Football: Marian Catholic Turnovers Make It Easy for Joliet Catholic

Breaking It Down: put the ball on the turf five times in the first half against host Joliet Catholic Academy on Friday night, leading to 34 points for JCA in the Hilltoppers’ 64-13 romp. Spartans quarterback Rob Cifelli fumbled on the first and third plays from scrimmage, and both times JCA followed with a touchdown one play later. Marian running back Jeruel Taylor was the lone bright spot in the first half, as he galloped 66 yards for a TD to bring the score to 34-7.

Patch’s MVP: Ty Isaac, JCA running back. Isaac was a one-man wrecking crew for the Hilltoppers in the first half. He carried eight times for 126 yards and four touchdowns. He added a kickoff return touchdown in the half. 

Marian Catholic Stat Pack: Jeruel Taylor ran for 128 yards in the first half on 10 carries. Rob Cifelli ran for 67 yards. Troy Nutall scored the Spartans' second TD.

Joliet Catholic Stat Pack: The Hilltoppers scored twice on special teams—on a kickoff return and on a safety following a blocked punt. Craig Slowik was 1-for-1 for 41 yards. Malin Jones and Tyler Reitz also scored for the Hilltoppers on the ground. 

Quotable I: Marian head coach Dave Mattio: “It's just the story of our season, basically. We didn't seem very in synch at all, almost to the point of being mesmerized by the atmosphere here.”

Quotable II: JCA head coach Dan Sharp: “The way we practiced after last week, I'm very proud of the kids and it showed up tonight. 

Team Records: Marian Catholic fell to 3-4 overall and in East Suburban Catholic Conference play. Joliet Catholic improved to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in conference.

What’s Next: Marian Catholic hosts Notre Dame on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Joliet Catholic heads to St. Patrick on Friday for an 8 p.m. kickoff.

Scores of Interest: Carmel 51, St. Viator 32; Marist 31, St. Patrick 28. For more scores, check out the IHSA Score Zone.