St. Rita 39 at Montini 38 Final

[Catch-22]

This team would be 1-5 without Izzy and I’m not even joking. On the season they would be 2-7. This game should have been a win by 28+ if they had any functioning special teams or defense but once again they show they don’t.

I’m with you, Louie. They have a lot of nice players, but they’re not as deep as they were the last two years and the defense is definitely not what it was. Specials have been driving me crazy for five years watching these guys.

And the little QC stuff like punting with two minutes left. It’s not a field position game anymore at that point. You don’t punt particularly well anyway, and no matter where Rita might get the ball, you have to stop them in three downs. Doesn’t matter if it’s at your 25 or the other side of the 50. Instead of punting, give your All-American playmaker one extra chance to make a play. Just my opinion.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

I wonder how many rushing yards Rita had with their RB and QB.

 

[Louie1999]

I’m with you, Louie. They have a lot of nice players, but they’re not as deep as they were the last two years and the defense is definitely not what it was. Specials have been driving me crazy for five years watching these guys.

And the little QC stuff like punting with two minutes left. It’s not a field position game anymore at that point. You don’t punt particularly well anyway, and no matter where Rita might get the ball, you have to stop them in three downs. Doesn’t matter if it’s at your 25 or the other side of the 50. Instead of punting, give your All-American playmaker one extra chance to make a play. Just my opinion.

That call drove me crazy. How do you punt the ball and trust your defense who haven’t been able to stop anything and are gassed from being on the field from all the onside recoveries instead of the best QB in the nation who had the best performance I’ve ever seen from a QB in my lifetime. A Rivals insider was there and said it’s the best he has seen since Dante Moore but yet we lost the game. It is what it is and there is time to fix things but this team hasn’t been able to fix the same problems all year.

 

[Catch-22]

I wonder how many rushing yards Rita had with their RB and QB.

The Daily Herald covered it, so I’m sure that reporter will post the stats at some point. From the texts I was getting, sounds like it was a whole lot. Lol.

 

[SiuCubFan8]

Every year the CCL Green is a highly entertaining division.

 

[RockSoup]

This team would be 1-5 without Izzy and I’m not even joking. On the season they would be 2-7. This game should have been a win by 28+ if they had any functioning special teams or defense but once again they show they don’t.

He was pretty incredible. I’m going to get blasted for saying this but other than the first TD where the WR got behind the safeties, the coverage wasnt bad. Gave the underneath pass away. And the long balls were contested and Montini WRs adjusted well to ball in the air and made plays. And when Izzy needed to throw a dime into a tight window, he did.

But the story of the night is the St. Rita comeback. This whole thread was spot on. It would be like the Glenbard West game, can St. Rita run the ball well enough to keep it close. They didn’t just run it enough to keep it close, they dominated the line of scrimmage and won. Gutsy team, gutsy staff, gutsy win on the road.

And how about those special teams led by Coach JJ Standring and the Freshman Kicker Griffin Sinkovich with the 45 yarder and onside kicks.

Great game Mustangs! Fire up our fight song

 

[Wassup13_rivals219252]

This game was giftwrapped to St Rita with Rita having two successful on-side kicks in a row.

Montini has some big time lobsided time of possession issues they need to work on.

On the great side, the lights were all turned off at halftime and it was the best halftime fireworks show I ever saw anywhere courtesy of Frankies Deli in Oakbrook Terrace.

 

[Topiarydan1]

Back at you with a big win vs. Nazareth.

Could be Hopkins biggest win so far- a loss puts em in a bind. Now you get back some momentum.

 

[Wassup13_rivals219252]

I’m with you, Louie. They have a lot of nice players, but they’re not as deep as they were the last two years and the defense is definitely not what it was. Specials have been driving me crazy for five years watching these guys.

And the little QC stuff like punting with two minutes left. It’s not a field position game anymore at that point. You don’t punt particularly well anyway, and no matter where Rita might get the ball, you have to stop them in three downs. Doesn’t matter if it’s at your 25 or the other side of the 50. Instead of punting, give your All-American playmaker one extra chance to make a play. Just my opinion.

What happened to Ortegon?? I dont think he played the 2nd half.

