By Bobby Narang
IC Catholic football took a big step toward making another long at a State title last weekend in the Round 1 of the IHSA Class 3A playoffs.
After a tough loss in their regular season finale, the IC Catholic Knights bounced back with an impressive 42-13 win over Hope Academy.
The long bus ride into the city didn’t slow down the Knights’ offense. Junior quarterback Nate Lang was efficient and accurate, completing 17-of-22 passes for 257 yards and five touchdowns. Lang spread the wealth, tossing darts all over the field. Four different receivers hauled in touchdowns, as Quai McGee, Will Schmidt, Grant Bowen, and Anthony Carroccio had touchdowns.
The Knights put any doubt away with a 35-point second quarter explosion.
“(Nate) is a gunslinger,” IC Catholic coach Bill Krefft said. “When things break down, he does a really good job. That’s a great football team we faced. One of the things that is underestimated is how aggressive and how physical and how athletic they are. But our guys have grit.”
The Knights made the trip to Chicago a memorable one, adding several highlights to their season film. Lang did most of his damage in the first half, passing for 218 yards to lead the Knights (7-3) into the second round.
“In the second quarter, we all came together as a team,” Lang said. “Everything was clicking. Sometimes that’s how the game goes, it takes a while, you don’t start off hot. We were able to pull it together and get a win.”
Bowen led the offense with six receptions for 128 yards and touchdown catches of 52 and 19 yards.
“He has ton of size, ton of potential and he’s only a sophomore,” Lang said of Bowen.
Hope (8-2) quarterback Daevion Greenberg had a solid day, passing for 157 yards for the home team.
IC Catholic will host Bishop McNamara in the Round 2 Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m..