Schools
Football Notebook: Madrigal Has JCA Singing Winning Tune
Matt Madrigal's fourth-down sack sparked the Joliet Catholic Academy football team to a 56-7 rout of St. Patrick. The Hilltoppers play Marist on tonight with the East Suburban Catholic Conference title on the line.
A fourth-down safety blitz by Northwestern-bound senior Malin Jones rattled St. Patrick quarterback Ryan Zentler, and then Joliet Catholic Academy linebacker Matt Madrigal did the rest.
On the 13th play of the opening drive last week, the Shamrocks went for fourth-and-4 from the 21. But Madrigal’s sack resulted in a 9-yard loss and headed the Hilltoppers down the road of a 56-7 rout.
With an assist from above.
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“Thank God for Malin,” Madrigal said. “He was coming in from the outside, and if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have had that. He turned the quarterback back into the pressure and he just fell right into me.
“And thank God for our defensive tackles. They take all the heat off of me and I get what I can.”
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The getting was good for JCA (7-1, 6-1) against St. Patrick (3-5, 2-5), especially after the defense recovered from allowing a 55-yard touchdown pass that forced a 7-7 tie during the first quarter.
After JCA jumped to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, senior safety Dominick Allen (Minooka) delivered a 7-yard tackle for loss on another fourth down to keep the momentum solidly on the Hillmen side.
Senior cornerback Brody Wilhelmi (Lockport) also blocked a punt — the Hilltoppers’ second in as many weeks — while senior defensive back Adam Collins (Plainfield) picked off a pass and sophomore defensive end Anthony McInerney (Bolingbrook) complemented Madrigal with a sack.
“It seems like in crucial situations, on third and fourth downs, we’re playing better,” JCA coach Dan Sharp said. “That’s something we’re excited about. We had some areas that we needed to clean up.
“Coach Mac (defensive coordinator Cory McLaughlin), coach (Mark) Mettille and coach (Earl) Jones made good adjustments on the sidelines and at halftime, and that made a big difference for us.”
To date, the Hillmen have been good against spread teams, giving up a mere 10 points — of importance as JCA travels to Marist (6-2, 6-1) with a share of the East Suburban Catholic Conference title on the line.
“I think we’re getting better and better,” Madrigal said. “We’re getting used to facing spread teams because we have played a lot of them already. We’re gaining that experience and we keep improving.”
NOTES: Junior wingback Ty Isaac (106 carries, 1,283 yards) joined his father Tyrone (166-1,136) as the only father-son combination in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards. “He’s in an unbelievable zone,” Sharp said of Isaac. “The way he’s seeing things, everything around him is so slow.” … Isaac has scored 26 TDs, with 20 rushing, 4 receiving and 2 on kick/punt returns … The Hilltoppers have dominated the turnover differential with a 19-5 ratio … The Hillmen have outscored opponents 376-112, including 113-30 in the first quarter and 110-39 in the second quarter … JCA owns a 3-0 road record.
