Scouting the Class 6A Championship

At Memorial Stadium, Champaign

Road to the championship: No. 2 seed Rockford Boylan Catholic beat No. 15 Addison Trail 31-7, and No. 7 Richards 34-12. The Titans defeated No. 11 seed Cary-Grove 20-14 (OT) and in the semifinals beat No. 4 Prairie Ridge 14-7. No. 3 seed Marmion defeated No. 6 Thornton Fractional North 24-0, and No. 2 TF South 28-27. In the quarterfinals the Cadets topped No. 1 seed Lemont 31-20 and in the semifinals beat No. 1 Danville 31-28.

Playoff history: Rockford Boylan has appeared in 26 playoffs, second among this year's 6A teams only to Richards (28). In their sixth straight postseason the Titans are 41-25 all-time in the playoffs. They were 5A runner-up to Deerfield in the second IHSA playoffs, 1975, and till now had reached five semifinals, most recently in 2000. Marmion, whose first playoff berth also came in 1975, is 12-10 overall in 11 playoff appearances. This is the Cadets' longest playoff run since 1989, when Paul Murphy coached a 12-1 team to the 3A semifinals. Marmion reached the quarterfinals in 1998. Dan Thorpe has since led Marmion to the playoffs three of the last four years. This is Marmion's first trip to a state championship game.

Coaches: Friendly foes Dan Appino of Boylan and Thorpe have known each other since the 1980s when Appino assisted Bill Thumm at Boylan and Thorpe was coaching in Wisconsin. Appino is 82-19 in his nine seasons as head coach with seven playoff appearances. Thorpe is 38-23 in his six seasons at Marmion. Overall, Thorpe is 160-83 spanning 23 seasons, five teams and three states (Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio). In his first two seasons, at Beloit (Wis.) Turner, he lost a state championship game in 1987 and won it in 1988. Thorpe also won a tite as a player at Antigo (Wis.) High in 1976.

Starting offenses

Rockford Boylan Marmion

Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.

Frank Cimino 6-2 214 Sr. QB Bobby Peters 6-0 165 Sr. Tyreis Thomas 5-10 165 Jr. RB T.J. Lally 6-1 215 Sr. Chris Miller 5-11 180 Sr. RB/FB Garret Becker 5-11 185 Jr. Aaron Einhorn 5-8 180 Sr. RB/SE Phil Kloc 5-10 175 Sr. Sam Budd 6-4 178 Sr. WR/FL Nick Scoliere 6-2 205 Sr. Jimmy White 6-1 175 Sr. WR/TE Ryan Kolka 6-1 210 Sr. John Gomulka 5-11 285 Sr. T/LT Graham Glasgow 6-7 295 Sr. Carter Cardenas 5-10 235 Sr. G/LG Ryan Glasgow 6-3 245 Jr. Garrett Fischer 5-10 202 Sr. C Mike Zolfo 5-11 225 Sr. Ian Kolata 6-3 255 Sr. G/RG Tyler Heinen 6-0 215 Sr. Mike Nora 6-0 193 Sr. T/RT Jake Winkel 6-3 275 Sr. Joe Rose 5-7 125 Sr. PK A.J. Friedman 5-10 155 Jr.

Starting defenses

Rockford Boylan Marmion

Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.

Sam James 6-3 193 Sr. DE Nate Pacer 6-3 190 Sr. Nick Rader 5-9 184 Sr. NT/DT Tyler Boyd 6-1 245 Jr. Mitch Edgecomb 5-10 218 Sr. DT Mike Eberth 6-1 235 Jr. Dean Lowry 6-5 225 Jr. DT Blake Mickey 6-2 240 Jr. D.J. Zimmerman 6-1 190 Jr. LB/DE Ryan Glasgow 6-3 245 Jr. Grant Flodin 5-10 186 Sr. LB T.J. Lally 6-1 215 Sr. Conor Slipkevyich 5-11 183 Sr. LB Mike Shares 6-0 190 Jr. Tony Pirello 5-9 165 Sr. CB Mike Carbonara 6-1 210 Sr. Terris Sallis 5-8 155 Sr. CB Nick Scoliere 6-2 205 Sr. Matt Ventimiglia 5-9 190 Sr. S Kyle Kozak 6-0 165 Jr. Chris Miller 5-11 180 Sr. S Mitch Loehmann 5-11 160 Sr. Garrett Stroup 5-11 203 Sr. P A.J. Friedman 5-10 155 Jr.

