Marist’s Chris Lofgren went into halftime Friday night with a chip on his shoulder.
The senior running back just got stuffed by Brother Rice’s defensive line on third down at the 1-yard line and then again on fourth down. And his team trailed by three points.
He made a vow to his teammates.
“I told my team I owe them one,” Lofgren said. “I was mad. That just drives you. You can’t lay down when you face adversity. You just can’t.
“I got stopped twice, so I owed them one.”
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Lofgren paid up with three touchdowns in the second half as the RedHawks rallied for a 34-16 CCL/ESCC win over neighborhood rival Brother Rice.
In a regular-season finale at Tom Mitchell Field in Chicago, Lofgren had only 16 yards on seven carries in the first half for Marist, which trailed 10-7 at halftime.
But his first carry in the second half was a twisting, turning, tackle-breaking 35-yard run for a TD. He added two more TDs en route to finishing with 113 yards on 17 carries.
Senior receiver/defensive back John Nestor, an Iowa recruit, gave Lofgren the ultimate compliment.
“That kid is a dog,” Nestor said. “He’s been an underdog all of his life. People are always saying he can’t do this and he can’t do that.
“He gets stuffed twice and comes out and does that — that’s his personality. He’s been a huge key. He’s just a dog. That’s all I can say.”
Senior quarterback Dermot Smyth passed for 249 yards and a TD to Mike Donegan and also ran for 33 yards.
Perhaps the biggest play he made, however, wasn’t on offense. It was a 44-yard punt that landed at the Crusaders’ 1 in the third quarter and helped change the game’s complexion.
“It was probably lucky,” Smyth said of the punt. “I thought it was going into the end zone, but it didn’t. I was happy about that. It was nuts.”
“‘Derm’ makes plays, no matter if it’s offense or special teams,” Nestor said. “That was a huge play.”
Nestor ended up with four catches for 54 yards. On defense, he joined Jake Stefanos and Eric Lewis in picking up interceptions in the second half.
“John is a big-time player who makes big-time plays in big-time games,” Smyth said. “That’s when you need him.”
Brother Rice still leads the rivalry series 23-19 but it was a tough loss for the Crusaders (5-4, 0-3), who took second in the state last season in Class 7A.
Senior wide receiver Owen Lyons saw the tide turn but also is looking forward to the future.
“We went into halftime super happy and we were all pumped up,” he said. “But there were some mistakes that ruined the momentum. We never picked it up from there.
“The best part about it is the playoffs are here and everyone is 0-0.”
Aside from stopping Lofgren before halftime, Brother Rice’s defense thwarted the RedHawks twice on fourth-and-1 plays in the first half.
Senior quarterback Ryan Hartz completed 20 of 40 passes for 257 yards with TDs to Rickey Taylor and Randall Nauden. Michael Bos had eight catches for 137 yards. Lyons added five catches for 52 yards.
But Marist’s defense held Brother Rice to 18 yards rushing on 15 carries. The RedHawks celebrated with many students who stormed the field after the game.
With the playoffs approaching, Lofgren wants to use this win for momentum.
“We’ve got to keep this train going — it means everything,” he said. “All the seniors have each other’s backs and the juniors know what time it is.
“The end of the season is crunchtime. When its crunchtime, we gotta go.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.