 

[RockSoup]

This game was giftwrapped to St Rita with Rita having two successful on-side kicks in a row.

Montini has some big time lobsided time of possession issues they need to work on.

On the great side, the lights were all turned off at halftime and it was the best halftime fireworks show I ever saw anywhere courtesy of Frankies Deli in Oakbrook Terrace.

Giftwrapped? How about St. Rita went and took it in 2 of the 3 phases of the game? And got the stop with the third phase when needed.
And if it was a gift then our QB1 is the Gosh Darn Grinch. Because he went out and took all the gifts, along with RB1 BJohn and the OLine and WRs blocking.

it wasn’t given. It was taken

 

[Wittymoniker1]

He was pretty incredible. I’m going to get blasted for saying this but other than the first TD where the WR got behind the safeties, the coverage wasnt bad. Gave the underneath pass away. And the long balls were contested and Montini WRs adjusted well to ball in the air and made plays. And when Izzy needed to throw a dime into a tight window, he did.

But the story of the night is the St. Rita comeback. This whole thread was spot on. It would be like the Glenbard West game, can St. Rita run the ball well enough to keep it close. They didn’t just run it enough to keep it close, they dominated the line of scrimmage and won. Gutsy team, gutsy staff, gutsy win on the road.

And how about those special teams led by Coach JJ Standring and the Freshman Kicker Griffin Sinkovich with the 45 yarder and onside kicks.

Great game Mustangs! Fire up our fight song

No one gave up at all. I guess in the end, Iggy is a very good team and the Mustangs just had a very difficult time with that option.

Let's get to 5 - 3 and enjoy the Nazareth game in the very entertaining Green to end the regular season. Rita is atop of the Green Division. I am willing to bet some people are surprised at this--including myself. Saw them going 1-2. Now, destiny is in their own hands.

 

[Wassup13_rivals219252]

Louis,

This Montini team does not have the depth like recent years Montini teams.

But I feel like if Montini still had DE Namari Anderson they would be getting a lot more stops on defense. That kid was a stud. What's up with him? Is he attending Montini this school year and just not playing football?

 

[Catch-22]

What happened to Ortegon?? I dont think he played the 2nd half.

I wasn’t there Wassup, and I didn’t hear that he got hurt. My sister and nephew went. She would miss something like that. I stayed home with the fam so I can go out tomorrow night. lol.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

Could be Hopkins biggest win so far- a loss puts em in a bind. Now you get back some momentum.

Giftwrapped? How about St. Rita went and took it in 2 of the 3 phases of the game? And got the stop with the third phase when needed.
And if it was a gift then our QB1 is the Gosh Darn Grinch. Because he went out and took all the gifts, along with RB1 BJohn and the OLine and WRs blocking.

it wasn’t given. It was taken

It seems when Rita wins some of these games, we read these types of phrases where no credit is given to the Mustang by some. When Rita beat GBW, it was the 50 plus injuries that GBW incurred which was the reason the Hitters lost. Rita had nothing to do with that game, too.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. This was not "giftwrapped" at all. Yes, I had Montini winning big, but the fact that Rita's O-line were dominating, a ton of rushing yards were earned, and onside kicks and two-point conversions were executed to perfection. And on top of that, like all of Montini's opponents, Rita was basically facing the #1 QB in the nation. Doesn't Rita have several two-way players, too?

 

[Wassup13_rivals219252]

Your correct, St Rita took it from Montini.

But if you repeatedly see Montini week after week not fixing their mistakes/weaknesses, then you start calling it giftwrapping from the homer perspective.

 

[Catch-22]

I think if you recover two onsides, convert two 2-point-conversions, pickup a crucial 3rd-and 20, and then force a punt when it matters, you can’t call it gift-wrapped for Rita. To me, that sounds like a solid 2nd half game plan and excellent execution. Kudos to the Mustangs. Frustrated Bronco fans can ponder the “what ifs”, but Rita took this game IMO

 

[Louie1999]

I wasn’t there Wassup, and I didn’t hear that he got hurt. My sister and nephew went. She would miss something like that. I stayed home with the fam so I can go out tomorrow night. lol.

