Marist’s Owen Winters had faith.
The junior quarterback had faith in himself after suffering through a miserable third quarter. And he had faith in Stephen Brown, his 6-foot-7 sophomore receiver, even though there were a few incompletions between the two.
“We are taught that when things are going bad,” Winters said, “to just flush it and keep moving on.”
The RedHawks made all the right moves with 38 seconds left Friday night.
Winters connected with Brown on a 33-yard touchdown pass to lift host Marist to a 30-24 victory over Pulaski Road rival Brother Rice in a CCL/ESCC crossover game in Chicago.
“That’s my man — I love him,” Brown said of Winters. “It’s me being a sophomore playing varsity and him trusting me. Even though we missed those passes, he trusted me.”
Winters threw for 160 yards and a TD and ran for 96 yards to lead Marist (1-1). Senior quarterback Ryan Hartz completed 23 of 43 passes for 263 yards to pace Brother Rice (1-1).
On the final play of the game, Hartz hit Dylan McDonnell with a 43-yard pass, but it was short of the goal line by 10 yards.
Both teams headed into the game coming off road games dominated by defense as Brother Rice won 10-7 over Maine South and Marist dropped a 7-6 heartbreaker to Glenbard West.
But in this one, Marist scored the first 24 points and Brother Rice responded with 24 points to force a tie and set up Winters’ subsequent heroics.
“We came out a little flat in the second half, but we fought as a team and we got the W,” Winters said. “This game was awesome. I mean, the atmosphere was crazy. There is nothing like it.”
Marist held an athletic Hall of Fame ceremony at halftime, which included the induction of former wide receivers Dan Piko, who graduated in 2010, and Nic Weishar, who graduated in 2014 and went on to play tight end at Notre Dame.
Brown put on a show that Piko and Weishar will remember with the winning grab in his debut.
“You can look at him — he’s 6-foot-7 and a freak athlete,” Winters said. “I thought if I could get it up there, he could make the play.”
Brown, who calls himself a “basketball player who plays football,” played freshman football for the RedHawks last year and was promoted to the varsity this season but didn’t play in the opener because he didn’t have enough practice time.
He finished Friday with four catches for 106 yards.
“This is crazy,” Brown said of playing varsity. “It’s a lot different. It’s more physical. I wasn’t really expecting all this.
“When I was a freshman, I would catch some passes and score some touchdowns. But on varsity, its real football. You get tackled every play. It’s physical.”
It’s also a close call. Marist has won two straight games in the rivalry, but Brother Rice has a 23-20 lead in the series.
The RedHawks helped make coach Ron Dawczak’s 48th birthday a little happier as well.
The players sang “Happy Birthday” to him after the game, and he was happy they delivered him a wild victory.
Dawczak said Winters’ play was inspiring to the team.
“He’s just a tremendous athlete,” Dawczak said. “And he’s a leader for us. Our guys rally around him, and he was able to carry the offense by making good reads, putting the ball out there and allowing our receivers to make big plays at big moments.
“This was huge. For him as a senior, he was a steadying force for us, and his calm demeanor was great. Guys could have been losing their heads. It’s what led us to victory. Guys looked at him and remained calm.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.