Marmion eliminates Aurora Christian from playoff contention

Before the Marmion Cadets could officially declare their homecoming a success, they had to overcome some critical fourth-quarter miscues in a Chicago Catholic League crossover game Friday night against rival Aurora Christian.

But the Cadets' well-choreographed rushing game ultimately outlasted Aurora Christian's aerial attack to chalk up a 37-29 victory and knock the Eagles out of playoff contention.

Cadet linebacker Nick Sevenich made a key stop of a 2-point conversion attempt that would have tied the score at 31 with six minutes left in the game, driving the Eagles' Jeremiah Wright away from the goal line after he pulled in a Drew Clippert pass.

"When I saw he made the catch, I just put everything I had into it to make the stop," Sevenich said. "Toward the end, when they made that score, we knew we had to stop the two-point conversion.

"When he went into the flat, I knew I had to just get up there and hit him," Sevenich added.

The play shifted momentum back to Marmion (3-5) at a critical time, then running back Jett Haas took over.

Through the first three quarters, Haas wasn't a major factor in Marmion's powerful running attack, which compiled 364 yards and racked up most of the Cadets' 26 first downs in the game.

But he ran wild in the game's final minutes, racking up 83 yards in 6 carries, including a 30-yard TD jaunt with 3:11 left that put the Eagles behind the 8-ball. But a missed extra point gave Aurora Christian (3-5) one last chance to tie the game with a touchdown and 2-point conversion.

A Marmion pass interference penalty kept a final drive alive, but the Cadets survived when Clippert (21 of 39 for 242 yards and 2 touchdowns) misfired on three straight passes in Marmion territory.

Haas slammed the door with a 31-yard burst and another grinding 9-yard run for the Cadets' final first down that ran out the clock.

"Our linemen really made their blocks at the end and I knew we needed a couple of first downs to close the game out," Haas said. "That gave me the edge to just run a little harder."

Marmion enjoyed that edge in the rushing game because the Cadets' offensive line of Jeremy Daum, Fredy Quevedo, Baylor Johnson, Wes Kramer and Adam Miller used its size advantage to overpower the Eagles.

"Our linemen were getting great surges and our running backs were running really hard," said Marmion coach Dan Thorpe. "Our hats are off to Aurora Christian for their effort because we knew they were smaller and we would be able to run on them."

Marmion quarterback John Tate didn't have to throw the ball often, but he made the most of his 4 passes by connecting on three. Tate tossed a 10-yard touchdown to Cole Bonebrake in the second quarter and connected on a vital 22-yard pitch to Zach Urwiler that set up a 23-yard field goal by Luke Barresi late in the third quarter to give Marmion a 31-15 lead.

"Urwiler made a great catch on that play, and those three points were really important," Thorpe said.

Aurora Christian never backed down in the contest, and held leads of 7-0 and 15-14 in the first half when Wright (16 carries, 51 yards) opened the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown run.

Sevenich answered for Marmion early in the second quarter on an 8-yard TD run, and Tate then found Bonebrake with the scoring pass for a 14-7 lead. A Calvin McDonald interception near midfield set up the scoring drive.

But Clppert bounced back in finding his favorite target, Devan Cross (9 catches, 158 yards, 2 touchdowns), with a 15-yard touchdown pass in which Cross screened a defender near the goal line for the easy catch. Wright converted the 2-point run, though he ran about 20 yards to do it, reversing across the field after recovering his own fumble for the 15-14 lead.

Marmion closed the half ahead 21-15 after Matt Ferraro (16 carries, 105 yards) bulled over from 3 yards out with 1:43 left.

After Anthony Zolfo picked off another Clippert pass, Marmion was in business at the Eagles' 26-yard line to open the second half. Sevenich raced 10 yards for the score and a 28-15 lead.

"Give Marmion credit, I know they have had a lot of injuries, and both teams should be proud of the way they played," AC coach David Beebe said. "We are very young with only 11 upperclassmen, so we are just learning how to fight."

AC tallied two second half scores when Clippert connected on an 11-yard touchdown to Dylan Leschewski and a 9-yard toss to Cross just before Wright's failed two-point try.

The loss ended about a 13-year run of making the playoffs for the Eagles, Beebe said. "So my kids are hurting right now," he added. "They've been dealt a tough hand and it's been hard to overcome."