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player ready...Brother Rice quarterback Cam Miller is off to a monster start, and the Crusaders can’t help but follow suit.
Fresh off a six-touchdown performance in Week 1, Miller tossed five more Friday night at Crete-Monee as Brother Rice stormed to a 49-21 victory.
“We always want the ball,” Miller said. “Losing the coin flip was the saddest part of the day.”
That’s about all Brother Rice would lose. The Crusaders (2-0) scored on their first three possessions, with Miller hitting Branden Houston and Ricky Smalling for TDs before Clifton Taylor added 2-yard TD run for a 21-0 advantage.
Miller finished 30-for-43 for 374 yards. He also was intercepted by Jeremiah Matthews.
“It’s electric,” Miller said of the fast start. “It’s so much fun. We knew (Crete-Monee) was going to be a lot tougher and hit a lot harder than (Week 1 opponent Brother Rice of Michigan). I thought we played really well for the circumstance. But we have to start finishing. We can’t take the pedal off.”
Crete-Monee (1-1) cut the lead 21-7 when quarterback Clint Ratkovich hit Frank Douglas on an 8-yard TD strike with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
But Brother Rice scored three TDs in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter to take a commanding 42-7 lead. Smalling hauled in a beautiful 63-yard reception for a score and finished with 163 yards on seven catches.
Xavian Valladay and Julian Blain also caught scores from Miller.
The Warriors made it respectable in the fourth quarter with back-to-back TD passes from Ratkovich, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with Brother Rice’s aerial assault.
“We came in focused, scored 21 points off the bat and we took our foot off the accelerator,” Brother Rice coach Brian Badke said. “I think we had the most penalties in the state of Illinois. We’re going to be running backwards.”
Aarion Lacy had a big day for Brother Rice’s defense, collecting two of the Crusaders’ five interceptions. Lacy, a junior, transferred into Rice just before the school year started. He played on the varsity last year at Rich East.
“Two picks, it was a team effort, it just wasn’t me,” Lacy said. “I had to come in and make a statement and show that I can play. I think I showed the coaches I can play ball.”