Brother Rice at Loyola was circled on the calendar of many high school football fans, and the Week 4 showdown lived up to all the expectations.
The Ramblers won 27-24 on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Lee to Joe Haughey with 1:10 left.
Both teams showcased high-level defenses, which is a rarity this season. High school football teams have been piling up the points for the past several years, but that has gone up another notch this season.
The defenses dominated the first half. The first offensive touchdown of the game came late in the third quarter. Then things opened up, and the teams began trading touchdowns.
Brother Rice broke loose for multiple big plays, including a 71-yard run by freshman quarterback Sam Holcomb, who is living up to his hype as a future star. Loyola was losing a player every few minutes to cramps and injuries.
“I’m not doing a good job conditioning our team, obviously,” Ramblers coach John Holecek said. “Way too many cramps.”
But Loyola was able to shut down Brother Rice on the final drive and secure the win.
“We had some guys go down, but we kept fighting,” linebacker Will Mettee said.
Mettee was the star of the game and is one of the area’s best players. But the Boston College recruit wasn’t the only standout. Haughey had six catches for 94 yards for the Ramblers. Lee was clutch when it counted and Loyola’s defense, which doesn’t have the star power of Brother Rice’s defense, was just as stout.
Crusaders coach Casey Quedenfeld was frustrated with some mental letdowns by his team late in the game, but his team is clearly the local favorite in the Class 7A state tournament. Loyola is a Class 8A team.
Super 25 updates
The impressive performance in the loss in Wilmette raises Brother Rice to No. 4 in the rankings.
Two teams, Montini and Geneva, dropped a few spots this week despite winning. There are valid reasons for that.
Sandburg, which has beaten Montini, lost at Homewood-Flossmoor in Week 4. So the Eagles have to drop below H-F for now but stay ahead of Montini.
Bolingbrook’s win against Oswego in Week 4 had major implications on the rankings. The Raiders jump to No. 14, Oswego drops to No. 15, and Geneva, which lost to Oswego at home in Week 3, falls to No. 19 behind a trio of unbeaten teams.
Fenwick drops out after losing to St. Ignatius, and Fremd is out after losing to Prospect by two touchdowns.
Undefeated Morris and Wheaton North join the Super 25. Both teams are making their season debut.
The Roadrunners hold on
Some readers may have an issue with Nazareth in the Super 25 with a 1-3 record, and that is understandable.
The Roadrunners have lost to three ranked teams: IC Catholic, Mount Carmel and Montini. They were competitive in two of the three and had a nice 27-3 win against York in Week 2.
That is just enough to keep Nazareth in the Super 25 for now, but it may have dropped out if more teams had assembled resumes worthy of the rankings.
Undefeated Zion-Benton
Zion-Benton may have never appeared in the Super 25 rankings, and it doesn’t join this week, but the Zee-Bees are 4-0 for the first time in recent memory and beat Stevenson in Week 4. That hasn’t happened since 1988.
Ohio recruit Jamere French, a running back, is Zion-Benton’s star player. He ran for 297 yards and four touchdowns against Stevenson.
Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 5
With record and last week’s ranking
1. Loyola (4-0) 1
Won 27-24 vs. Brother Rice
Next: Saturday at Benet
2. Mount Carmel (3-1) 2
Won 56-26 vs. Marist
Next: Friday at St. Patrick
3. Lincoln-Way East (4-0) 3
Won 50-7 vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais
Next: Friday at No. 12 Sandburg
4. Brother Rice (2-2) 6
Lost 27-24 at Loyola
Next: Friday at Notre Dame
5. Providence (4-0) 5
Won 31-7 vs. Carmel
Next: Friday at No. 22 Nazareth
6. Hersey (4-0) 7
Won 38-7 vs. Barrington
Next: Friday vs. Buffalo Grove
7. Batavia (3-1) 8
Won 55-7 vs. Lake Park
Next: Friday vs. St. Charles North
8. IC Catholic (4-0) 10
Won 33-7 vs. DePaul Prep
Next: Friday vs. Leo
9. St. Rita (2-2) 11
Won 28-12 vs. St. Francis
Next: Friday vs. St. Ignatius
10. Maine South (3-1) 13
Won 35-28 at New Trier
Next: Friday at Deerfield
11. Homewood-Flossmoor (3-1) 22
Won 35-13 vs. Sandburg
Next: Friday at Lincoln-Way Central
12. Sandburg (3-1)
Lost 35-13 at Homewood-Flossmoor
Next: Friday vs. No. 3 Lincoln-Way East
13. Montini (3-1) 12
Won 47-42 at Nazareth
Next: Friday vs. Carmel
14. Bolingbrook (3-1) 25
Won 21-7 vs. Oswego
Next: Friday vs. Plainfield Central
15. Oswego (3-1) 4
Lost 21-7 at Bolingbrook
Next: Friday vs. Plainfield South
16. Lyons (4-0) 16
Won 38-28 at Hinsdale Central
Next: Friday vs. No. 21 Glenbard West
17. Downers Grove North (4-0) 17
Won 24-14 vs. Glenbard West
Next: Friday vs. Proviso West
18. Prospect (4-0) 18
Won 35-21 vs. Fremd
Next: Friday vs. Elk Grove
19. Geneva (3-1) 14
Won 28-26 at Wheaton-Warrenville South
Next: Friday at Lake Park
20. Kankakee (3-1) 20
Won 40-6 vs. Thornton
Next: Friday at Lincoln-Way West
21. Glenbard West (2-2) 15
Lost 24-14 at Downers Grove North
Next: Friday at No. 16 Lyons
22. Nazareth (1-3) 21
Lost 47-42 vs. Montini
Next: Friday vs. No. 5 Providence
23. Wheaton North (4-0) NR
Won 34-17 at St. Charles North
Next: Friday vs. St. Charles East
24. New Trier (3-1) 24
Lost 35-28 vs. Maine South
Next: Friday at Niles West
25. Morris (4-0) NR
Won 35-6 vs. Kaneland
Next: Friday at Rochelle