IC Catholic Prep handles Byron, advances to 3A semifinals
IC Catholic Prep reined in Byron’s high-flying offense and supercharged its offense to top the Tigers 33-14 in a Class 3A quarterfinal game Saturday.
Coming into the contest, Byron — the defending Class 3A champion — scored an average of 51 points and gave up only one touchdown per game.
With the win, IC Catholic Prep (11-1) advances to the Class 3A semifinal next weekend and will host another undefeated team, Richmond-Burton (12-0).
“With the way Byron runs its system, we had so much respect for them. We understood the detail and the discipline of what they do,” IC Catholic Prep coach Bill Krefft said. “We tried to be a little bit better on the other side of the ball. We ran two defenses that we have not run all year. We used different fronts, we were stacking people, doing different things with our linebackers and ran different coverages.”
“They got into a 60 defense which is a little bit of a different look. They got a little bit bigger up front,” Byron coach Jeff Boyer said. “Credit them for making that adjustment and slowing us down a little bit.”
Running back Jakobe Baldwin provide a bulk of IC Catholic Prep’s offense. The sophomore scored four of the Knights’ five touchdowns and rushed for 238 yards on 23 carriers.
“With Jakobe and Will (Schmidt) in our backfield, two of our best athletes, we’re hard to stop,” said Krefft.
Schmidt scored IC Catholic Prep’s first touchdown and ran 11 times for 48 yards.
“My offensive line was great. They were blocking, dominating the other team’s defensive line and making big holes to run in,” Baldwin said.
Limiting Byron (11-1) to a total of 69 yards in the first half, the visiting Knights led 26-7 at halftime.
The two squads exchanged touchdowns on their first possessions. Schmidt’s 11-yard run on the Knights’ opening drive was answered by Kole Aken’s 58-yard TD run. Byron held a brief 7-6 lead after Brody Stien’s successful PAT. Aken, a senior, rushed 16 times for 112 yards.
IC Catholic Prep scored on its next three possessions. Byron ended three of its four remaining first-half drives with punts. The fourth possession ended with a fumble.
The second half turned into a defensive battle with both sides finding the end zone only once.
Byron scored on its only pass of the game — a seven-yard toss from Bo Lundquist to Dylan Dach late in the fourth quarter. Dach also rushed for 84 yards on 14 carries.
Baldwin scored his final TD on a 45-yard run with 1:17 left to play.
IC Catholic Prep also relied mainly on its running game. Schmidt alternated with Jake Yost at quarterback with only Yost passing the ball. The junior completed four of five passes — all to different receivers — for a total of 129 yards.