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Health & Fitness

Naperville's Jones Has JCA On The Run

Malin Jones, a Naperville native, rushes for over 200 yards as JCA sets a school record for rushing yardage.

JOLIET – A 25-yard sweep for a touchdown in the fourth quarter as a wingback showed the big-play potential of Joliet Catholic Academy junior Tyler Reitz. But what about right here, right now?

He does all the little things that lead to those big plays.

The 5-foot-7, 180-pound fullback was as powerful as a stick of dynamite Friday night as the Hilltoppers established a single-game school record for rushing yards with 584 in a 63-34 rout of Peoria Richwoods.

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Northwestern-bound senior wingback Malin Jones, a Naperville native, gained 236 yards on 17 carries and junior wingback Ty Isaac totaled 288 on 22 carries as JCA (3-0) ran like the Associated Press’ top-ranked team in Class 5A.

“I do whatever I can to make a hole for Malin and Ty,” Reitz said. “They always tell me that whatever they get is going to come from me. Whether it’s lead blocking, making a hole, getting kickouts, it’s nice to know every time they get a big play or score a touchdown, I’m a pretty big part of that.”

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“He had a super game … a super game,” JCA coach Dan Sharp said of Reitz. “He had a couple of decleats, a couple of pancakes, and I’m really proud of how well our offensive line blocked. Just a fabulous job.”

That group featured senior tackle Jake Jankowski, senior guards Carson Smith and Mike Giaudrone, senior center Pat Kripp and sophomore tackle J.B. Butler. Combine that with Reitz and, well, kaboom.

“We couldn’t ask for more from our O-line,” Jones nodded. “And Reitz blows kids up like he’s 6-1, 210 pounds. He’s a really tough, hard-nosed kid and he runs the ball that way, too. And he got his own.”

Although Reitz again took ownership of the lead-blocking chores, he added a season-high 46 yards on six carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. His first, a 2-yard TD, gave JCA a 42-28 lead in the third quarter.

“We love him,” Isaac said. “The kid is a fire hydrant. He’s as strong as me or Malin and he loves hitting. I love seeing him get the ball because we know how hard he works for us in the games or practices.”

TAKING A PASS: Junior quarterback Craig Slowik completed a 17-yard, third-down pass on the first drive of the second half. He finished 1-of-4, something Sharp mentioned as being a victim of circumstance. “I wanted to throw,” Sharp said. “But we were getting so many yards running the ball per play. We work on our passing game so much in practice – we probably work more on our passing than our running.”

GETTING HIS KICKS: How confident is Sharp in the leg of senior kicker Isaac Grashoff? A tight end by trade, having caught Slowik’s lone completion, Grashoff missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt in the first quarter. He had the distance, but was wide left. He is 2-of-3 on field goals and 17-of-18 on PAT kicks.

NOTES: The Hilltoppers avenged a 17-14 loss to Peoria Richwoods in last year’s Class 5A state quarterfinals … While JCA’s defense did end up allowing 442 yards, halftime adjustments turned out to be a salvation. The Knights were held to 135 yards and 0-of-4 passing in the second half … Senior defensive end Josh Falk had two tackles for loss and a sack, senior linebacker Nick Collofello contributed a sack and a tackle for loss and senior defensive end Matt Frolik and junior linebacker Clayton Smith each recovered a fumble and recorded a sack … Richwoods ran 46 plays to JCA’s 21 in the first half.

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