Donnelly, Prospect run past Stevenson
Prospect senior Matthew Donnelly has an offer on the table to compete for Yale after graduation, and he says he’s seriously considering it.
If it happens, the Ivy League school will be getting not only one smart kid, but also a terrific football player.
Donnelly, who says his favorite class in high school right now is human physiology, and is contemplating majoring in some aspect of the medical field in college, is a leader in the classroom and also on the gridiron.
Friday night in the season opener at Stevenson, he paced his team to a 31-10 nonconference win. Donnelly rushed for 175 yards and scored three touchdowns — two on runs from scrimmage, including a 62-yard scamper, and also a long kickoff return.
“I think this win is a big tone setter for us,” the senior said. “Stevenson came out and played hard, but I think we’ve been putting in the work all year. Early morning lifts, practices at 6 a.m. in the summer and I think it really prepared us. We’re just going to spring forward for the rest of the season.”
In addition to the three scores, probably his best rush of the evening was a three-yarder, on fourth down, early in the third quarter. Stevenson trailed 24-3 at halftime, but cut the deficit to 24-10 on its opening drive of the second half. Prospect went for it on fourth down deep in their own territory on the ensuing drive, and Donnelly got just enough on a bruising run to get the first down and keep the momentum on the side of the visitors.
“It was a toss play, and I told myself I’ve got to get this first down, I’ve got to do it for my brothers here,” he said. “I saw two guys (Patriots defenders) on the edge and I said, ’They’re not going to catch me.’ I went around them and got the first down and that was a game-changer.”
Prospect quarterback Jackson Cacini, an Eastern Illinois recruit, also scored on an 8-yard rush up the middle in the first half to help stake the Knights to the big lead.
Stevenson, though, came out with a different mindset after intermission and played much better.
“We just flushed everything that happened in the first half and came out thinking the score was 0-0,” said Patriots senior Bautista Ballester. “The goal was, can we show improvement from the first half to the second half? Just come out as a team and execute better on all levels, and I believe we were able to semi-accomplish that.
“We have lots to work on, and we want to bounce back next week. I think we’re a good team, we just have to put in the work. I believe in our group, I believe in our team, and I know we can come back even stronger.”
QB Eli Sigal scored a second-half TD for Stevenson on a five-yard rush, and defensive back Isaiah Yun gave a big assist to the Patriots’ second-half renaissance with an interception.
On the defensive side for Prospect, the Knights excelled with five sacks, including two by Colin Fouch.
After the game, Donnelly reflected back on his very first high school contest, on the freshman team, against Lyons Township. He said he was remembering that moment while taking the field Friday against the Patriots.
“I was thinking back on that game,” he said, “and I kind of just relived that tonight. It was all great today.”