JCA Wears Ty In Title Loss

As Joliet Catholic Academy’s Dan Sharp sat with his coaching staff outside the locker room, in the quiet moments before the opening kickoff of the Class 5A state championship game at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium, he noticed No. 32 emerge into the entryway of the hall.

It was, to Sharp, a sign.

“Ty Isaac was the first one out of the locker room,” Sharp said. “And the first one into the end zone.”

A 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior wingback from , Isaac scored the initial touchdown 1:16 into the first quarter Saturday morning — and a shootout commenced. He set state-final records with 515 yards rushing and six TDs, but the Hilltoppers dropped a wilder-than-wild 70-45 decision to Montini.

Ripping off TD runs as easily as a straight-A student tears sheets of paper from a notebook, Isaac followed his 71-yarder with scoring jaunts of 63, 56 and 66 yards for leads of 7-0, 14-7, 21-14 and 31-28, the latter with 48 seconds left in the second quarter as JCA (11-3) took the tight edge into halftime.

Eventually, the effect of five turnovers hurt the Hillmen, but not before Isaac scored on a 2-yard dive and another video game-like 69-yarder for leads of 38-35 and 45-42. Isaac’s sixth TD, though, seemed to roll into motion four unanswered strikes by two-time defending state champion Montini (12-2).

In all, school and state records fell by the dozen, including a combined 1,644 yards of total offense — 853 by Montini and 791 by JCA. The Hilltoppers rushed for 747 yards, adding 187 on 27 carries from Northwestern-bound senior wingback Malin Jones. Montini, however, passed for 587 yards.

Senior quarterback John Rhode, the Marian Catholic transfer, went 29-of-45 for 587 yards and 7 TDs, Nebraska recruit Jordan Westerkamp snagged 11 catches for 331 yards and 5 TDs and junior tailback Dimitri Taylor rushed for 196 yards and a TD on 15 carries — just the tip of the Broncos’ iceberg.

“It’s very humbling when somebody scores 70 on you,” Sharp said. “We played very well on offense, Ty was amazing again, but we picked a bad day to not tackle and to not play very well on defense. You have to give Montini credit. Their skill people are as good as we’ve ever seen, especially Westerkamp.”

“It was great to score, but it wasn’t even something you could enjoy,” said Isaac, who finished as JCA’s all-time single-season rusher with 2,629 yards, besting James Randle’s 2,624 established in 1996. “They were putting up points, we put up points, but at the end of the day, it was irrelevant. We lost.”

The loss dropped JCA’s storied football program to 13-4 in title games, with back-to-back losses to Montini. The Broncos beat the Hilltoppers 29-28 in the 2009 finale. Another thriller through three quarters dissipated during a fourth that saw Westerkamp grab TD passes of 69 and 94 yards.

And even he wasn’t so sure.

“It was a bit demoralizing,” Westerkamp said of Isaac’s ability to score like the flip of an ignition switch. “It was like, ‘Oh boy, here we go.’ We knew it would be a high-scoring game, but 70? That’s crazy.”

“We went at it, we found our blocks and we felt like we could score every time we had the ball,” said JCA senior guard Carson Smith, whose pulling with the blocks of Jones and junior fullback Tyler Reitz created seams for Isaac. “We had a fast offense, but the turnovers just ended up hurting us bad.”

The timing was, perhaps, more painful than the actual turnovers. An interception after senior linebacker Austin Bolton recovered a fumbled kickoff prevented JCA from jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Later, after Montini missed a field goal, the first of two Isaac fumbles swung the momentum.

“I was just fighting, trying to get the extra yards, and it happens,” Isaac said. “Unfortunately, it happened in the wrong game. I thought we played well for three quarters, but we didn’t get it done.”

“Turnovers happen,” said Jones, knowing JCA entered with a 29-10 season dominance in turnover differential. “It didn’t go our way this time, but Ty’s performance more than makes up for the fumbles. You can’t put the ball on the ground, throw interceptions, make the mistakes we did and expect to win.”

That especially held true for a Hilltopper defense that allowed the most points in school history, eclipsing the 64 given up to Chicago Leo in 1947. Montini scored on 10-of-15 possessions. Jones led with an interception. Senior safety Dominick Allen and junior cornerback Grant Harrison each had 8 tackles.

“Defensively, it just wasn’t clicking,” Jones said. “Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin was an amazing team, but I think Montini’s much more talented in the skill positions. Either way, you can’t expect to win playing defense like we did. And it was disappointing how slow we came out to start the second half.”

“We played well the whole playoffs,” Allen said, pointing to JCA allowing only an average of 8.8 points in a postseason dotted by wins over Lincoln-Way West, Morris, Washington and SHG. “Today we did not come out with the right mindset, and I don’t know why. They were on their game and we weren’t.”

Aside from a forced fumble, sack and tackle for loss by junior linebacker Matt Madrigal (6 tackles) and other tackles for loss by Allen, Bolton (6 tackles) and senior defensive tackle Nick Collofello (5 tackles) and 2 pass breakups by senior cornerback Brody Wilhelmi, JCA’s defense was sand vs. Montini’s ocean.

By the fourth quarter, after averaging 19.8 yards on 26 carries, Isaac and his card were trumped as the Hillmen attacked in scramble mode — the final five possessions resulting in two fumbles, two turnovers on downs and an interception. All Isaac could think of was his father Tyrone winning the 5A title in 1987.

“I’ve always said this, the credit goes to my teammates and my offensive line,” said Isaac, who broke the single-game school rushing record of 363 yards by Joe Benson, now a Minnesota Twins outfielder, set in 2005 vs. St. Patrick. “You saw some of the holes back there. I think my dad could have scored on those.

“I really don’t care who scores. A sophomore can come in and score as long as we win the game.”

While Montini won this game, JCA will be heartened by the return of Isaac and his 51 TDs, 42 rushing, sophomore tackle J.B. Butler, sophomore guard Jalen Hansel, sophomore tight end Zach Rezin, junior quarterback Craig Slowik and Reitz on offense and an expected revamp of the defensive side of the ball.

Another sign for Sharp?

“I will sleep better in the offseason knowing that Westerkamp is graduating,” he said, smiling at last. “And I will sleep better in the offseason knowing that Ty Isaac is not. He will lead our seniors.

“Our kids have nothing to be ashamed of. They played hard, with Joliet Catholic pride, and I’m not disappointed with the effort. The better team won today, and we hope to be back here next year.”