Football Wrapup: Jones Leads JCA To 2nd In State

CHAMPAIGN – He will graduate from Joliet Catholic Academy as an All-American wingback, the first player to rush for over 1,000 yards in three different seasons in the school’s storied football history.

But what JCA coach Dan Sharp will remember most about Northwestern-bound senior Malin Jones – a safety who converted to linebacker due to Mike Passo’s injury – actually occurred on defense Saturday.

“When I think of this team, I’ll think of a play today, when our captain, Malin Jones, chased a guy down to the 1-yard line and tackled him out of nowhere,” Sharp said of Jones’ stop, which led to Montini missing a field goal that kept JCA on top 45-42 in an eventual 70-45 loss in the Class 5A state title game.

“That’s Hillmen football. That’s a leader saying, ‘We never give up … ever.’ I don’t care what the score is. Things aren’t going your way. You want success? Chase it down. Chase it down and never, ever give up.”

Four unanswered touchdowns to close out the second half helped Montini win its third straight state championship. The two-way effort of the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Jones, though, stood as tall as a building.

Offensively, Jones complemented record-setting junior wingback Ty Isaac (26 carries, 515 yards, 6 TDs) with 187 yards on 27 rushes. Jones also intercepted a pass and contributed 2 tackles and a pass breakup.

“It has been a great run with Coach Sharp and my teammates,” said Jones, a Naperville native who played in two state championship games at JCA. “The seniors, we wanted our legacy to be getting No. 14, getting the next state title for Joliet Catholic, and it just didn’t happen. But we learned some valuable life lessons.

“You can’t take your foot off the gas pedal and you have to keep your head level at all times.”

On the school’s all-time chart, Jones finished his JCA career third in rushing with 4,087 yards, second in rushing TDs (57) and second in total TDs (65). His 1,681 yards as a senior ranked 12th, ahead of Tyler Hudetz’s 1,618 in 2007 but behind Hudetz’s 1,760 in 2008. To Sharp, Jones’ numbers only tell a slice.

Second to none.

“A lot of what Ty and his teammates have accomplished can be traced to Malin’s will to win,” Sharp said. “He is the best leader I have ever had. His character and his commitment are as great as his talent.”

“I love Malin,” Isaac said. “I love this group of guys, this group of seniors. They led the way this year, and we’re going to work hard in the offseason to do what we need to do to get better – to get it done.”

GO TO THE ‘O’: With 747 yards rushing and 791 yards of offense against Montini thrown into the mix, JCA set single-season school records for rushing yards (5,273), rushing TDs (79) and points scored (666), all standards previously held by the Hilltoppers’ 2007 state champs in 6A. Let that end the discussion.

“We’re a power, blue-collar team,” Sharp said. “It’s who we are. Yep, 32 (Isaac) and 33 (Jones) could go 80 yards as fast as they could go 80 yards. It wasn’t us running the ball; it was us stopping the pass.”

THE TURNING POINT: In the realm of ball security, JCA dominated with only 10 turnovers through 13 games. The Hilltoppers, however, suffered through five turnovers against Montini, including their first three interceptions of the season and a pair of second-half fumbles by the typically sure-handed Isaac.

“We had five turnovers, which hurt us, and we turned the ball over on downs or we would have been up in the 70s as well,” Sharp said. “We have to get better defensively. We have to shore up that side of the ball, and we have to do a better job of tackling. And when we did tackle, we didn’t cover very well.

“But this is a very special group. I enjoyed every minute with them in practice. We got Montini’s very best today, but overall, our kids battled. I don’t know if we’ve ever seen as gifted a team in the skill positions – not just (Jordan Westerkamp). They have two other weapons at receiver and a tailback.”

FAMILY UPDATE: Sharp’s nephew Tyler, a junior, won the 7A state championship in Rockford Boylan’s 21-14 victory over Wheaton Warrenville South. Tyler Sharp totaled a tackle and a pass breakup. He is the son of Pat, who captained Joliet Catholic’s Class 5A state champions back in 1991.

RECORD REWIND: At least 14 single-game school records were broken in JCA’s 5A title game loss to Montini. Among them, the 70 points allowed broke the mark set in a 64-6 loss to Chicago Leo in 1947 … JCA’s total yards gained of 791 (670 vs. St. Laurence, 2001) and total yards gained by both teams of 1,644 (1,254 vs. Marist, 2011) are new marks as well … Ty Isaac established new records with 36 points (34, Joe Van Tassel, on 5 TDs and 4 PATs in 1999 vs. St. Laurence), 515 yards rushing (363 by Joe Benson vs. St. Patrick in 2005) and 6 rushing TDs (5 by Pat Ward vs. Marmion in 1968; Phil Marchio vs. Carmel in 1984; James Randle vs. Rockton Hononegah in 1996; J.R. Zwierzynski vs. Riverside-Brookfield and Rochelle in 2001; and Joe Benson vs. St. Patrick in 2005) … Most rushing yards with 747 (575 vs. Nazareth in 2010), most points, both teams with 115 (106 vs. Riverside-Brookfield in 2001), most passing yards allowed with 587 (575 vs. Riverside-Brookfield in 2001) and most first downs allowed with 33 (31 vs. Marist, 2011) also fell by the wayside … It was only the eighth time an opponent has scored 50 or more points vs. JCA since records were kept starting in 1920. Two of those happened in 2011, with Marist winning the regular-season finale for the East Suburban Catholic Conference title, 56-51.

BY THE NUMBERS: With 1,300 yards passing, junior quarterback Craig Slowik moved past Arizona Diamondbacks minor-league pitcher Ryan Quigley for eighth on the single-season list. Quigley threw for 1,280 yards in 2002. Pat Pesavento leads with 1,839 yards in 1983 … Senior Isaac Grashoff eclipsed the 100-point mark as a kicker with 87-of-91 on PATs and 5-of-7 on field goals, good for 102 points. He also booted a 29-yard field goal against Montini. He scored 2 TDs as a tight end … Junior cornerback Grant Harrison had one-fourth of his season tackle total against the Broncos with 7 solos and an assist. He finished the year with 32 tackles and 17 solos … Senior linebacker Austin Bolton led JCA in tackles (112) and tackles for loss (9.5) and tied with junior linebacker Matt Madrigal with 2 forced fumbles. Madrigal had 96 tackles and led with 4 fumble recoveries … Malin Jones’ 8 receiving TDs are tied for seventh and Ty Isaac’s 7 receiving TDs are tied for eighth on the career list … Jones’ 25.9 yards per catch for his career (21-544) ranks fourth. He moved ahead of Alex Kolodziej, who ended up with 45 catches for 1,112 yards and a 24.7 average from 2008-10 … Jones’ 400 points rank second in career scoring to J.R. Zwierzynski.