Marmion too big, too strong for Aurora Christian

Aurora Christian and Marmion had never faced each other on the football field before Friday night's Suburban Christian Conference Blue division showdown and Aurora Christian won't be in any hurry to do it again.

"I'll be honest, they're too good and too big," said Aurora Christian coach Don Beebe after his team was walloped on its home field by the Cadets, 42-20.

The too good came in the form of running backs T.J Lally with two touchdowns, one of them a 60-yard scamper, and Nick Scoliere, who busted off an 80-yard scoring run.

The too big came in the form of an impressive offensive line that helped the Cadets score five times on the ground while compiling 281 yards rushing, and a three-man defensive front that created plenty of pressure on Eagles quarterback Anthony Maddie.

"They are just a great football team and we can't match up physically," Beebe said of his team's struggles against the undefeated Cadets. "Our kids tried as hard as they could, but when you are outweighed it is tough, but that's a great football team over there and they are going to be hard to beat in Class 6A."

Aurora Christian (4-2, 1-2) got itself in trouble on the opening kickoff when a planned reverse was fumbled on the handoff, leaving the Eagles pinned deep in their own territory and unable to move the ball.

Marmion (6-0, 3-0) got possession at the Aurora Christian 33-yard line after a punt, and Lally barreled into the end zone from five yards out behind 6-3, 275-pound tackle Jake Winkel for the early lead.

The Eagles bounced back with a 60-yard drive to knot the score at 7-7 when Mitch Holtz' 1-yard plunge capped an 11-play drive that was highlighted by a 37-yard pass from Maddie to Andrew Cassara on a fake punt.

But the Cadets set the tone for the rest of the night when Scoliere broke loose for his 80-yard score on Marmion's first snap of the ensuing possession.

It led to a flood of Marmion touchdowns as the Cadets built a 42-7 lead going into the final quarter. Mitch Loehmann pulled in the only Marmion touchdown pass on a 33-yard connection from quarterback Bobby Peters in the second quarter, while Garrett Becker followed with a 4-yard touchdown run.

On the opening play of the third period, Lally (6 carries, 102 yards) bounced off a tackle at the line of scrimmage and raced 60 yards for the score, and Mike Carbonara finished things off with a 20-yard scoring run.

"We were hoping we would wear them down with our offensive and defensive lines," Marmion coach Dan Thorpe said. "I had heard (Bears coach) Lovie Smith say this week that sacks are overrated and that pressuring the quarterback is the key.

"We knew we had to confuse coach Beebe and confuse their quarterback, and we got enough pressure with our front line to where we could start dabbling with bringing our linebackers in different ways."

Even though the total yardage was nearly even, with Marmion gaining 430, and Aurora Christian 427, the Cadets pulled down two interceptions, caused four fumbles, and had Maddie (20-of-44 for 340 yards) on the run much of the night.

"It's a lot of fun when our defense is playing this well," said Scoliere, who flushed Maddie out of the pocket often by blitzing from his outside linebacker spot. "It all comes from our defensive coach, and I think our defense really shut them out."

Lally agreed with his teammate, saying it was the best defensive game the Cadets have played so far this year.

"It was outstanding, and the pressure our defensive line can get takes such a weight off those of us in the defensive backfield," Lally said. "It allows us to blitz, and get in there a little easier."

With the game out of reach, Aurora Christian still fought until the end, with Maddie hooking up with receiver C. J. Schutt for 13- and 33-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

"This will be a great learning experience for our guys down the road," Beebe said. "We have to look at the big picture of what can be positive from this, and when we play 3A teams in the playoffs, they are not bad teams, but they certainly won't be like Marmion."