Giftwrapped? How about St. Rita went and took it in 2 of the 3 phases of the game? And got the stop with the third phase when needed.
And if it was a gift then our QB1 is the Gosh Darn Grinch. Because he went out and took all the gifts, along with RB1 BJohn and the OLine and WRs blocking.

it wasn’t given. It was taken

It was a meltdown on special teams so it was gifted in that regard. You just can’t give up that
many onside recoveries in a row. Defense couldn’t even run because they could not get off the field. Before that Montini D was actually doing decently. Great execution by Rita but that just can’t happen and a moderately decent special teams performance would have resulted in a very different game.

Rita deserves all the credit because they did execute on special teams and they did capitalize on mistakes but I don’t think it’s unfair to say this was a Montini meltdown.

 

[McCaravan]

I said Montini would score 35, can Rita score 36......should have said 38 and 39!

 

[Louie1999]

You’re correct, St Rita took it from Montini.

But if you repeatedly see Montini week after week not fixing their mistakes/weaknesses, then you start calling it giftwrapping from the homer perspective.

This is correct. It happens every week and every week I have confidence that these mistakes can be fixed because the ceiling on this team with an average defense can be so high but I just don’t think the players are there outside of skills and qb. It’s that simple. More of an expectations versus reality thing going on so don’t mean to disrespect Rita they deserve all credit it’s really just me whining about my team.

And as @Wassup13_rivals219252 says it happens every week without fail. Different variations but always some meltdown leading to a needlessly close game. Up 14 at Naz, up 21 at Marist. Same story but more luck

 

[RockSoup]

It was a meltdown on special teams so it was gifted in that regard. You just can’t give up that
many onside recoveries in a row. Defense couldn’t even run because they could not get off the field. Before that Montini D was actually doing decently. Great execution by Rita but that just can’t happen and a moderately decent special teams performance would have resulted in a very different game.

Rita deserves all the credit because they did execute on special teams and they did capitalize on mistakes but I don’t think it’s unfair to say this was a Montini meltdown.

Not just special teams, did you see what our QB1 #3 did? When he needed to flip the field, he went and ran for 60, when RB1 #4 was facing 9 in the box and run blitzes and refused to be stopped? It was a close game by two excellent teams and St. Rita did more things right to win the game on the road. Why’s that hard to say? When you intercepted a pass, I didn’t say our QB1 giftwrapped the ball to Montini but hat tip to Montini D making a play. See the difference. If not who cares.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

Your correct, St Rita took it from Montini.

But if you repeatedly see Montini week after week not fixing their mistakes/weaknesses, then you start calling it giftwrapping from the homer perspective.

Fair enough. I get it. And that's what the Green Division brings out. All four teams just can drive you nuts at times!!!! I truly don't want it to change. SR, SF & Naz just seem like staples for the Green. Now, with Montini in it, it becomes even more crazy.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

I think if you recover two onsides, convert two 2-point-conversions, pickup a crucial 3rd-and 20, and then force a punt when it matters, you can’t call it gift-wrapped for Rita. To me, that sounds like a solid 2nd half game plan and excellent execution. Kudos to the Mustangs. Frustrated Bronco fans can ponder the “what ifs”, but Rita took this game IMO

Catch-22,

You've always been classy. I think you know we Rita fans by now, and I know for a fact, we (aside from a few trolling exceptions) try to be classy and really give credit where it's due.

I feel it should be reciprocated, and I have many examples when that hasn't been the case at all throughout the years, but you just let it go and move on. However, I also have a right to call it out once in a while.

 

[Louie1999]

This is correct. It happens every week and every week I have confidence that these mistakes can be fixed because the ceiling on this team with an average defense can be so high but I just don’t think the players are there outside of skills and qb. It’s that simple. More of an expectations versus reality thing going on so don’t mean to disrespect Rita they deserve all credit it’s really just me whining about my team.

Not just special teams, did you see what our QB1 #3 did? When he needed to flip the field, he went and ran for 60, when RB1 #4 was facing 9 in the box and run blitzes and refused to be stopped? It was a close game by two excellent teams and St. Rita did more things right to win the game on the road. Why’s that hard to say? When you intercepted a pass, I didn’t say our QB1 giftwrapped the ball to Montini but hat tip to Montini D making a play. See the difference. If not who cares.

