Issac’s efforts lift Joliet Catholic

Updated: October 14, 2011 11:07PM

Call it the perfect eight.

Joliet Catholic star junior running back Tyrone Isaac carried the ball eight times. He gained 183 yards and scored four touchdowns as the visiting No. 15 Hilltoppers erupted for 49 unanswered points in a big win over St. Patrick 56-7 Friday night at Hanson Stadium.

Joliet Catholic (7-1, 6-1 East Suburban Catholic) scored on all eight of its meaningful possessions save for a kneel down to end the game.

“I think you see it with our offense, with the way we run the ball, we have a really nice rhythm going,” Isaac said.

Isaac gashed the Shamrocks for 136 yards on six carries in the first half.

“It all starts with the line,” he said. “They opened great holes and there was a lot of open space to run through.”

The game appeared to have the makings of a shootout. After senior running back Malin Jones (10 carries, 75 yards, two touchdowns) started the onslaught with a 49-yard touchdown burst, St. Patrick answered with Steve Galiardo’s 55-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Tentler.

After the Shamrocks (3-5, 2-5) gained 129 yards on its first two possessions, Joliet Catholic shut the door defensively.

“Our defense is like that, once they get a good rhythm going they just know how to shut teams down and give us more opportunities offensively to do what we do,” Isaac said.

Isaac scored on runs of 28 yards and 1 yard. He punctuated his superb first half by scoring on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Craig Slowik (4-6, 85 yards) with 14 seconds remaining in the second quarter for the Hilltoppers’ commanding 42-7 lead at the break.

Isaac’s 47-yard third quarter touchdown was his only carry of the second half.

“If you’ve seen the evolution of our offense from the day one to now, you see how we’ve really come together as a team and not just playing as a bunch of individuals,” Jones said.

Defensive back Brody Wilhelmi set up one touchdown with a blocked punt and linebacker Austin Miller recorded an interception. Running backs Tyler Reitz and Nate Dollinger added touchdown runs for the Hilltoppers.

Joliet Catholic has outscored its last two opponents 120-20 after Nazareth stunned the Hilltoppers 24-21.

“You never liked to lose, but sometimes a loss will do more for you than a victory,” Jones said. “We definitely overlooked Nazareth and we take every game very seriously now. You saw that tonight.”

Tentler finished 8-16 for 127 yards for the Shamrocks, who suffered their fifth straight loss.

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