Iron Mike, indeed.
On the day Joliet Catholic announced Mike Ditka would be the guest speaker at their Hilltopper banquet, Michael Johnson rushed for 242 yards as JCA cruised to its second straight win, beating Wheaton North 34-14 on Friday night at Memorial Stadium in Joliet.
Johnson ran for 180 yards in the first half as JCA built a 20-0 lead in the second quarter on a pair of touchdown passes from Cade Earl to Jake Kinsella. Johnson also scored in the first quarter and had a 22-yard run early in the second.
“I saw them in the beginning of the game imitating our double-wing. That’s what made me mad,” Johnson said. “But I realized that they weren’t going as hard as I was so I came out and showed them this is how you run the double-wing. I looked at them as if they were littler than me, trucked right through them.”
Earl was injured in the second quarter and left the game, but Patrick Roth was capable as his replacement, leading JCA on two more scoring drives in the second half to put the game away after Wheaton North pulled to within a touchdown.
The Falcons battled back on a 22-yard TD pass from Luke Anthony to Marcus Gustaveson late in the second quarter. Then, Anthony connected with Adam Terrini from 23 yards on the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter to pull to within 20-14.
But Joliet Catholic had too much ground power behind Johnson, and a defense that had Bill Rotnicki picking off two passes that led to scores, and two sacks by Zach Lukasik.
“Our defense backed us up when we couldn’t score or get that first down,” Johnson said.
Huntley 59, De La Salle 28: Tom Duddleston had three TD passes for host De La Salle (0-2)
Rich Central 40, Plainfield Central 27: Jyran Mitchell (5-yard run) and Deshawn Jones (35) scored TDs for host Rich Central (2-0).
Chicago Christian 35, Hope 16: Luke Rattler had three TD runs, including a 97-yarder, for host Chicago Christian (1-1).
Rich South 46, Joliet Central 20: Yayha Johnson (22 carries) ran for 143 yards and four TDs to spur visiting Rich South (1-1).
St. Rita 49, Dunbar 14: Darius Allen and Connor Kelly each contributed a pair of TD runs for host St. Rita (1-1).
Shepard 34, Payton 14: Jack Carberry (7-for-13, 219 yards) passed for three TDs, including an 18-yarder to Demetrius Harrison, to pace host Shepard (1-1). Harrison (23 carries, 140 yards) also had two scoring runs.
Minooka 26, Lockport 22: Matt Skobel had two TD runs (4 and 52 yards) for visiting Lockport (0-2).
Reavis 49, Washington 12: Isiah Alpuche threw for two TDs, ran for another and also scored on a kickoff return for host Reavis (2-0).
Stagg 42, Andrew 16: Herbert Hughes (20 carries, 344 yards) scores on runs of 15, 71 and 83 yards for visiting Stagg (1-1). Kamal Salman also had three TD runs, the longest covering 65 yards. Andrew is 1-1.
St. Laurence 72, Vocational 14: Robert Chayka caught two TD passes and ran for two more scores for host St. Laurence (1-1).
Marist 56, DuSable 0: Delonte Harrell had TD runs of 60 and 70 yards for host Marist (1-1).
Oswego 14, Providence 13: Steve Simowitz threw a TD pass to Mike Markasovic to aid visiting Providence (0-2).
Boys Soccer
Reavis 1, St. Laurence 0: Matt Opiola’s goal propelled Reavis (3-2) in the Windy City Ram Classic.
Men’s Soccer
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Harper 1, Joliet Junior College 0 (OT): Rich Wyskiel (10 saves) starred for Joliet Junior College (3-2, 1-1) in the North Central Community College Conference.
Women’s Soccer
St. Francis 2, Illinois Springfield 1 (2OT): Kayla Paeth (2 goals) boosted St. Francis (1-1).
Lewis 1, Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) 0: Meg Carmody scored in the 90th minute for Lewis (1-0).
Cornerstone (Mich.) 1, St. Xavier 0: Carly Bledsoe made five saves for St. Xavier (0-3).
Women’s Volleyball
Bellevue (Neb.) Bruin Labor Day Classic: Shelby Kupferschmid (15 kills) and Danielle Conrad (27 assists) paced St. Francis (2-3), which lost to Doane (Neb.) 25-13, 25-22, 25-13 and Northwestern (Iowa) 25-18, 25-16, 25-15.
Minor League Baseball
ThunderBolts 9, Washington 6: Max White (3-for-5, 4 RBIs) blasted a pair of homers to power the visiting ThunderBolts (41-53) in the Frontier League.
Bob Hurst and Josh Krockey, who contributed to this report, are freelance writers for the Daily Southtown..