O’Brien: Notre Dame beats St. Patrick in offensive showcase

St. Patrick vs. Notre Dame is the best rivalry on the North Side. It’s a true neighborhood game, pitting grade school teammates and lifelong friends against one another.

“When you grow up over here you either wind up going to Pat’s or Notre Dame,” St. Patrick quarterback Paddy Devlin said. “So it is always a big game.”

The Shamrocks took the field behind a fire truck and men playing bagpipes on Saturday at Hanson Stadium. Both schools brought a large amount of fans, both had big student sections and both had high-powered offenses. The No. 21 Dons were just a bit crisper when it counted and escaped with a 44-34 victory.

St. Patrick (2-5, 0-5 East Suburban Catholic) entered on a four-game skid. The Shamrocks struggled mightily without Devlin, who has been injured since Week 1. They are a different team with him at the helm and that showed on Saturday.

The 6-7 senior was 29-for-44 passing for 419 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran in a score. Wide receiver Andrew Edgar was Devlin’s favorite target. The junior had 15 catches for 231 yards and one touchdown.

“It was an offensive battle, lots of fireworks so that was fun,” Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Tsagalis said. “Paddy played really well, unbelievably well. They have a really high-powered offense, we knew that coming in. We just had to outscore them.”

Tsagalis wasn’t as flashy as Devlin, but he was just as effective. The Western Illinois recruit was 15-for-22 for 225 yards and two touchdowns. His one-yard touchdown run sealed the win with 1:47 to play. The key play in that game-winning drive was a 41-yard pass to senior Riley McAndrew.

“That was huge,” Notre Dame wide receiver Tim Simon said. “(McAndrew) stepped up big for us. I’m proud of the kid. He’s always wanted that big play and I think he stepped up when we needed it.”

Simon is one of the top wide receivers in the area and he’s Tsagalis’ favorite target. The senior caught four passes for 119 yards with touchdown catches of 27 and 43 yards.

“They were only covering me with one guy,” Simon said. “The past couple weeks I’ve been seeing more double teams and that has opened up other receivers who are stepping up. That’s been big for us.”

Notre Dame (6-1, 4-1) never got much going on the ground, but it didn’t need to. Jimmy Topping rushed 10 times for 24 yards and one touchdown.

“We scored so quick that our offense really wasn’t on the field much,” Tsagalis said. “I think we lacked some energy because of that.”

The Dons officially clinched a spot in the state playoffs with the victory.

“Last year we went to Week 9 at 4-4 and needed a win,” Tsagalis said. “Just knowing that we are going to make the playoffs no matter what happens is a great feeling.”