IC Catholic has been winning on both sides of the ball this season, and Jaden Penna typified that trend in the first half alone on Friday.
Penna, a senior wide receiver/defensive back, caught one of his two touchdown passes from senior quarterback Nate Lang and intercepted a pass as the Knights took a 28-7 halftime lead against Benet.
“Yeah, it was a good night out there,” Penna said. “But I would not have done it if my quarterback wasn’t putting the ball there for me and if the defense wasn’t out there doing their job.”
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Penna, who totaled four catches for 97 yards in IC Catholic’s 42-14 road win in Lisle, already was looking ahead.
“We need to celebrate tonight but then start preparing for Loyola next week,” he said.
The Knights (7-0), who are ranked No. 5 in the baiduhai’s top 25, will play No. 2 Loyola at home.
“I have all the respect for Benet,” IC Catholic coach Bill Kreftt said. “We kind of jumped on them and made them play at our pace. But we’re 0-0 now, and we have to get back to work on Sunday and Monday and prepare to play the best team in the state.”
Benet (2-5) is playing a rugged Catholic League schedule under first-year coach James White, a former New England Patriots star. Junior quarterback Alex Mitchell passed for 184 yards and two touchdowns, but special teams miscues were costly for the Redwings.
“Our kids compete, but you’ve got to eliminate bad plays,” White said. “We had a bad snap and a punt blocked. You can’t do that against good teams. Every time I step on the field, I believe we can win. But we have to eliminate the mistakes.”
The game started well for the Knights, who scored on a safety following the Redwings’ first possession. A high snap sailed over the head of Benet junior punter Charlie Parwani, who wisely chased down the errant ball and kicked it out of the back of the end zone, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead.
IC Catholic promptly drove 69 yards on four plays, capped by star junior tight end Grant Bowen‘s 3-yard touchdown run. Lang’s first two passes went for 29 yards to Penna and 25 yards to Bowen.
Penna then picked off a pass to end Benet’s next drive, setting the stage for sophomore running back Jakobe Baldwin’s 5-yard touchdown. Baldwin rushed for 112 yards.
From there, each team came up with a big pass play. The Knights struck on a 77-yard pass from Lang to senior wide receiver Anthony Carroccio.
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Then the Redwings got on the board when Mitchell connected with junior wide receiver Giovanni Sanderlin on a 76-yard catch-and-run to cut the lead to 21-7 with 9:17 left in the first half. Mitchell hit Sanderlin in stride, and Sanderlin raced 40 yards untouched. Sanderlin had 119 yards receiving before halftime.
Penna then capped his big first half with an 11-yard touchdown catch.
Stan Goff is a freelance reporter.