By Jack Lydon
“We believe in our offensive line. We believe in our run game. That's the identity of our team. If we need to pass with the quarterback that can pass, but we love running,” said St. Patrick Shamrocks first year coach and former NFL player Tom Zbikowski.
That belief and that running game carried the Shamrocks to a 31-28 homecoming victory at Triton College Friday evening over conference rival and the defending IHSA 4A state football champion DePaul Prep Rams.
The environment at Triton football stadium was electric. The overflowing student section was loud. These two largely evenly matched teams battled back and forth driven by big plays and untimely penalties. The Rams jumped out to an early lead on an 81-yard catch and run by sophomore running back Tyson Hooks.
The Shamrocks answered on the next possession with at 6-yard touchdown run by Shamrocks’ senior running back Anthony Catron.
Midway through the third quarter, the game stopped after St. Patrick lined up for a game tying extra point. A Rams’ defensive lineman was carted off the field after the long 40-minute delay.
Late in the fourth quarter, one could feel the momentum change. The Shamrocks’ run game took charge after punishing the Rams all night long.
With 2:47 remaining with the score 28-24, despite being stopped by the Rams on the previous drive, St. Patrick’s ground game offence moved that ball down to the 6-yard line. With 44 seconds remaining, Shamrock’s junior running back Jayden Miranda smashed his way up the middle for the winning touchdown.
“I don't think I could put it into words. How far they've come in one year, just from the wintertime,” Zbikowski said of his team after the game.
“The resiliency that they have and what they're willing to go through to win. I'm almost speechless.”
The Shamrocks are 3-1 on the young season and 1-0 in the Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference’s Purple Division. The future looks bright for Zbikowski and his Shamrocks.
“One game at a time. It’s a good start,” Zbikowski added. “We’ve got to keep rolling. We got to keep getting better. We’ve got a long road to go.”
Some readers may remember Tom Zbikowski from his days as a star linebacker for the University of Notre Dame in the 2000s. He also had five seasons in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears.
Zbikowski has bought into St. Pat’s and St. Pat’s has bought into Zbikowski.
“It’s a great school. It's a special place, the alumni, the people that go here. The people I was on the fire department with that went to St. Pat’s. It's a certain kind of certain kind of persons. It’s hard to explain it. They believe in themselves and they believe in the school.”
DePaul Prep’s coach Mike Passarella was not quite as exuberant as Zbikowski after the game for obvious reasons.
“Struggling right now; struggling in the finish,” said Passarella.
“Fourth quarter was kind of entire game. Not being able to put the ball in the end zone. Not being able to tackle and stop drives. I think this just shows our youthfulness right now.”
The Rams are coming off a state championship in the 4A class last year. Last year’s talented senior class were with Passarella all four years and put together a dream season after rallying from losing records before Passarella took over.
“You can tell we have moments but we can't finish right now. And that's a problem. When you have a lead then a couple of miss field goals, left six points and everything else. You have to finish the game. We just weren't able offensively with the same some stuff, and then it gives them the momentum. They score. A couple silly penalties. It's a lack of composure which shows our maturity and lack of the mental state and where things are at,” Passarella added.