As one of the state’s premier receivers, Brother Rice senior Ricky Smalling doesn’t expect to see much single coverage.
“Not a lot, but we’ll take advantage of it,” said Smalling, an Illinois recruit.
That’s exactly what Brother Rice and quarterback Dino Borrelli did against Marist in the biggest play of their season opener Sunday at Soldier Field.
With a seven-point third-quarter lead and one-on-one coverage on Smalling, Borrelli stood tall in the pocket, took a hit and delivered a beautiful 39-yard strike for a touchdown. That play turned the tide for Brother Rice, and the No. 12 Crusaders went on to defeat No. 13 Marist 31-7.
“It’s awesome when you get smacked and still throw a touchdown,” said Borrelli, making his first varsity start.
Smalling finished with 110 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. He took the second play from scrimmage 56 yards for a score to give Brother Rice an early lead.
Borrelli finished 11-for-21 for 185 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a score after an interception from Aarion Lacy, giving the Crusaders a 28-7 lead about three minutes after Smalling’s second TD grab.
“Dino’s different,” Smalling said. “He’s one of my closest friends, so we jut have that connection. He’s very open to things. So if I say I see this, he’ll trust me and we’ll go right to it.”
Marist kept it close in the first half thanks to TJ Ivy’s 57-yard TD reception from quarterback Morgan Taylor. The RedHawks trailed 14-7 at halftime but couldn’t find much rhythm on offense.
“When you look at this game, there were a lot of opportunities out there,” Marist coach Pat Dunne said. “This hurts all of us, but it’s Week 1 of the season we’ve been in this position before.”
Dunne is hoping for a similar trajectory to last season when Marist started slow but peaked at the right time to finish as the Class 8A state runner-up.
But for now, Brother Rice has bragging rights against its neighborhood rival, and the Crusaders’ defensive line, led by Shelby Benn, had a lot to say about that.
“This was beautiful,” said Benn, who recorded a sack. “This is a moment you’re going to remember for the rest of your life. Not playing (Marist) last year, it had a bigger feeling to it. It was like Michigan playing Michigan State, one of those rivalries you just want to win.”
St. Patrick 47, St. Rita 44: Anthony Mazzenga passed for 375 yards and six touchdowns, and the Shamrocks held off St. Rita’s comeback attempt in the opening game of the tripleheader at Soldier Field.
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Mazzenga completed 28 of 41 passes, with four of his six TDs going to Andrew Edgar, who had eight receptions for 146 yards. Nikolas Childress rushed for 102 yards and a score for St. Patrick.
Jake Zylman passed for 206 yards and four touchdowns for the Mustangs, with three scoring strikes to Tim Zaleski. Shaun Rule rushed for 89 yards, and Zylman added 83 for St. Rita, which trailed 33-14 at halftime.
Mount Carmel 49, Taft 7: Dan Trudeau made the most of his four pass attempts, completing three for 112 yards and two touchdowns to lead the No. 5 Caravan to a rout of Taft in the day’s second game at Soldier Field.
Jake Moriarty rushed for 83 yards on nine carries for Mount Carmel.
Mike Clark contributed to this report.
Logan Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.