Catch-22,

You've always been classy. I think you know we Rita fans by now, and I know for a fact, we (aside from a few trolling exceptions) try to be classy and really give credit where it's due.

I feel it should be reciprocated, and I have many examples when that hasn't been the case at all throughout the years, but you just let it go and move on. However, I also have a right to call it out once in a while.

You guys played a great game and I do give credit to Rita completely. Don’t want it to seem like I’m not or any Montini fan is not so apologize if that’s how it came across. As I said above the cumulative toll of each of these games has me ripping my hair out and that’s really all. Just being more critical of my team than dismissive of Rita’s success but that was impressive from the mustangs

 

[Wassup13_rivals219252]

Believe me I never used the word giftwrapped before. I never leave a game until the end for about 30 years now.

When Montini could not come up with the ball on two on-side kicks in a row I left the field to the parking lot and was ready to drive home. In the context of their play the entire year, I had enough.

But then I once again came back to the field and watched the game to the end.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

You guys played a great game and I do give credit to Rita completely. Don’t want it to seem like I’m not or any Montini fan is not so apologize if that’s how it came across. As I said above the cumulative toll of each of these games has me ripping my hair out and that’s really all. Just being more critical of my team than dismissive of Rita’s success but that was impressive from the mustangs

I am with you on that. We're all fans and it gets crazy at times. After Iggy pummeled Rita into oblivion, I was basically done posting 'til the playoffs. That didn't last too long. LOL! It's all good.

For me, I'm just not used to seeing the Mustangs give up so many points on defense, which has been a strength of theirs throughout the years.

But to be honest, they have played a grueling schedule to this point. They may not have the horses, but they're hanging in there this year.

 

[DR.Eireog]

Lotta hate in the CCL. I love it!!

 

[RockSoup]

Lotta hate in the CCL. I love it!!

Just two fan bases that love their teams.

One fan base being critical of their own team so much that the other fan base thought maybe just a hat tip to the other sideline was warranted instead.

For those that didn't watch the game, would you know from this thread that St. Rita's winning drive started on their own 10 after a block in the back penalty? That St. Rita had just as many penalties (if not more) that forced bad down and distances and took first downs away.

Izzy is the truth. The real deal. Montini has a lot of talent and is going far into the fall.

St. Rita has a bunch of tough never-say-die kids with a couple of X factors in QB1 and RB1 and K1 that will, to quote Dylan Thomas, not go gentle into that good night and can make a deep run themselves.

Only love for the twists and turns, the hopes and laments, the efforts and the heartbreaks of God's game, High School Friday Night Lights.

 

[RockSoup]

One thing I thought I noticed was a lot more of the boot/roll out game from the St. Rita passing offense which I think plays into QB1 Fennell's strengths. I don't have the numbers to back me up, just an observation that I think can pay dividends as he and his RBs/WRs/TEs keep working on that part (leverage, green space, route adjusts, D back 7 rotations from the outside the pocket perspective) of the offensive gameplan.

 

[Wittymoniker1]

Just two fan bases that love their teams.

One fan base being critical of their own team so much that the other fan base thought maybe just a hat tip to the other sideline was warranted instead.

For those that didn't watch the game, would you know from this thread that St. Rita's winning drive started on their own 10 after a block in the back penalty? That St. Rita had just as many penalties (if not more) that forced bad down and distances and took first downs away.

Izzy is the truth. The real deal. Montini has a lot of talent and is going far into the fall.

St. Rita has a bunch of tough never-say-die kids with a couple of X factors in QB1 and RB1 and K1 that will, to quote Dylan Thomas, not go gentle into that good night and can make a deep run themselves.

Only love for the twists and turns, the hopes and laments, the efforts and the heartbreaks of God's game, High School Friday Night Lights.

This is a great observation--very well thought out and said.

 

[Wassup13_rivals219252]

Massey had this game as St Rita as a 7 point favorite, 35-27.

 

[chitown-irish]

Rita is going to be a. Extremely tough out come playoff time.

 

[Wassup13_rivals219252]

Rita is going to be a. Extremely tough out come playoff time.

I agree. I said this about St Iggy too.