Plenty of Ramblers get in on the fun in rout of Redwings

It was Oktoberfest weekend at Illinois Benedictine University, and the visitors from Loyola Academy celebrated by chug-a-lugging touchdowns.

Putting on their highest-scoring performance of the season, the undefeated Ramblers overwhelmed Benet Academy 42-10 on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 19, in a game played on Illinois Benedictine’s field.

After the Redwings tied the score 7-7 on Alex Mitchell’s 82-yard pass to Tyler Leaks and Michael Conway kicked the extra point with 7:50 remaining in the first half, the Ramblers went on a touchdown binge and by intermission were out front 35-7.

The first of these TDs — an 82-yard pass from Matthew Lee to fellow junior Jordan McKinley — came just 48 seconds after Benet Academy tied the score.

“I’m 6-3 and 220 [pounds] and when I get one-on-one matchups I have a big advantage,” said McKinley, who exploited that advantage throughout Saturday’s contest.

That touchdown catch was McKinley’s fifth of the season, but the next TD was not only the first of the season for junior tight end Dylan Williamson it also was the first reception of his career.

According to Williamson, the 43-yard play that produced that magic moment was sent in from the sidelines.

“Matthew told me: ‘You’ll be wide open; expect the ball early,’ and when he said that I got a big smile on my face,” Williamson recounted.

“I beat the linebacker, caught the ball in stride and had an open field in front on me. It was off to the races from there.”

Williamson’s milestone touchdown came the play after a 33-yard touchdown catch by junior running back Jayden Garrett was wiped out because of a holding penalty.

Less than a minute after Williamson entered the end zone for the first time, Joe Haughey who caught the pass for the winning touchdown the previous weekend against Brother Rice, teamed with Lee to create the third big scoring play of the second quarter, a 62-yard reception.

“I have a lot of talented receivers, and the offensive line gave me a lot of time,” Lee said. “Except for the time I went in for the touchdown (on a run from 1-yard out with 7:45 to play in the first quarter) I don’t think I got touched all afternoon.

“The defense also is a big factor in our success, giving up a meager number of points and constantly giving us good field position.”

The defensive line put relentless pressure on Mitchell, sacking him several times and repeatedly causing him to throw hurry-up passes as he scrambled.

Junior Melo Maldonado ran 19 yards for his fifth touchdown of the season with 37 seconds left in the half to conclude the second-quarter Loyola binge.

In the Ramblers’ first possession of the second half, Garrett, who alternates at running back with Maldonado, led a 52-yard scoring drive that he finished with a 4-yard run for the afternoon’s final touchdown.

Senior Quinn Drehkoff provided the chaser by kicking his seventh extra point.

Garrett was back on the field after missing the previous two games with an injury, while Drehkoff subbed for senior Ryan Edwards, who missed his second straight game because of illness.

“Jayden being back is big for us,” Ramblers coach John Holecek said. “Melo is a small guy, and we don’t like to have him carry the load (in the running game) all by himself.”

Conway’s 26-yard field goal accounted for Benet’s final points of the mismatch in the second minute of the fourth quarter.

Loyola substitutes played against the Red Wings’ starters during the entire fourth quarter as Loyola improved its record 5-0 and Benet Academy dropped to 2-3.

By virtue of the previous weekend’s thrilling conquest of Brother Rice (3-2) the Ramblers not only moved past the Crusaders in the Chicago Tribune’s top 25 ratings of area teams but dislodged defending IHSA Class 8A champion Mount Carmel (4-1) from second place behind top-ranked Lincoln-Way East (5-0).

Even though the Ramblers’ lopsided victory against Benet Academy looked both easy and impressive on paper it was unsettling for Holecek, who was disturbed by intermittent penalties and occasional lapses.

“We have a lot of things we have to clean up,” he said.

“Four games left (in the regular season), all against Catholic League teams and each game is huge.”

The Ramblers will play at CCL Blue foe Marist on Friday night, Sept. 25,; return home to meet St. Ignatius in their homecoming game on Oct. 3; travel to Immaculate Conception in Elmhurst on Oct. 9; and end the regular season Oct. 16 against Mount Carmel back in the friendly confines of Hoerster Field.

“We’re not done yet and nothing is promised,” cautioned Lee. “Today we did what we had to do. We’ll learn from this game and go on to the next game.”

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