The Joliet Catholic Hilltoppers rolled into Hanson Stadium last Friday ranked as the top team in the state with a 26 game winning streak, and they were nearly taken down by the Shamrocks of Saint Patrick. The Hilltoppers prevailed 48-45 in what has come to be an almost typical Saint Patrick shootout. In a match up of two of the top offensive players in the state, Saint Patrick quarterback Tom Barrett shredded the Joliet Catholic secondary for 324 yards and a career-high six touchdowns, while Hilltopper running back Joe Benson rushed for 337 yards and five touchdowns of his own.

Saint Patrick took the opening kickoff and engineered an eight-play, 81-yard drive with Barrett hitting Paul Lombardi for a 52-yard touchdown to open the scoring. The Hilltoppers answered with a 65-yard drive capped by a Bill McKeon three-yard run. The Shamrocks responded with a 61-yard drive. This time Barrett connected with Matt Ledenbach for a 31-yard score. The Hilltoppers tied the game on a 35-yard run by Benson, and the first quarter came to a close with the teams tied at 14.

In the second quarter the Shamrocks poured it on with the help of two huge fourth down conversions. Early in the quarter the Shamrocks faced a fourth and one at the Joliet Catholic 46. Dan O’Donnell got the first down with a three-yard run, and Barrett hit Ledenbach for a 43-yard score on the following play. The Shamrock defense forced a three and out, and Saint Patrick got the ball back at their own 48. Facing fourth and 11 at the Hilltopper 40, Saint Patrick lined up in a punt formation, and punter Mike Kotz hit Lombardi over the middle for 32 yards and a first down. Two plays later Barrett hooked up with Ledenbach for his third touchdown of the game, this one from eight yards out. The Shamrock defense held again, and when Chris Gasiorek made a 22-yard field goal Saint Patrick took a 31-14 lead into the half.

The Hilltoppers took the second half kickoff, and scored on a strange play. Facing fourth and three at the Shamrock 49, McKeon gained the first down around right end, but the ball popped loose as he went down. Dan Hrvatin alertly scooped it up and carried it 44-yards for a touchdown. Shane Keane’s kick missed, and it was 31-20. The Shamrocks were forced to punt for the first time, but got the ball back when Hrvatin fumbled the ball on their first play from scrimmage. On the next play Barrett hit Lombardi down the left sideline for a 33-yard score to make it 38-20. The Hilltoppers answered with an 80-yard scoring drive that Benson finished with a 15-yard run. McKeon scored the two-point conversion, and it was 38-28. On the first play of Saint Patrick’s next drive, Barrett’s pass was picked off and the Hilltoppers took over at their own 40. Four plays later Benson cut the Shamrock lead to four, scoring on a 16-yard run to make it 38-34. The Shamrocks were stopped again, but again Hrvatin fumbled and the Shamrocks got the ball back at the Hilltopper 46 as the third quarter ended.

Facing fourth and three at the Hilltopper 27, Barrett hit Kotz with a pass, but they came up two feet short of the first down. The Hilltoppers methodically worked their way down the field on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ate up over five minutes off the clock. Benson capped the drive with a two-yard run that gave Joliet the lead, and McKeon’s two-point conversion made it 42-38. Brian Ruiz gave the Shamrocks great field position with a 30-yard kickoff return, but Jordan Kielian intercepted Barrett on their first play from scrimmage. Benson capitalized with a 51-yard run on the very next play to make it 48-38 Hilltoppers with 3:56 remaining. There is no quit in the Shamrocks, and they fought back with a 47-yard strike from Barrett to Ledenbach on a post pattern that made it 48-45 with 3:09 remaining. The Hilltoppers recovered Gasiorek’s onside kick, and they were able to run the clock out.

Joliet Catholic finished with 560 yards of total offense, with 513 of it coming on the ground. Saint Patrick did their damage through the air, passing for 356 of their 414 yards of offense. Ledenbach caught seven passes for 150 yards and four scores, while Lombardi had five catches for 124 yards and a pair of touchdowns.