St. Laurence coach Harold Blackmon has been as frustrated as anyone regarding the Vikings’ play this season.
There have been times when St. Laurence has lived up to its Top 10 preseason ranking, most notably during a 31-21 win over Benet and 45-42 victory against St. Rita.
On other occasions, though, St. Laurence (6-3) simply hasn’t looked the part of an elite team. Cases in point, a 21-12 loss to Marmion and 16-9 defeat to St. Ignatius.
“This team has been an enigma,” Blackmon said. “We’ve played big in big games, but in lesser games we tend not to show up. It’s been very frustrating.”
Blackmon made it clear if the Vikings don’t show up during their Class 6A first-round game at 5 p.m. Saturday at Richards, there season likely will be over.
The Bulldogs (7-2) boast a balanced attack on offense, led by running back Pat Doyle, receiver Nate Gimza and quarterback Jake Moran.
“Richards is a good team,” Blackmon said. “They have as complete of an offense as we’ve seen. Defensively, they’re aggressive and they blitz a lot. They play hard, they’re physical and they’re fast. We have to bring our ‘A’ game.”
St. Laurence running back Fayezon Smart returned in Week 9 after missing four weeks with a lower body injury. He should benefit from another week of practice.
“Fayezone has to get his legs back under him,” Blackmon said. “He’s a big part of what we do.”
Another important piece of the offense is quarterback Romello Washington, who has been inconsistent.
“Our passing game is the key to our offense,” Blackmon said. “The guys haven’t been on the same page with our passing game. Romello is still going through growing pains. This is his first year as a starter. Sometimes it takes a while to put things together. Hopefully, it comes around soon for Romello. I truly believe he’s going to be big for us down the stretch.”
The Vikings defense welcomed back safety Jimmy Burnette for a few plays last week. The senior had been out since Week 1 with a knee injury.
“Jimmy has been cleared and he’s ready to go,” Blackmon said. “Having him back is a big boost to our defense.”
No looking back: After dropping a 48-37 decision to Loyola for the Catholic League Blue championship, Brother Rice linebacker Brian Olsen put the matter in perspective.
“It’s tough, but we fought hard,” said Olsen, a senior. “We played very well, but we weren’t physical enough. We’ll learn from this and move on. The second season is starting. Everyone is 0-0.”
Hawks flying high: In just his second season as coach, Marquice Cole built Hillcrest into a playoff team. The Hawks (7-2), who are making their first postseason appearance since 2009, will host Glenbard South (5-4) in a Class 5A first-round playoff game.
According to Cole, discipline has as much to do with the turnaround as talent.
“Guys had to be committed to get to this point,” Cole said. “You can’t just show up whenever you want to offseason workouts. You can’t allow other things to take you away from football. It takes discipline, on the field and in the classroom. These guys have been able to be disciplined.”
Twitter @disabato
Top 10
With records and last week’s rankings in parentheses.
1. Homewood–Flossmoor 9-0 (2)
2. Brother Rice 8-1 (1)
3. Lemont 9-0 (3)
4. Marist 8-1 (4)
5. Richards 7-2 (5)
6. Crete-Monee 7-2 (6)
7. Lincoln-Way East 7-2 (7)
8. Morgan Park 8-1 (10)
9. T.F. South 7-2 (NR)
10. St. Laurence 6-3 (8)
Player of the Week: Richards’ Nate Gimza, a senior receiver, caught four passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns in a 53-10 win over Tinley Park.
