Jack Badovinac (No. 77) celebrates with Jake Marwede after caught a five-yard TD pass in the second quarter. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
A few moments after the postgame handshakes, a spirited David Terrell race over to Jack Badovinac and jumped on his back.
The unsuspecting Badovinac didn’t flinch.
Didn’t cringe.
The 6-foot-2, 270-pound offensive lineman wound up giving the star wideout a piggyback ride.
It was, uh, Uber-ific.
Spontaneous celebrations are allowed on a football field — especially during the state playoffs.
Besides, doing the heavy lifting is nothing new for Badovinac.
You could make a very good argument that Badovinac and his line mates — John Brekke, Callum Brien, Charlie Gross, Paddy Kotowski and Brian McTague — carried the day.
Loyola Academy John Holecek said as much.
The veteran head coach — a former NFL linebacker — isn’t one to gush. But Holecek couldn’t help but gush over his offensive line following his team’s 42-13 victory over host Glenbard West in a Class 8A state semifinal game on Nov. 19.
The line play got first mention in Holecek’s post-game huddle with his players.
The LA head coach continued to make it a topic of conversation in post-game interviews with reporters.
“What did we give them in the second half? Eight plays (actually, 13)?” said Holecek. “[Not giving up the ball] is a credit to our O-line.”
The reigning champion Ramblers, who will face Maine South in the title game at Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Nov. 26 (7 p.m.), rolled up 438 yards. They ended up running 71 plays, 30 more than the Hilltoppers (237 yards).
“Our offensive line has been ridiculously good all year,” said LA senior quarterback Tommy Herion, who has now thrown for 2,115 yards on the season. “How they go is how we go.”
Herion, who missed three quarters of the state quarterfinal game at Huntley with a concession, didn’t miss a beat. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 180 yards.
In fact, Herion did very little misfiring. He completed his last 12 passes.
“We had everything clicking,” said Badovinac, a Colgate recruit and honorable mention all-stater.
LA went 89 yards on 14 plays on its first series of the game. Senior running back Kyle Rock, who ended up with 168 yards on 28 carries to put him over 1,000 yards (1,135) for the season, capped the opening drive with a three-yard run.
The clicking got even better — and louder — when Jake Marwede got involved.
“You can’t go away from your best player,” said Holecek. “He’s a thoroughbred.”
Marwede’s first catch of the game — a high-leaping 39-yarder — came with just over one minute left in the first half.
Six plays later, the Ramblers broke a 7-7 tie, when the 6-5 Marwede scored on a five-yard corner fade.
And, what about the fade to black moment?
You can trace that to the seventh play of the opening drive of the second half. That’s when Marwede went all Marwede on the Hilltoppers.
On 4th-and-1 at the Glenbard West 35-yard line, the senior all-stater lined up in the Wildcat formation with plenty of motivation. The Duke University recruit took the snap, high-hurdled over the line and advanced the ball 20 yards.
“That,” said Badovinac, “was awesome to see. He didn’t even have that big of a hole to run through.
“That sparked us,” he added.
One play later, Marwede broke free on a 15-yard QB keeper to put the Ramblers ahead 21-7.
“It’s hard for teams to scheme against him,” said Herion. “Teams will stack the box, and Jake still will run right over them. He’s such a great weapon to have.”
And what about that guy who likes piggyback rides? He’s a pretty good weapon, as well. Terrell (7 catches, 96 yards) came up with one of the plays of the game, when he ran under a 31-yard bomb from Herion to put the Ramblers in front 35-7 with 1:52 left in the third quarter.
A play like that takes a lot of precision — and protection. And thanks to Badovinac and Co., Herion had plenty of time to get the pass off.
It was that way all day. Herion was sacked only once.
“They [the line] were phenomenal today,” said LA offensive line coach Mike Kotowski, who is in his 25th year at the school. “It’s a great group.
“It’s very comparable to last year’s line,” added Kotowski, who has had the privilege of coaching his son, center Paddy Kotowski, this season.
Brekke and Badovinac, who line up on the left side of the line, are returning starters.
“Their leadership has been fantastic,” said Kotowski. “They’re great to coach.”
Badovinac teamed with his brother on last year’s state title team. Sam Badovinac is now playing at Butler University.
“Jack is always focused,” Kotowski said. “He’s always in tune.”
“My only regret is that the Badovinacs didn’t have more kids,” said Holecek.
Loyola Game Balls: Jake Marwede (WR), Tommy Herion (QB), Kyle Rock (RB), David Terrell (WR), Charlie Largay (S), Jake Gonzalez (S), Marty Geary (DE)
Glenbard West Game Balls: Ryan Diver (RB). Patrick Mackey (RB), Alec Pierce (WR), Dionte Moorehead (LB), Matt Skelton (LB)
Loyola Offensive Player of the Game: Marwede
Loyola Defensive Player of the Game: Gonzalez
Loyola Stat Leaders
Offense: Marwede (5 catches, 58 yards, 5-yard TD; 6 rushes, 46 yards, 15-yard TD); Herion (15-20-0, 180 yards, 2 TD passes), Rock (28 rushes, 168 yards, 1 TD), Terrell (7 catches, 96 yards, 31-yard TD), Tomas Henning (5 rushes, 15 yards, 1 TD)
Defense: Gonzalez (6 tackles, 9-yard QB sack, 1 tackle-for-loss, interception), Largay (6 tackles, forced fumble), Geary (5 tackles, 1 QB hurry), Anthony Romano (4 tackles, fumble recovery), Ian Swenson (4 tackles, 1 pass breakup), Graham Repp (3 tackles, 8-yard QB sack), Mickey Kane (2 tackles, 1 TFL), Omar Mendez (3 tackles), Anthony Rodriguez (3 tackles)
Special Teams: Patrick Kramer (6-6 PAT kicks)
Glenbard West Stat Leaders
Offense: Diver (13 rushes, 90 yards, 1 TD), McKay (61-yard TD catch), Drevion Thomas (9 rushes, 43 yards), Alec Pierce (3 catches, 39 yards), Cole Brady (6-13-1, 110 yards)
Notable: Loyola will meet Maine South in the Class 8A state championship. LA edged the Hawks 44-43 in Week Two of the regular season. Maine South beat Palatine 28-14 in the other semifinal game on Nov. 19.
Wideout David Terrell gets a piggyback ride from Jack Badovinac. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Kyle Rock picks up yards. He rushed for 168 yards. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
LA safety Jake Gonzalez sacks Glenbard West quarterback Cole Bradey. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
LA quarterback Tommy Herion comes up with a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Jake Marwede gives David Terrell a lift after Terrell caught a 31-yard TD pass in the third quarter. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Jake Marwede scores on a 15-yard run in the third quarter. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
David Terrell gets hit by two Hilltoppers after making a catch in the second half. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
LA inside linebacker Graham Repp sacks Glenbard West QB Cole Brady in the opening quarter. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER