Lee-to-Haughey heroics give Ramblers thrilling Catholic League victory

Rallying repeatedly in the second half, undefeated Loyola Academy passed what figures to be one of its most rigorous tests of the regular season on Friday night.

A 47-yard touchdown pass play that saw Matthew Lee connect with Joe Haughey with 70 seconds remaining gave the Ramblers a thrilling 27-24 victory over Brother Rice in their homecoming game at Hoerster Field.

“We were trying to get a one-on-one situation like that all night,” Haughey said. “When they scored (on Rocco Galasso’s 4-yard pass to Lucas Strang with 3:08 on the clock) we knew we had to respond. Give a shoutout to the offensive line and Matthew Lee.”

“The line did a good job of protecting me, Joe made his move on their cornerback, I let it go, Joe made the catch and took it to the end zone,” said Lee.

Earlier the Ramblers trailed 10-7 with 5:40 to play in the third quarter and 17-13 with 7:34 left in the game.

The defending IHSA Class 7A champion Crusaders (now 2-2) went into the contest No. 3 in the Chicago Tribune’s Sept. 11 metropolitan area rankings, while Loyola (now 4-0) was No. 5.

Co-starring with Haughey and Lee was linebacker Will Mettee. He opened the scoring with a 37-yard fumble recovery return late in the first quarter and his 2-yard touchdown run in a fourth-down situation enabled coach John Holecek’s team to take a 20-17 lead with 4:36 to play.

“One of our defensive linemen had a strip sack, the ball fell into my hands and I took off,” said Mettee, describing his fumble recovery run to daylight.

“Getting the ball (on the do-or-die fourth quarter ball-carrier role) was like a dream. It probably was my favorite high school moment.”

“Mettee is a pure football player,” Holecek said in critiquing the star linebacker’s debut as a running back. “He’s strong and in great condition. He’ll be in there (at running back) again in the playoffs. It’s a long season and we don’t want him to get hurt.

“Matthew had an off night for most of the first three quarters, but then he looked like the college quarterback he’s going to be.”

Lee prefaced his game-winning pass to Haughey by collaborating with wide receiver Aidan Collins on a 32-yard touchdown pass play that put the Ramblers on top 13-10 with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter.

“We stayed locked in and didn’t let the hardships get us down,” Collins said.

Prior to the TD toss from Galasso to Strang that put Brother Rice in front in the homestretch, the Crusaders’ points came on Brad Briggs 40-yard field goal in the second quarter, a 2-yard pass from freshman Sam Holcomb to Jahon Edwards in the third quarter, an 80-yard pass from Holcomb to Anthony Cartolano in the fourth quarter and Briggs’ three extra-point kicks.

Making the Ramblers’ clutch conquest more impressive was the absence of important players — Ryan Edwards, who excels in kickoffs to the end zone for touchbacks, field goals and extra points, was out because of an illness; and tight end Charlie Fowler and alternate running back Jayden Garrett were on the injured list.

With Garrett out, Melo Maldonado had to play the entire game and that probably curtailed the diminutive dynamo’s effectiveness. Collins took up some of the slack created by the absence of Fowler, while senior Quinn Drehkoff gave the kicking game a different look.

“Quinn didn’t give us the touchbacks that Ryan does but he had a great game punting,” Holecek said. “That was big.”

Edwards didn’t become ill until Thursday so that was the only day that Drehkoff, who is listed on the roster as a defensive back, had the opportunity to practice as a kicker.

The senior said he’d started kicking when he was a fifth-grader but hadn’t done any since “doing it part-time sophomore year.”

Loyola will be on the road for its next game, playing Benet Academy (2-2) at Illinois Benedictine College on Saturday afternoon Sept. 19.

Indicative of how much the Ramblers have improved this season is the fact that they lost 28-6 at Brother Rice last year when most of their high profile players were sophomores and juniors.

“The baby Ramblers are growing up,” said assistant coach and football general manager Beau Desherow, who concluded his three-year stint as head coach last season.

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