With 10 carries to his name through two-plus quarters Friday night, Joliet Catholic’s Michael Johnson had seven yards.
That 11th carry? A big run as Johnson scrambled 47 yards for a touchdown on a fourth-and-two to get the offense going on the way to a 32-7 Joliet Catholic win over host Marist in an East Suburban Catholic game.
“That’s our thing offensively, just wear teams down,” Johnson said. “Once we wear them down, that’s when we pop (with a big play) and keep coming at a team.”
With a Nazareth loss Saturday to St. Viator, the Hilltoppers (7-2, 6-1) would claim a share of the conference title.
Joliet Catholic was stagnant through the first half, compiling only 95 rushing yards, and only had a Brian Bravo 33-yard field goal late in the second quarter to show for its efforts.
“We knew we had to put in the work in the second half,” Johnson said of his touchdown run. “All I saw was guys ahead of me so I jumped and went ahead.”
Nick Borgra (17 rushes, 123 yards) and Drew Voss (7 rushes, 80 yards) both added second-half touchdowns as Joliet Catholic piled up 188 rushing yards in the second half.
With Marist looking to put together a fourth quarter comeback, the Hilltopper defense came through with three big turnovers with Michael Gruben and Zach Lukasik each recovering fumbles while Bill Rotnicki added an interception.
“Our defense the last three games is as good as I’ve seen it since I’ve been at JCA,” Joliet Catholic coach Dan Sharp said. “Bend but don’t break, and they’re causing turnovers. The kids adjusted at halftime and executed.”
Marist finished the season 4-5, 3-4, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Under coach Pat Dunne, Marist qualified all six years since he took over in the 2008-09 season.
Brendan Skalitzky finished 30-of-46 for 242 yards while also rushing 10 times for 45 yards and a score, a six-yard keeper. Darshon McCullough ran 14 times for 82 yards for the RedHawks.
“The game plan was simple,” Gruben said. “We want to get off the field so our offense can get back out there and score. We want to limit them to as few plays as possible.”
