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Football: Records shattered as Montini tops Joliet Catholic
Updated: November 26, 2011 4:38PM
CHAMPAIGN – John Rhode, like everyone else at Memorial Stadium, could see where Saturday’s Class 5A championship game was heading.
“In the second quarter, it was touchdown, touchdown,” the Montini quarterback said. “It was a shootout. I knew it was going to come down to who could score most, who could make a stop on defense.”
It took until late in the third quarter, but Montini did make a few defensive stands and that was enough to overcome a 515-yard, six-touchdown rushing game by Joliet Catholic’s Ty Isaac in an epic 70-45 victory, the highest scoring title game in state history.
The Broncos (12-2) won their third consecutive Class 5A title and fourth championship overall behind an offense that piled up 853 yards, 587 of them on passes by Rhode (29 of 45, seven touchdowns, interception). Nebraska-bound receiver Jordan Westerkamp had 11 catches for 331 yards and five scores, while Joe Borsellino (10 catches, 142 yards) and Anthony Taylor (seven catches, 113 yards) each caught one scoring pass.
Borsellino also ran for two scores out of Montini’s version of the Wildcat, which it calls the Joecat, and Dimitri Taylor ran for 196 yards and a touchdown.
“I didn’t expect we’d have to score 70,” Rhode said, but for much of the day it looked as if that would be the case, thanks to Isaac.
The junior broke free for a 71-yard touchdown run barely a minute into the game and by halftime he already had 376 rushing yards, breaking the title-game rushing record of 373 yards set a day earlier by Dakota’s Jake Apple. Isaac added touchdown runs of 63, 56 and 66 yards in the first half, which ended with Joliet Catholic (11-3) up 31-28.
“It was great to score, but [it] wasn’t even something you could enjoy,” Isaac said. “It was something we needed. ... They’re putting up points, we’ve got to come back and put up points. There was no time to sit around and think about it.”
The pace didn’t slack in the third quarter, which featured five lead changes. The last came on Dimitri Taylor’s 30-yard run with 3:48 left, which put Montini up 49-45.
Westerkamp, who had scoring catches of four, 54 and five yards in the first three quarters, added 64- and 94-yarders in the final 12 minutes. Montini’s defense, meanwhile, was clamping down.
After Isaac scored his fifth and sixth touchdowns on runs of two and 69 yards, Joliet Catholic came up empty on its next five possessions. Three ended on turnovers (including two fumbles by Isaac) and two on downs.
“It’s very humbling when somebody scores 70 on you,” said Joliet Catholic coach Dan Sharp, whose team also had 187 rushing yards from Malin Jones. “Our offense played very well. We had [five] turnovers and we turned the ball over on downs or we would have been up around 70 as well.”
And unlike most days, that’s what the Hilltoppers would have needed to win.
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