After highs and lows of regular season, Joliet Catholic shining in the playoffs once again

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: Joliet Catholic holds the record for the most state championships in Illinois.

JCA’s football team shares that distinction with Mount Carmel after last year, but the point is the Hilltoppers have won 15 state titles in their storied history. It’s been three years since they added to that number, and they came up just short in the title game last season.

This season, however, there have been some peaks and valleys not common for JCA.

A 17-0 loss to Oswego, falling to defending Class 5A state champion Nazareth 16-13 and losing to that same Mount Carmel team 35-21. Even some of its victories have required a lot of work with three single-digit wins and a win by forfeit.

Toss in a pair of wins by 28 points, and the Hilltoppers finished 6-3 in the regular season. JCA won the state title in 2018 with four losses in the regular season, but the typical dominance wasn’t there the first nine weeks of this year.

But this is the playoffs. Only Mount Carmel knows as much about this time as JCA does while no one knows more.

Joliet Catholic opened the postseason with a 58-6 win over Edwardsville before going on the road to demolish Sacred-Heart Griffin 49-0. In that second game, JCA scored every possession except the ones ended by the first half whistle and the final whistle. Even the second unit scored, while the Cyclones struggled to move the ball past midfield against JCA’s defense.

“I thought we played really physical and took it to them from a physical standpoint,” JCA coach Jake Jaworski said Saturday. “I thought we were kind of methodical that first drive going 12 plays or so and setting the tone. The defense came out and got a stop right away after that to get the ball rolling.”

That’s not just coach speak. The Hilltoppers put together as complete of a performance Saturday as they had all season. The run game was led by Nate Magrini, who ran for 148 yards on 12 carries. But the rest of the run game was outstanding, too, as eight other backs ran for 218 on 33 carries.

Of course, that’s JCA’s MO. What was perhaps most impressive is that the Hilltoppers got the passing game involved as well. Three of Lucas Simulick’s five completions were touchdown passes, and all five completions went to a different receiver as everything was rolling on offense.

“[We] have to thank God first and foremost,” Magrini said. “Then it’s about the O-line as they opened up some great blocks for me. All my teammates showed out today.”

That’s just the offense. The defense compiled seven sacks by seven defenders. The 35 points allowed to Mount Carmel was a season high, and they also allowed 30 to Marist. After that, however, the Hilltoppers gave up 22 against Iowa City in a 28-point victory and have held their opponents under 20 points in seven contests.

“We have to give credit to our scout team on defense,” Simulick said. “Our defense is just a bunch of grinders. They go to the gym in the morning and give 100%. They’re so physical and they work together well.”

That team mentality has dominated the JCA culture for a long time. It’s what’s earned them two state championships the first seven years of Jaworski’s tenure. It’s what the team hopes will lead them to a third in his eighth season.

To do that, first they have to win a 5A quarterfinal contest against Peoria on Saturday on the road. Aside from scoring 18 points in each of its losses, Peoria has scored 44 points or better in every game this season. The Hilltoppers won 40-16 last season, but as this playoff run has shown, things can change a lot in a short amount of time.

The Hilltoppers aren’t looking at what happened then, last month or even last week. They’re just focused on doing what they need to do each day to take home a victory.

“We played Peoria in the first round of the playoffs last year, and they’re an explosive bunch,” Jaworski said. “We need to prevent the big play on defense and be physical while pounding the ball on offense. I think the last few weeks we’ve been really physical, and that’s really shown. We just have to do what we do, take care of business, take care of the football, create turnovers and do what we do.”