4A IHSA State football final recap

Debo Olaleye

December 6, 2021 @ 12:15 PM

The night of Black Friday was an action-packed one for the IHSA football state finals. At roughly 7:15 pm, Huskie Stadium in Dekalb, IL hosted two powerhouse programs in Illinois. The two teams featured were the Joliet Catholic Hilltoppers (13-0) vs the Sacred Heart-Griffin Cyclones(12-1). This game produced a high a combined 83 points that went in favor of the Hilltoppers. The 4A state final game started off with a bang as the Cyclones took back a 90-yard kickoff return. This would prove to be the only time in the game in which Sacred Heart-Griffin would have the lead. Joliet Catholic’s offense came onto the field and got right to business doing what they do best: run downhill. The Hilltoppers lined up in a lot of Pro-I and Double Wing formations, running behind their two-headed monster of [player_tooltip player_id="20875" first="Jordan" last="Anderson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="65721" first="Vinny" last="Iannantone"]. These two would finish the first half with a staggering combined rushing total of 283 yards. Coming out of halftime, the Cyclones came out with some juice to try and get their team going, while also slowing down the Hilltoppers run game. Just like they used Special teams to start the game, they did the same coming out of the half by recovering an onside kick. Adjustments also were made offensively as star QB Ty Lott started to get into more of a rhythm for the Cyclones by moving the chains and getting more completions. This 4A title matchup was a great game and better than the score illustrates. Below are some of the players that stood out in this game and helped their recruitment stock going into the high school football offseason.   4A State Title GameBreakers: [player_tooltip player_id="20875" first="Jordan" last="Anderson"]- RB - 2022 The University of Illinois commit showed why he’s on the fighting Illini’s top prospects. Coming into the game, he had 1,238 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. These numbers would have been higher if the running back wasn’t plagued by injures throughout the season that held him out of a couple of games. In the state game, Jordan ran with power downhill through multiple arm tackles. This in combination with one-cut ability led to 303 yards and 4TD’s. He also continued to get open down the middle of the field   [player_tooltip player_id="65721" first="Vinny" last="Iannantone"] -RB - 2022 103 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. These are the stats most running backs would be happy to accomplish in a game. These were the stats the back for the Hilltoppers was able to produce in the first half. Vinny’s a one-cut back that has a great feel for defenses when running the ball. There were multiple times during the game where he would run east/west and make cuts not necessarily off of the offensive line movement, but the linebackers. His running style in combination with seeking contact, even when he got banged up during the game, was fun to watch. There was a reason he was the ESCC/CCL Orange player of the year.   Madixx Morris - WR - 2023 Maddix was the leading receiver for the cyclones on the title night. He finished the game with 5 catches, 105 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Maddix is a solid route runner that did a great job running in and out of breaks. He wasn’t necessarily the fastest skill position player out there but would manipulate his speed to find pockets.   Ty Lott - QB- 2023 Ty was a Quarterback who manned the team that averaged 51 points coming into this game. During the season he was 176/234 passing, with 2992 yards and 42 touchdowns to 2 interceptions. He’s a young player that had seemed to take a little time to adjust to the speed of JCA, along with the elements. He has a pretty ball, that he throws over the middle with confidence at the short and intermediate level. Ty finished the game throwing 14/23, 3 touchdowns, and 210 yards. He’ll be one of the top players in the state for 2023, and it will be of no surprise if he’s back next year.   [player_tooltip player_id="65872" first="KeShon" last="Singleton"] - WR- 2023 Keshon is another junior receiver that Ty Lott will be coming back next year with. At 6’2” 189 pounds, he’s a great size for a junior. In this game, he caught a passing touchdown and took back a punt return. He’s a strong receiver that makes big plays and doesn’t like to go down on the first contact and I think will reach his full potential as a complete receiver next year.   Congrats on the Joliet Catholic Academy’s 15th state title! <hr /> For more IHSA team previews and the upcoming offseason information regarding Illinois high school football players, you can follow @prepredzone or prepredzoneIL! To have your team featured for a season preview, recruiting advice, or having players featured in future articles, please DM and follow @_D3BO