Loyola falls to Lockport in state semifinals

WILMETTE, Ill. -Lockport came into its Class 8A semifinal game with Loyola, looking to navigate into uncharted waters.

The last time the Porters had made it to the state semifinals was in 2003, when they pulled off the second of their back-to-back state title wins. In fact it's probably a good possibility that a good number of the team hadn't been born the last time the program was having the level of its success they're having this year.

The current group, however, will now be able to tell their own story after taking down the host Ramblers 35-21 Saturday afternoon in Wilmette.

"We've worked hard for this and we got to show people what these kids are made of," Lockport coach George Czart said.

"This feels amazing," Lockport quarterback Hayden Timosciek said. "Our last true run was in 2003, so to bring that winning culture back to Lockport is amazing."

Lockport came into the game looking to get its All-State quarterback going by using his talented receivers, namely 6-foot-4 inch Ryan Little and Danny Martisek.

Timosciek, who was briefly knocked out of the game after being sacked on the first play of the contest, finished the afternoon by going 15-of-27 for 241 yards and three touchdowns.

"After that first play, I went out there and just had to trust my receivers, my o-line and just execute the game plan," he said.

"They've got tall receivers and they made plays," Loyola coach John Holecek said. "We knew they were studs and we just didn't match up. You can try to take one away but then someone else is open and it's not like they have weaknesses on the other side.

"There were times where we doubled [Little] and he's still making plays."

Loyola (12-1), which has relied on its balanced running and passing attack this year, lost a couple starters and key players as the game went along, including running backs Mike Regan and Will Nimesheim, as well as tight end Jack Fitzgerald.

The Loyola offense looked to be in gear early scoring on two of its four first-half drives, both on one-yard rushing touchdowns by James Kruetz.

But then it was the Lockport defense that was able to control the game, picking off Loyola quarterback Jake Stearney four times, including on the Ramblers' last three possessions. The junior quarterback, who injured his thumb in the third quarter, did throw a touchdown pass to Roger Simon from six yards out to cut the lead to 28-21 with just under 10:30 remaining.

"We wanted to establish a tough brand of football and keep things in front, come up and tackle," Czart said. "We pretty much did that for most of the day. We wanted to take away the run game but their run game is also some of that short passing game, so that's the way we treated that."

"It's hard to win against a team of that level when you're not at full strength," Holecek said. That's what it felt like today.

"Their defensive line is the best we've seen."

The Lockport (12-1) offense knew that if the Ramblers were able to contain their running game, it would come down to the passing game.

Each of the Porters' scoring drives included at least one big pass play, often times to Martisek. The senior had himself quite the day, finishing with 137 receiving yards, an eight-yard touchdown reception, as well as two interceptions from his defensive back position. His 27-yard reception on fourth-and-six helped lead to Ty Schultz's second rushing touchdown that extended the lead to 28-14, while his 31-yard catch on third-and-seven helped set up Timosciek's second touchdown pass to Little, the final tally of the game.

"He didn't get off to a great start after that first play, but he settled in there," Czart said. "He's a very determined young man, very smart, talented and determined to get it done."

"We came in knowing we were going to have to throw a lot and I have to admit that at the beginning of the game, I was a bit intimidated, but fafter we started rolling, I felt so much more confident throwing the ball and trusting Danny and Ryan more and more," Timosciek said.

"On third- and fourth-down plays, those are more long-yardage downs. We were beating them over the top with fades and gos, so they were bailing out to try to that away. We ended up hitting on a couple back-shoulders."

The loss ends the Ramblers' 18-game winning streak, one that started back in March during the spring season and ran through the regular season and first three rounds of the playoffs this fall.

"When you add the spring season and you go 18-1 in a calendar year, that's a heck of an accomplishment," Holecek said. "You shouldn't have 19 games in a calendar year, that's crazy. But we'll get these guys back in the weight room, back healthy and hopefully we'll be back next year."

The win sends the Porters to the state title game for the first time since 2003. Coincidentally, they also faced Maine South, their opponent in next week's title game, in that championship game as well.

"It's great for our program, because hopefully we'll make Lockport more of an attractive place for some of the local kids," the coach said.