By Dan McGrath
After two successful tuneups against Public League opposition, the Leo Lions stepped up in class against a legitimate-looking Catholic League contender at Triton College on Saturday, and the task was beyond them.
The St. Patrick’s Shamrocks, from Chicago’s Northwest side, turned all five of their first-half possessions into touchdowns, added a sixth on an interception return and cruised to a 42-8 victory that announced their presence as a serious football team under first-year Coach Tom Zbikowski, a 2007 All-America safety at Notre Dame.
Junior quarterback Gavin Gardiner was the Lions’ chief tormentor, completing 13 of 17 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. His TD passes covered 82 yards to Joseph Costanzo and four yards to sophomore Rocco Mertens, and he added a third score when he dived on a teammate’s fumble in the end zone.
Gardiner, showing off deft passing mechanics and a pillow-soft touch, connected with Timmy Schayer four times for 81 yards and five other receivers at least once. Anthony Catron scored on a 17-yard run, Jayden Miranda went over from a yard out and sophomore Emanuel Day brought an interception back 38 yards as the Shamrocks (2-1) built a 42-0 halftime lead that necessitated a second-half running clock.
“I kind of saw this coming,” Leo Coach Theo Hopkins said after the Lions slipped to 2-1 in his first year. ‘We didn’t have a good week of practice. Too many guys missing, other distractions. We didn’t get done what we needed to get done.”
Senior Derrick Davis, who threw the game-winning TD pass and made a game-saving interception in the previous week’s win over Amundsen, missed the game – he’s in Southern California for the world-renowned Leo Choir’s Tuesday appearance on “America’s Got Talent,” along with teammates Blake Moore and Bernard Freeman.
Flu-like symptoms thinned the ranks at some other practices.
To their credit, the Lions competed until the final whistle, finally scoring on backup QB Jessie Seay’s 36-yard, fourth-quarter strike to Antonio Clark. Seay’s dazzling run for the two-point conversion officially covered two yards, but with all his scrambling, it was more like 32.
Seay had taken over for fellow sophomore Trent Watson, who managed to complete 10 of 22 throws for 144 yards, including a 54-yard hookup with Jaivon Dale, while running for his life against St. Pat’s big, physical defenders. Those same defenders held the Lions to 69 rushing yards, 39 by Ellison Cox on 10 carries.
It was a rough day all the way around for the Lions, with the sophomore team losing 42-0 to the Shamrock sophs.
“Flush it,” Hopkins said of the preferred reaction to the one-sided loss. “This was a bump, but we learn from it and move on to Marian Catholic (0-3). They’re in our division (the CCL-ESCC Red) and if we win it we’re right back on track.”
Game time is 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 19 at St. Xavier University.
