Marian Central 28, St. Viator 14

St. Viator was looking to rebound Friday night against visiting Marian Catholic after a tough loss last week to Benet.

Instead, the Lions are reeling after a second consecutive East Suburban Catholic Conference defeat.

Marian Catholic (3-2, 1-2) rushed for 343 yards, and junior quarterback Evan Watson threw for 3 scores and ran 70 yards for another as the fired-up visitors shocked Viator 28-14.

Senior running back Mike Landuyt scored the 2 Lions touchdowns as Viator played most of the game without starting quarterback Eric Huber and defensive back C.J. Cesario because of injuries.

"We've got our backs up against the wall now, that's for sure," said Viator coach Chris Kirkpatrick. "We couldn't stop them."

The night started on the right note for Viator (3-2, 1-2). The Lions scored first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 34-yard shovel pass from Huber to Landuyt and a Jon Harris extra point.

But 2 Watson TD throws, one to 6-foot-9 tight end Dennis Kelly and the other to running back Brandon Sherman, put Marian up 12-7 at halftime.

"We wanted to get back to the way we started the season," said Kelly as Marian broke a 2-game losing streak. "We've been struggling, and we needed to get some confidence heading into our game against Joliet Catholic."

"We played hard in the first half," said Viator senior two-way lineman Emmett Cleary, "but we didn't play smart until the beginning of the third quarter.

"We lost a couple of our offensive players and we dug ourselves too deep a hole."

After Watson's 70-yard scramble put Marian up by 2 touchdowns, Viator struck back. Reserve quarterback Dan Faerber hit tight end Matt Janus on a 30-yard strike, then Landuyt (12 carries, 98 yards; 3 catches, 64 yards) rumbled 40 yards up the middle for a score.

But the Lions couldn't get any closer as Watson found Mark Scott open for a 40 yard touchdown, and 2 late interceptions by defensive back Kevin Kammert snuffed out any hopes of a Viator rally.

"They played well," said Viator senior Matt O'Malley. "We've got some things we've got to fix up. They took the game right to us and hit us in the mouth. We lost a couple of guys to injury, but you've got to play through that."