Against Walther Christian, it's IC Catholic Prep's day
Saturday marked IC Catholic Prep's final regular-season day football game in Elmhurst. From now on it's Friday night lights for the Knights.
IC prepped by playing lights out, beating Walther Christian 51-6 in a Metro Suburban Conference crossover game at Lewis Stadium.
"We started off really hot," said IC quarterback Luke Ricobene. "We ran our offense, we executed our plays, made the right reads and everything just happened the way we wanted to. We started off with some good runs and good passes and we just never looked back."
IC (2-1) scored on its first four possessions to enter the second quarter up 28-0. Helming an up-tempo offense, Ricobene ran an option keeper 46 yards untouched, then hit Patrick Jordan alone and in stride for a 47-yard touchdown pass.
Walther (0-3) fumbled, IC freshman Kemon Reese recovered and Ricobene delivered a 14-yard touchdown pass to Andy Guzman. On IC's first drive of more than three plays Brendan O'Brien's 15-yard touchdown run ended the first-quarter scoring.
Walther starting quarterback Anthony Reedy was unable to play said Broncos coach Darrold Muzzall, who subbed with Ben Knupp, his top receiver. Thus more attention focused on running back brothers Corey and Jaylen Pugh, who ran for 38 and 46 yards, respectively. Corey Pugh's 2-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run accounted for the Broncos score.
"We knew that they had some very fast skilled players, but we felt that if we came out quick and stopped them from using their speed early on they wouldn't be able to catch back up after that," said O'Brien, who ran for a team-high 54 yards. IC amassed its points on just 279 yards of offense.
Having gone 6 of 6 passing for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns, Ricobene rested in favor of backup quarterback Matt Sutton, a starting receiver and defensive back.
"We wanted to make sure Sutton was ready to go for future weeks if we ever need him," said IC coach Bill Krefft, who also had star tailback Jordan Rowell in street clothes on the sideline. "Luke did a great job for that quarter and then we wanted to make sure we stayed safe."
Sutton responded with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Robert Malek for a 34-0 halftime lead. IC fans wishing for a 40-point second-half margin and subsequent running clock waited only about 13 seconds as freshman Steven Crady returned the kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown. Crady added an interception and returned a second kickoff 42 yards.
IC also notched Sam Buffo's 21-yard field goal and sophomore Griffen Eichhorn's 8-yard touchdown run.
"We were happy," O'Brien said. "We got some of our second- and third-string guys in and we were really glad that they got a chance to play, too. It was really a group effort this game and we're happy that the entire team won."