St. Edward is playoff eligible for first time since '03
St.Edward made its first trip to Guerin Prep in River Grove a memorable one.
It was an afternoon of firsts for the Green Wave, who smashed the Gators 55-6 in the Suburban Christian Gold.
St.Edward, now 5-1 and 1-1 in conference play, became playoff eligible for the first time since 2003, and picked up their first conference win. This is only the 14th St. Edward football team to win as many as 5 games in a season and it is as many wins combined as St. Edward had registered in coach Mike Rolando's previous four seasons.
"It's been a lot of hard work by these players," said Rolando. "They just have great heart. We need that one more win to be sure we get into the playoffs."
St.Edward will play its final three games at home, against Aurora Christian, Marian Central and Wheaton Academy.
The Green Wave enjoyed their win at Holy Cross Field with running back David Hoebbel scoring on touchdown runs of 30 and 57 yards in the first quarter for his only two rushing attempts. Those were his seventh and eighth scores of the year and gave St.Edward a 14-0 lead..
Quarterback Ben Lehman added a 9-yard run in the second quarter. Lehman, who was 10-for-17 for 203 yards, connected on touchdown passes of 7 yards to Jon Godrey and 66 to Sam Pozezinski in the final 1:51 of the first half to build a commanding 34-6 halftime lead.
Guerin's Nick D'Alessandro's 17-yard run was the Gators' (2-4, 0-2) only score, which cut the lead to 21-6 in the second quarter.
Running back-linebacker Jordan Torres scored his 10th TD of the season on a 53-yard run on the first play of the second half, giving St. Edward a 41-6 lead.
Torres was one of the key defensive players in the first half, at one point making four consecutive tackles.
"I've been playing football since I was four years old," said Torres. "I have always liked defense. I like to play linebacker like Lawrence Taylor did for the New York Giants. I just try to be real agressive."
"Torres knows how to get to the ball," said Rolando. "We have a great linebacking corp. We think we have a real good experienced defense."
The Green Wave defense allowed 42 rushing yards and 152 passing yards.
"Our coaches deserve a lot of the credit," said Hoebbel. "They are the ones that have helped bring us together. Coach Rolando brings out the excitement of this team. Today our offensive line was just dominant."
St.Edward finished its third-quarter scoring on a 42-yard pass from Lehman to Nick Kerger and a Jon Keokanlaya 6-yard run. Kicker Jim Cholewa converted 7 extra point kicks.
"What's been great since I've been here," said Rolando, "is that each year we've improved. One win, three wins and now five wins. The players want to leave something for the next year's team to improve upon. It's the players' desire that is making us what we are."