Battle of backs in 7A semifinal

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:02PM

It's not likely there will be a running clock in Saturday's Class 7A semifinal game between St. Rita and Lake Zurich, but that doesn't mean the clock won't be running.

Both teams run the ball. St. Rita runs it 87 percent of the time. Lake Zurich's top four rushers have combined for 2,633 yards and 31 touchdowns.

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. It may be over by 9.

"That's fine," St. Rita coach Todd Kuska said. "That's what we're kinda built for. This will be pretty much like Carmel-Mundelein last Saturday night."

Against Carmel, the Mustangs played their most complete game of the season. They administered a 21-0 pasting to advance to the state semifinals for the first time since 2006, when they beat Lake Zurich in the 7A championship.

That was Bryan Stortz's first year as coach of the Bears. He took a midpack program and instantly made them elite. Lake Zurich is 51-12 since he took over, with an 11-1 record - identical to St. Rita - this season.

The team advancing to Champaign will be the one stopping the run. St. Rita did so against Carmel, holding the Corsairs to 157 yards rushing, 183 under their average.

"The kids really responded against Carmel," Kuska said. "We had just never put it together this season. We were able to clean up our mistakes."

To repeat the performance against the Bears, a quick-hitting offensive team that runs pitch plays to perfection, the Mustangs' linebackers will have to swarm Jacob Brinlee (1,394 yards, 14 touchdowns) and backups Mike Shield and Jon Mularz, who have combined for 857 yards and 11 touchdowns.

"It all starts and stops with our linebackers," Kuska said. "When you play teams like Carmel and Lake Zurich, it's assignment football. Do your job and do not worry about the other guy."

That means senior Matt Mullen (114 tackles) and juniors Charles Elmore (92 tackles, three sacks) and Will McNamara (88 tackles, four sacks) will have their work cut out. They'll have help from a front line that includes Joe Filomeno (57, five sacks).

Offensively, St. Rita won't surprise the Bears. They'll be expecting the usual power I tactics, with Jahwon Akui (1,565 yards, 22 touchdowns) leading the charge. Akui's 105 yards and two touchdowns paced the Mustangs against the Corsairs.

Lake Zurich held Simeon, its quarterfinal foe, to 14 points and 150 offensive yards. The Wolverines had been averaging 51 points a game. St. Rita averages 28.9.

"We're chugging along," Kuska said. "Just doing our thing."

For both schools, that thing includes passing. Brendan Johnson's precision passing on Saturday opened the running lanes up for St. Rita against Carmel. Lake Zurich's Zach Till, while he's thrown only 86 passes this season for 688 yards, gained 225 of those yards on just six completions against Mundelein on a day Brinlee was out with an injured ankle.

"That's what makes this game very similar," Kuska said. "Just because we don't pass 40 times a game doesn't mean we can't pass."

Still, don't wait up late waiting for either team to throw the ball around the field. The game will be over by then.

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