Knights to face off against Byron for trip to finals
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
It’s back to the state semifinals for the IC Catholic Prep football team.
The Knights continued defense of their Class 3A state title with a 46-21 victory over Wilmington in Class 3A state quarterfinal action at Lewis Stadium at Plunkett Athletic Complex in Elmhurst.
The win moved IC Catholic Prep to 11-1 overall and puts it in the semifinals Saturday against Byron, which defeated Williamsville 13-0 in another quarterfinal game.
IC Catholic Prep is the No. 5 seed on the top half of the Class 3A bracket, while Byron, located west of Rockford on Illinois 72, is the No. 3 seed. Byron is undefeated at 12-0. The winner of Saturday’s game heads to the state finals at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb on Thanksgiving weekend.
In the win against Wilmington, a team the Knights also defeated last year in the playoffs, quarterback CJ West completed 5 of 8 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
The Knights racked up 293 yards rushing on only 22 carries (13.3 yards per carry). Lazerick Eatman ran eight times for 227 yards and scored three touchdowns. He had a 90-yard run and also scored a two-point conversion. West ran eight times for 52 yards and a touchdown, while Kyle Franklin ran five times for 11 yards.
Eatman has now run for 1,232 yards and has 19 rushing touchdowns, while West has 24 passing touchdowns against only three interceptions and has thrown for 1,681 yards.
Khali Saunders caught two passes for 27 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Lytton had a 36-yard touchdown catch, while Kevin Cooke had two catches for 28 yards.
The Knights amassed 384 yards of total offense.
On defense, Cooke led the way with 17 tackles. Kemon Reese had eight tackles, while Michael Johnson and Kevin Akins each had seven. Ryan Malek had six tackles. Koby Reed recorded one quarterback sack.
Khali Saunders had a 25-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Cooke caused a fumble and recovered one. Johnson also had a fumble recovery, while Khalil Saunders had a pass deflection.
The Knights now are 25-1 over the last two seasons.
