Loyola coach Beau Desherow thought his team overcame its toughest adversity of the season in its 21-5 win over St. Rita on Friday.

Brother Rice previously held the Ramblers to their tightest win of the season when it lost 41-24 before the Mustangs made it a 16-point game. Desherow liked the way Loyola battled back after not playing its cleanest game.

“It gives you a chance to look at those challenges and coach through them, teach through them,” Desherow said. “Hopefully it better prepares you for down the road.”

The Ramblers’ young offense faced its first adversity of the season with turnovers and penalties that killed drives. St. Rita held it to a 14-5 Loyola lead before quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald ran in his second touchdown of the game with four minutes left in the game.

Loyola’s senior-heavy defense at all three levels helped the Ramblers limit the Mustangs offense to a field goal. Joe Kelly continued his impressive season on the defensive line while Kenny Langston, Emmanuel Ofosu and Matt Vallace all shored up the secondary.

“It was one of those nights where it was a bend but don’t break type of night,” Desherow said. “We gave up some big plays, had some pass interference calls that extended drives, but when we got backed up against it, the defense bowed up and held out.”

Desherow thought the test St. Rita gave his team was exactly what Loyola needed after a 5-0 start to the season without much adversity. The road won’t get much easier with IC Catholic on the horizon Friday, who has shown it can compete in the CCL/ESCC.

“They pose problems for sure,” Dehserow said. “I can see why they’ve been so successful.”

Roadrunners showing off growth

Nazareth’s 26-16 win over Fenwick on Friday was another week of growth as the Roadrunners try to turn the tables after an 0-4 start.

“I just credit the kids because they just kept believing and kept focusing on what we were doing wrong and what we needed to improve upon,” Nazareth coach Tim Racki said. “Sure enough, even though the record doesn’t indicate it, we’ve been playing better each week. I’m glad, especially these last two weeks, that the scoreboards have been reading in our favor with how hard they’ve been working.”

The Roadrunners’ 2-4 record doesn’t truly convey how their season has gone. Other than their 42-13 loss to York in Week 2, Nazareth’s losses were close games — 33-26 to Kankakee, 24-23 to Montini and 36-34 to IC Catholic in overtime.

“It gives you a chance to look at those challenges and coach through them, teach through them. Hopefully it better prepares you for down the road.”

—  Beau Desherow, Loyola head coach

Racki thought mental mistakes caused them to lose those close games, something they’re not doing anymore in beating both St. Ignatius and Fenwick.

“I’m impressed to see the kids with how mature they are, listening to me with how close we’ve been, not to lose sight of the growth that we’ve been experiencing and take your eyes off the wins and loss record,” Racki said. “It’s just a matter of time, sure enough it’s been coming into fruition.”

Nazareth will now try to top what it did last season when it started the year 2-4 and went on to win the Class 5A state championship, the first time that feat was accomplished in IHSA history. The Roadrunners host Brother Rice on Friday before playing Marian Catholic and St. Francis to end the season.

Racki is only focused on continued improvement as his team tries to accomplish the improbable.

“Even though it’s hard, you have to improve,” Racki said. “That’s our goal this week, we don’t have a choice but to improve against a great Brother Rice team.”

Hilltoppers offense clicking

Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski thought his offense found something in its 21-20 come-from-behind win over Marist on Friday.

“Hopefully that’s a grow-up moment for our offense,” Jaworski said. “It’s kind of something we’ve been preaching. Credit to some guys for stepping up.”

The Hilltoppers made impressive plays to come back from a 17-7 halftime deficit, including driving 93 yards late in the fourth quarter to score the game-winning touchdown.

Joliet Catholic quarterback Andres Munoz was a big reason for the comeback, throwing three touchdown passes to Adrian Washington. Munoz thinks the offense can keep it going as it pushes for a playoff berth and CCL/ESCC Green title.

“It’s a mega confidence booster,” Munoz said. “We know we can do it now and that puts a lot more confidence in our guys that can make plays. We know we can come back from that much down.”

RedHawks playing it out

Marist coach Ron Dawczak wants his seniors to enjoy the rest of the season as the RedHawks sit at a 1-5 record.

He said the seniors have meant a lot to the program over the last four years and wants them to enjoy playing what he considers the best sport in the world.

“The time that we have left together, they have to soak up every minute of it and the way to do that is to continue to play as hard as they can,” Dawczak said. “My juniors, I challenged them to make sure they work as hard as they can to let these guys go out on the right foot because of all the hard work they put in.”

Division-title matchups set

Most of the CCL/ESCC division-title scenarios are set for Week 9.

St. Laurence (White), Carmel (Purple) and Marian Catholic (Red) each have 2-0 division records and have already won at least a share of the division title. Montini and Providence sit at 1-1 in the White, St. Viator and St. Patrick are 1-1 in the Purple while DePaul Prep and De La Salle are 1-1 in the Red.

Loyola and Mount Carmel are both 2-0 and will play for an outright Blue title in Week 9 while Joliet Catholic and St. Ignatius will play for an outright Green crown.

IC Catholic, St. Francis, Nazareth and Fenwick are all 1-1 in the Orange. IC Catholic will play Fenwick in Week 9 while the Roadrunners play the Spartans.