was wonderful.”
• East St. Louis kept its standard at a high level with a 57-7 defeat over Prairie Ridge in the 6A championship game Saturday.
• Loyola Academy beat Lincoln-Way East, 13-3, in the Class 8A final.