Lincoln-Way East’s Braden Tischer will miss living high on the hog.
The senior quarterback played his last game Saturday night for the Griffins and then reflected on some of the things he will miss. That included the team’s hog dinners.
“Every Monday, the quarterbacks, running backs and offensive line have a hog dinner,” he said. “We spend time together eating, and it’s been a lot of laughs, a lot of good times.
“I try to host it as much as I can. They eat a ton.”
Likewise, Lincoln-Way East had been living high on the hog against opponents for most of the season but ran into a buzz saw during a 26-15 loss to Loyola in the Class 8A state championship game at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium.
Through it all, Tischer hung tough for the Griffins (13-1), completing 18 of 26 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 31 yards rushing against Loyola (14-0).
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, son of former Sandburg star and former Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, threw for 203 yards and two TDs and ran for 89 yards and another TD for the Ramblers. Andrew McPherson ran for 117 yards and a TD.It’s Loyola’s fifth state championship and first under rookie head coach Beau Deshreow. The Griffins added a third runner-up trophy to their collection to go with three state titles.
Afterward, Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar said he will miss the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Tischer running the show on offense.
“That’s my guy,” Zvonar said. “We make fun of him a little bit. If you see him in the hallway, you ask him to carry your gym pack, but he’s an all-state quarterback.
“He’s 26-2 as a starter and is an unbelievable young man.”
The Griffins had not produced a TD the previous two seasons against the Ramblers, losing 3-0 in the quarterfinals in 2021 and 13-3 in the 8A championship game in 2022.
But trailing 13-0 in the second quarter Saturday, the Griffins responded by putting together a 16-play, 80-yard drive, with Tischer finding senior tight end Trey Zvonar in stride at the right corner of the end zone for the 2-yard TD with 3:23 left.
“After that first touchdown, we felt like we had momentum,” Tischer said. “Just to score a touchdown for the first time in three years against them is awesome.
“It was a really great moment for us.”
The ice also was broken.
The Griffins were able to tack on eight more points, thanks to Tischer’s 7-yard TD pass to Cade Serauskis and his 2-point conversion run with 7:23 left in the fourth quarter.
Lincoln-Way East’s vaunted defense entered the game having allowed only six points in the previous five games.
Loyola, which averaged 35.3 points a game, then totaled 242 yards and scored 20 points in the first half. It made for a tough night, according to senior linebacker Connor Durkin.
“They came out and knew our weaknesses well, and they really hit them hard,” Durkin said. “They caught us out of position sometimes. Credit to them.”
Tischer, meanwhile, is going to take his time looking for a college.
He said he has received some interest from schools but wants to spend some time with his friends and family to celebrate this season before looking toward his future.
And he will walk away with great memories of leading Lincoln-Way East.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Last year’s season and this year’s season combined has probably been the two greatest of my life. I played football with my best friends every single day. At practice. At workouts. Grinding all year round.
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“To play 28 games, which is the max amount of games you can play in two year, those are the greatest moments you can have.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.