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JCA Football Notebook: Another 'Special' Effort

Austin Bolton recovered an onside kick to spark a 20-point second quarter as Joliet Catholic Academy advanced to the second round of the Class 5A state football playoffs with a 48-14 rout of Lincoln-Way West.

Every game has a turning point.

To wit, Joliet Catholic Academy senior Austin Bolton turned the screws on Lincoln-Way West in the first round of the Class 5A state football playoffs Friday night, recovering an onside kick at Memorial Stadium that came immediately after the Hilltoppers had scored for a 14-0 lead during the second quarter.

A 6-foot, 220-pound linebacker from Romeoville, Bolton also led JCA (8-2) with 11 tackles, including 8 solos. But his recovery — after West (7-3) was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct on a late hit in the end zone on Ty Isaac, putting the kickoff near midfield — bolted the Hillmen to a 20-point quarter.

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“I saw the ball bounce up, hit one of their guys, and it jumped up again,” Bolton said. “It got knocked back to the ground, I saw it pop out, and I just ran as fast as I could and dove on it. I tried to get it."

Special teams again got JCA into the groove, with senior Isaac Grashoff kicking field goals of 22 and 42 yards, his third and fourth of the season. Then JCA’s offense took over with 562 yards, with 462 rushing.

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“We worked everything,” said Isaac, a Shorewood native. “We threw the ball, we ran the ball, we kicked field goals. We did the things that we always do and, overall, it was a pretty good game. Just a little slow at the start.”

“We knew Lincoln-Way West had very good special teams, so there was an added emphasis by (assistant) coaches Mark Mettille and Rick Raasch,” JCA coach Dan Sharp said. “Our kids executed the game plan. From the onside kick to the field goals to Grashoff’s kickoffs, I was pleased with the effort.”

ON THE RECORD: Northwestern-bound senior wingback Malin Jones (Naperville) became the first player in Joliet Catholic football history to rush for over 1,000 yards in three different seasons. He had 1,284 on 199 carries in 2009, he had 1,122 on 106 carries in 2010 and he has 1,002 yards on 129 carries this year. Eight others topped the 1,000 yard mark twice, starting with Mike Alstott (1990, 1991) and continuing with Chris Gruber (2000, 2001), J.R. Zwierzynski (2000, 2001), Chris Clancy (2003, 2004), Billy McKeon (2004, 2005), Joe Benson (2004, 2005), Tyler Hudetz (2007, 2008) and Josh Ferguson (2009, 2010).

NOTES: The 1,000-yard mark in rushing has been eclipsed 44 times at JCA by 34 different players. Junior wingback Ty Isaac and his father Tyrone (166-1,136 in 1987) has been the only father-son combo … With 1,631 yards on 138 carries, Isaac ranks 11th all-time on the school’s single-season rushing list … With 32 TDs, Isaac is within seven of Zwierzynski’s single-season school record of 39 set in 2001 … Junior Craig Slowik (40-of-81, 1,047 yards, 9 TDs), a Shorewood resident, became the 17th quarterback in JCA history to top the 1,000-yard barrier. He ranks right behind former major-league pitcher Chris Michalak (108-of-222, 1,072 yards, 9 TDs in 1988) on the all-time single-season passing list. Pat Pesavento (119-of-213, 1,839 yards, 27 TDs in 1983) holds the school standard for passing yardage … How good has JCA’s offense been? The Hillmen are averaging 47.5 points per game, 435.5 yards, 8.4 yards per rush and 26 yards per completed pass.

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