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Schools

JCA Puts On A Scoring Display

The Hilltoppers bounced back from a 24-21 loss to Nazareth by turning five fumble recoveries into touchdowns for a 64-13 victory over Marian Catholic at Memorial Stadium. Shorewood's Ty Isaac scored five TDs and rushed for 119 yards.

Touchdown. Fumble recovery. Touchdown. Fumble recovery. Touchdown. Fumble recovery. Touchdown. Fumble recovery. Touchdown.

Sounds monotonous.

But to the Joliet Catholic Academy football team, and in particular senior defensive tackle Nick Collofello, that sequence of five TDs and four fumble recoveries in the opening 7:51 of the first quarter Friday night was like music to his ears.

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“Unbelievable,” said Collofello, who smothered a botched kickoff return to highlight the Hilltoppers’ string of three scores in 63 seconds. “We came out fired up, ready to play, and it just kept coming and coming. It was one after another.”

One after another summed up the onslaught at Memorial Stadium. Bouncing back from a 24-21 upset to Nazareth, JCA jumped to a 34-7 lead after one quarter and a 57-7 halftime advantage in acing a 64-13 East Suburban Catholic Conference victory over Marian Catholic.

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Twenty-one seconds into the first quarter, junior wingback Ty Isaac shook off a pair of would-be tacklers in the backfield and broke away for a 68-yard TD run on the first play from scrimmage. After Collofello’s recovery, senior wingback Malin Jones made it 14-0 via a 2-yard TD plunge.

On the first play from scrimmage for Marian Catholic (3-4, 3-4), junior linebacker Matt Madrigal recovered a bungled snap and Isaac scored on an 8-yard cutback TD for JCA (6-1, 5-1). It handed the Hillmen a 21-0 lead with 10:49 still remaining in the first quarter.

“You can’t beat that,” said Isaac, a Shorewood native who finished with 7 rushes for 119 yards, caught a pass for 7 more yards and scored five TDs, including a 62-yard kickoff return. “We capitalized. Last week, we fumbled and they capitalized. We can’t miss on those opportunities.”

“Marian had some trouble with the exchange in the short shotgun, the pistol look, and we took advantage of the short drives,” JCA coach Dan Sharp said. “We played well in all three facets of the game, and it’s a credit to our kids. They played with the intensity they practiced with all week.”

That intensity translated into a deluge. Playing safety, Jones recovered a fumble and then scored on a 13-yard run off tackle. A fumble recovery by junior defensive end Matt Mammosser and a 41-yard pass from junior quarterback Craig Slowik to senior tight end Nick Rodriguez set up Isaac’s 4-yard TD run.

As a change of pace, JCA came up with a fourth-down stop by senior linebacker Mike Passo. Isaac used a stutter-step to score on a 33-yard run, with senior defensive end Josh Falk recovering a fumble to grease the wheel of junior fullback Tyler Reitz’s 16-yard, high-kick burst into the end zone for a 48-7 lead.

It was the second time the Hilltoppers scored twice within a minute. Jones and Isaac scored with 13 seconds in the first quarter and Isaac and Reitz scored within 47 seconds in the second quarter.

“Marian wasn’t clicking at first, we saw and opportunity and we had to take it,” said Falk, who also had a tackle for loss and blocked a punt. “We had to take advantage and get the ball to our offense. We don’t want last week to happen again. We know defense wins – the offense can’t do it all by themselves.”

Especially when the special teams for JCA can join in on the fun. After Falk’s blocked punt rolled out of the end zone for a safety, Isaac scored 10 seconds later on the ensuing kickoff for a 57-7 lead. Sophomore quarterback Nick Morrison closed the scoring with a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Ask the other Nick. It was time.

“Last week wasn’t good,” Collofello said. “We lost our homecoming game, but it made us work that much harder. Just coming out and getting all those fumble recoveries and playing hard, we knew what we had to do. Getting the ball back for our offense is key because we know they’re going to score.

“And we did what we had to do.”

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