JCA Football Earns Another Passing Grade

The nine extra-points that Joliet Catholic Academy’s Isaac Grashoff successfully converted Friday night were not enough to tire out his right leg. But what about that 72-yard touchdown catch?

Even better.

“It felt great, it felt great,” Grashoff said of his wide-open reception from junior quarterback Craig Slowik that sparked the Hilltoppers to a whopping 35-0 lead after only one quarter. “We work on that play just about every day in practice, running all of those reps, and it finally paid off.”

The payoff for Grashoff had JCA off to the races at Memorial Stadium. Junior wingback Ty Isaac scored three touchdowns, while Northwestern-bound senior wingback Malin Jones and junior fullback Tyler Reitz each scored twice in a 63-3 East Suburban Catholic Conference blowout of St. Viator.

By scoring six TDs on its 14 offensive plays of the first half – including four TDs on the first six plays – plus throwing in a 51-yard punt return TD by Isaac, JCA (4-0, 3-0) jumped like a stallion to a 49-0 lead at halftime on St. Viator (0-4, 0-4) and set the running clock in motion for the final 24 minutes.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Jones paced the Hilltoppers with 9 carries for 129 yards and Reitz added 5 carries for 70 yards. Isaac contributed 6 carries for 66 and opened the scoring with a 33-yard run. Jones then delivered a 58-yard TD run for a quick 14-0 lead 5:37 into the first quarter.

After Grashoff hooked up with Shorewood native Slowik (2-of-2, 96 yards), Isaac scored on the 51-yard punt return, Reitz rumbled in from 3 yards, Jones sped in from the 5 and Reitz rattled off a 53-yard TD run for the 49-0 lead. Slowik’s other completion was a 24-yarder to sophomore tight end Zach Rezin.

“It was nice to see some of our unsung guys like Grashoff have good nights,” JCA coach Dan Sharp said of his 5-11, 220-pound tight end. “He’s a great blocker, a team guy, a great captain. He was actually wide open on the first one where we hit Rezin, and we came back to that deep crossing route.”

“The play is called an 83-out,” Grashoff pointed out. “I have the deep crossing route and the other end has a 10-yard out. We knew from practice all week that they would be flowing to the motion pretty hard and I was ready for it. We’re pretty versatile on offense and Craig is doing a great job.”

Despite starting two sophomores at tackle, J.B. Butler and Jalen Hansel, for the first time in Sharp’s tenure at JCA, the Hilltoppers got the job done offensively with 407 yards. The Hillmen gained 311 yards rushing on 31 carries, getting a 9-yard TD run by Isaac to begin the third quarter.

On St. Viator’s very next offensive play, senior cornerback Brody Wilhelmi picked off his third pass of the season and returned it 34 yards. Sophomore quarterback Nick Morrison, a transfer from Mount Carmel, closed the scoring for JCA on a 6-yard bootleg at 2:45 left in the third.

“Turnovers are really big for us,” Wilhelmi said. “Any time we can get the ball to our offense, that’s good for us. Our offense right now is pretty much unstoppable.”

Defensively, JCA held St. Viator to 192 yards on 47 plays, including 37 for 149 in the first half. Junior linebacker Matt Madrigal and senior defensive tackle Nick Collofello each had a tackle for loss. Madrigal caused a fumble and Collofello, senior defensive tackle Austin Bolton and senior defensive back Adam Collins recovered fumbles.

“The last thing we need is having the other team methodically drive the ball down the field and keep the ball away from our offense,” Sharp said. “If we get the ball, we have a pretty good chance to score.”

Score, yes, and score fast. JCA’s scoring drive consisted of 1, 2, 1, 3, 5, 2, 9 and 3 plays – the highlight being the first-down, play-action pass from Slowik to Grashoff that got the crowd onto its feet to cheer for No. 12.

Pick a number.

“We’re very balanced, even in our running game,” Grashoff confirmed. “And it’s a team effort. If we get the ‘W’ it’s not one person’s thing. Everybody is working together, everybody is working hard for the ‘W’ and that is what happened tonight.”