Rockford Boylan's offense (390.9 yards a game/13 points) vs. Marmion's defense (245.4 yards a game/12 points): Appino has heard the cliché: When you have two quarterbacks, you really have none. He's not buying it, since the two seasons the Titans have rotated quarterbacks they've gone through the Northern Illinois-10 Conference unbeaten. Peter Cimino (859 yards rushing, 640 passing, 15 totals touchdowns) is the listed starter but alternates series with Lamont Toney (446 rushing, 371 passing, 7 TDs). Tyreis Thomas (1,460 yards rushing, 12 TDs) scored the touchdown to beat Cary-Grove in overtime. Thomas operates out of a spread, 1-back set that also features Aaron Einhorn (297 yards rushing, 319 receiving, 13 TDs) and morphs into Wing-T and full-house schemes. Do-it-all Chris Williams is a 6A all-stater who has scored 17 touchdowns a variety of ways. Marmion likes a four-man defensive front, but the personnel may differ depending on the severity of Nate Pacer's knee. He did not play against Danville, and if he's absent Saturday that keeps Nick Scoliere (71 tackles, 15 sacks) at defensive end. When Boylan passes Appino said it's a controlled game featuring the bubble pass, which means Marmion will need to go sideline to sideline. That's fine with Cadets' two-time all-state linebacker T.J. Lally (134 tackles), who has no quit. What size Boylan has is located on its offensive line, which Marmion's defensive line can match. Marmion has 22 interceptions, 5 by Mitch Loehmann, 4 by Mike Carbonara.

Marmion's offense (263.7 yards a game/30.7 points) vs. Rockford Boylan's defense (yardage unavailable/9.6 points a game): Marmion has run for 3,429 yards with five backs each over 372 yards led by Lally (1,264 yards, 16 TDs) but Thorpe said passing has won the last two playoff games. Quarterback Bobby Peters (85-of-164, 1,067 yards, 10 touchdowns, 4 interceptions) has been, as Appino said, “incredibly efficient” in play-action. The Boylan coach, interestingly enough, is cautious about Marmon's size not as much on its offensive line but in the backfield. The Cadets will continue the power game with Lally and Garrett Becker (581 yards rushing, 6 TDs) while striking the flank with Scoliere (548 yards, 3 TDs), Carbonara (372 yards, 5 TDs) and Loehmann (373 yards, 5 TDs). Scoliere (26 catches, 453 yards, 5 TDs) is the Cadets' top receiver but in Champaign the unsung players often leave a mark watch out for tight end Ryan Kolka, receivers Phil Kloc and Tommy Rogers (11 catches, 114 yards). It may be a game of cat-and-mouse; Boylan could be hesitant to blitz Peters, yet leading tackler Grant Flodin (104 tackles) and No. 3 tackler Sam James (83 tackles) have combined for 37 sacks. (Miller has 101 tackles.) Marmion will try to turn the aggressiveness of Boylan's 3-3 stack defense into a detriment.

Intangibles: Containing early nerves will be key. Both coaches cite turnovers as a key, but Marmion sports a gaudy plus-21 turnover ratio. Miller can go the distance on punt and kickoff returns and Boylan's Joe Rose is 5-of-7 on field goals with a long of 34 yards. Marmion's game-changing kicker/punter, A.J. Friedman, is 8-of-12 on field goals with a long of 47 yards. He averages 35.5 yards a punt. Marmion's sole loss is to Montini, which is playing right before in the 5A game. There is great pride involved in the Suburban Christian Conference and with Marmion. “Our motto,” Thorpe said, “is finish the mission.”