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Big picks help St. Viator past St. Patrick

Momentum shifted early in St. Viator's 32-3 homecoming win over St. Patrick Friday night at Robert Morris Stadium in Arlington Heights.

Both the Lions and the Shamrocks needed a win to keep their state football playoffs hopes headed in the right direction.

The Lions' defense made the difference in the first quarter and with that helped St. Viator become playoff eligible, improving to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

St. Patrick (2-5, 2-3) moved the ball well on its first possession after fielding a St. Viator punt at the Shamrocks' 32-yard line.

George Ohanessian (23 carries, 89 yards) and quarterback Brett Rosenbusch (8-for-23 79 yards, 2 interceptions) combined to move the ball to the St. Viator 6 following Rosenbusch's 9-yard pass to Xavier Saldana on first down.

Rosenbusch tried a pass over the middle - but linebacker Casey Kmet intercepted in the end zone to stop the drive.

The Lions responded with a 3-play, 80-yard drive to take a 8-0 lead with 4:39 left in the first quarter.

Quarterback Bryce Hellgeth (8-14, 135 yards, 1 TD) spotted Kyle Pearce along the right sideline to complete a 66-yard scoring play. Hellgeth then ran in a 2-point conversion.

"I was at the right place at the right time," said Kmet. "It was a nice interception - the first one by a linebacker this year. That gave us the momentum and we never gave it up."

Christian Dolecki came up with another interception on the Shamrocks' next possession.

Dolecki's pick at the St. Patrick 42 set up a 22-yard touchdown run from Elijah Black (15 carries, 90 yards, 1 TD), making it 15-0 after Hellgeth's extra point kick.

"The turnovers and the scores were big for us," said Black. "We didn't let up. We stayed focused for the whole game. I couldn't be successful running the ball if it weren't for my teammates making the blocks for me. This game was intense."

After a 40 minute delay due to lightning, the Shamrocks got on the board when Rosenbusch kicked a 25-yard field goal to make the score 15-3 with 7:42 left in the second quarter.

Taking possession at the Shamrocks' 29 after a zero-yard punt. Jake Wolf scored from the 1 with 2:19 left in the first half for a 22-3 lead.

Hellgeth, who accounted for 10 points with 4 extra points and two field goals, closed out the second quarter with his own 25-yard field goal.

Wolf closed out the Lions' scoring with a 1-yard run in the third quarter on the Lions' first possession to cap an 8-play, 47-yard as the lead grew to 32-3.

"Making the playoffs was one of our goals," said St. Viator football coach Dave Archibald. "We're hungry to keep competing at the next level. Our players have taken to heart the darkhorse role. The players really worked hard to get this win. They left their hearts on the field on this one."

"Our defense has been playing well," said Kmet. "We all step up to fill the roles that we need to do. The next few weeks we have to avoid turnovers and take advantage of the ones we get. We're doing the right things at the right time with this defense."

Pearce also recovered a fumble for the Lions in the second half.

The Lions out gained the Shamrocks 290 to 236 and forced 3 St. Patrick turnovers while committing none of their own.

St. Viator running back Jack Scislowski did not play due to a ACL injury suffered two weeks ago.

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