Impressive Second Half Sees La Salette Take Illinois Title
Impressive Second Half Sees La Salette Take Illinois Title
Notre Dame de la Salette followed up on their 3rd-place finish at the Boys HS National Championships with wild win over the Marist Redhawks to take the Illinois School-team State Championship.
La Salette struck first, with prop Seamus Hanlon taking it to the corner and a 5-0 lead. Marist responded with center Kevin Tompkins charging over after a lineout. The conversion gave Marist a 7-5 lead. Redhawks fullback Micheal Flynn helped add to that lead, blocking a La Salette clearance kick for Thompkins to grab and take over the line.
Down 14-5 La Salette got a try from captain and scrumhalf Saulo Cruz off a scrum five meters out.
The combination of Flynn and Tompkins were trouble for the Lions, with Flynn's kicking keeping La Salette pinned back, and his running producing two tries and a 26-12 Marist lead with halftime approach. But with time left in the first period, No. 8 Toby McQuillin dove over. Connor Hanlon converted from the sideline to make it 26-19. And just before the break Cruz chipped over the line, regathered, and was in under the posts. Hafltime and it was all tied up 26-26.
Marist scored through the Flynn-Tompkins connection, with the center taking an excellent pass to score his third of the game. La Salette tied it up through a break from Gabe Stafki and it was deadlocked again 33-33.
Stafki's try broke the dam. Lewis Dittman blocked a kick and regathered to score; wing Marco Cruz kept a Marist in the field of play, tapping it to Stafki for another long breakaway; Martin Schoeberle raced over twice, and with Hanlon converting all four tries it was now 61-33.
Redhawks' prop Louis Kulekowskis pounded in a try with seven minutes in the game, but Marist had too far to climb. La Salette hooker Gerard Neinaber's chip kick to himself for a try finished it off 75-40.
It was an impressive offensive showing by Marist, but La Salette was explosive. They capped off a 15-1 season, with a Midwest championship and only the one loss, to eventual national champs St. Ignatius.
—Reporting by Joseph Mackin
