Tyler's Ultimate: Hudetz puts JCA on his back

Joliet Catholic back Tyler Hudetz runs through the tackle of Crete-Monee's Christopher Buckley.

(John Patsch/Staff Photographer)

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JOLIET -- Nobody ever will mistake Tyler Hudetz for Michael Jordan.

But, for one night, Hudetz made like his royal Highness.

He shrugged off a 102-degree temperature and the last remnants of the flu to put on a show in the opening round of the 6A football playoffs.

Hudetz combined for 262 yards rushing and receiving in Joliet Catholic Academy's 30-6 victory over Crete-Monee on Friday night at Memorial Stadium.

He also climbed to No. 2 on JCA's list of all-time leading rushers. And the run that took him past former JCA standout Mike Alstott was a beauty.

Hudetz, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior, picked his way through the middle of the line and burst 27 yards into the end zone to put JCA (8-2) on top 10-0 at the 5:20 mark of the first quarter. He went on to rush for 186 yards on 27 carries. He scored three touchdowns.

And he caught five passes for 76 yards.

Hudetz boosted his four-year rushing total to 4,004. Alstott ran for 3,839 yards from 1989-91. He later went on to earn All-Big Ten honors at Purdue. He played 12 years in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. J.R. Zwierzynski is JCA's all-time leading rusher with 5,070 yards from 1998-2001.

Hudetz pulled off his Michael Jordan-like heroics running into the teeth of a seven-man defensive front as Crete-Monee (6-4) stacked the line of scrimmage in an attempt to derail his little locomotive legs. He is listed at 5-10 on the JCA roster -- but looks more like 5-6 or 5-7. When he ducks behind JCA's big offensive line, he is hard to find, let alone catch.

"He may be No. 2 on the list, but tonight he's No. 1 in our hearts, isn't he?" JCA coach Dan Sharp said. "He's an amazing young man. And he did it with a 102-degree temperature. He has a terrible flu bug. I sent him home from practice Wednesday. He missed all day yesterday. He really looked groggy in school today.

"But I guess he took a page out of Michael Jordan's book. When you're sick and you have the flu, you just go out and have one of your best performances. And this team was really geared up. They were overplaying Tyler (Hudetz). And that's why (Dave) Janicki made some big plays. Calvin Smith had some nice runs. And, then, our quarterback, Matt Ginnetti, made some great plays. And Hudetz helped us catching ball."

JCA moves on to face rival Providence Catholic in Round 2 next weekend in New Lenox. The Celtics (6-4) blanked Oak Forest 30-0 to do their part in setting up a battle that will be hyped all week.

"Well, it's the second round of the playoffs, and let's get after it," Sharp said. "It's going to be a great football game. I haven't seen them on tape yet. I know we're going to exchange tonight, and the coaches will get to work tomorrow morning. Then, we'll go scout as well. But I think the community and the Joliet area and the New Lenox area -- they'll be excited for this game.

"I know our kids will be excited. I think both teams will play. Both teams will give it all they have and will have a lot of fun out there. Whatever happens -- whoever wins the game -- it's going to be a great effort on both sides, I know that."

JCA will look to duplicate its start vs. Crete.

The Hilltoppers took the opening kickoff and marched downfield in 14 plays, a 6-minute 30-second drive culminating in a 34-yard field goal by Rob Cranmer.

Crete's Adrian McElveen bobbled the ensuing kickoff, then was hit and coughed up the ball. Steve Fehrenbacher recovered at the 27.

Hudetz scored on the next play -- and had room to wave goodbye to Alstott as he crossed the goal line all by himself. The touchdown run gave JCA a 10-point lead before Crete ran a play from scrimmage.

"It's a honor to be No. 2, just being up there and looked at like that," Hudetz said. "I never expected being up there like that. I don't really pay too much attention to the numbers. I just play game-by-game with my buddies out there. And that's awesome to look at, but I'd rather have a state championship trophy than have a record for all those yards."

JCA extended its lead to 17-0 on a 1-yard scoring run by Smith. The Hilltoppers were set up on a short field once again, this time after Jake Stockman partially blocked a punt by Crete's Gary Young.

The Warriors closed to within 17-6 on a 5-yard run by Justin Roudez. Hudetz answered with a 10-yard TD run that put JCA ahead 23-6 at halftime. He scored again on a 7-yard run in fourth quarter as JCA hogged the ball and took Crete out of its offensive rhythm. The Warriors' spread-option attack never clicked into high gear.

Fehrenbacher added an interception to go with his fumble recovery. Nick Ratajczak also intercepted a pass as the Hilltoppers limited Crete to 211 yards total offense, 122 of that total coming via the airwaves. A.J. Plese registered four sacks.

"Oh, yeah, my fumble recovery did everything," Fehrenbacher said. "It set the tone for the game. When got things going. The offense comes out and scores right away. We got the job done."

Ginnetti completed 6 of 10 passes for 85 yards. Roudez completed 12 of 20 for 122 yards to top Crete. Brian Hatwood rushed for 78 yards on 7 carries.

"We tried to give them some different looks, do some different things," Crete coach Jerry Verde said. "Obviously, it didn't work out all that well. Joliet Catholic is a very good team. The coaching staff is really, really great. They got us. We made mistakes in that first quarter that we never did recover from."