Ferguson rushes Hilltoppers to win

A future Fighting Illini ran wild Friday night.

Joliet Catholic senior running back Josh Ferguson rushed for 243 yards and four touchdowns as the Hilltoppers routed Nazareth 57-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

The Hilltoppers (4-1, 1-1) rolled up 604 yards of total offense, including 573 yards rushing, in beating the Roadrunners (2-3, 1-2) on homecoming.

"We just hit on all cylinders," said Ferguson, who has committed to Illinois. "Our line played well. Our backs played well. We just executed."

The Hilltoppers' first touchdown was set up by their defense. Linebacker Michael Mettille intercepted Nazareth quarterback Matthew Behrendt and returned the ball 18 yards to the Roadrunners' 2. Ferguson scored on the next play to make it 6-0. Malin Jones added a two-point conversion run to make it 8-0.

JCA senior quarterback Breshion Tucker scored the next touchdown on an 11-yard run with 1:09 to play in the first quarter to make it 15-0. From that point on, it was all Ferguson.

He scored on a 93-yard touchdown run to make it 22-0 with 10:06 left in the second quarter. A Nazareth punt gave JCA the ball on its own 38. Five plays later, Ferguson went 43 yards untouched to the endzone.

Ferguson finished the half with a 45-yard touchdown run that was highlighted by a move he made on the Roadrunners' safety that sent the safety grasping at air in one direction while Ferguson disappeared in the other direction.

Jones closed the JCA scoring in the first half with a 16-yard run that made it 43-0 with :37 left in the second quarter.

Ferguson ended up the half and the game with 243 yards rushing on 10 carries. Jones added 103 yards on seven carries. The Hilltoppers added a 14-yard touchdown run by running back Ty Isaac in the third quarter, and an 85-yard touchdown run by running back Nick Rodriguez in the fourth quarter for the final score.

Ferguson summed up his night by giving credit where credit was due.

"It was a great effort by the linemen. They gave me great holes to run through. They executed very well," Ferguson said of JCA offensive linemen Patrick Gould, Kyle Rouse, Elijah Radakovich, Jake Jankowski and Ben Pry as well as tight end Alex Kolodziej.

"Our guys give ‘Fergy' just a little space to run through, and he's got that great acceleration," JCA coach Dan Sharp said. "Guys didn't just have trouble tackling him, they trouble touching him. He is one of those guys John Madden referred to as the kid who didn't get touched in the game of ‘it.'

"He put some moves on safeties that were just downright unbelievable. He's as talented as a football player as we've ever had here, and he showed it tonight."

Sharp wasn't surprised by Ferguson's crediting of his teammates for his performance.

"Josh is very close to his offensive linemen, and they give everything all the time for these backs," Sharp said. "They know when they break that huddle that there is lightning behind them and that all three of those backs can go at any time. If they do their job, we have a chance at some big plays."

Travis Jensen and Garrett Earl also added interceptions for the Hilltoppers' defense, which held Nazareth to nine first downs and 171 yards of total offense.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.