SLUH football is headed to CBC! The Jr. Bills proved they have some magic left in them in their 35-28 win against No. 2 seed Marquette last Friday in the District semifinals.

Marquette opted to receive the opening kickoff, but they couldn’t spur their offense right off the bat. They punted from their own 20-yard line which set up SLUH inside the Mustang 50, poised to make an early statement.

SLUH marched through Mustang territory, aided by a third down offsides penalty which catapulted them into the red zone. From there, senior quarterback Luke Johnston connected with senior wideout Chris Brooks for a 19-yard score with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter. This continued SLUH’s postseason streak of early  touchdowns.

Marquette, however, didn’t lay down like Lindbergh did the previous week. They responded on the following drive with a commanding 80-yard touchdown march, punching it into the end zone via a 15-yard touchdown pass with 3:07 left in the opening quarter. 

The Jr. Bills jabbed right back with a 63-yard kick return by senior Tommy Etling to set up SLUH at the Mustang 9-yard line. Brooks posted his second score of the day, taking a direct snap two yards on a third down conversion, making it 14-7 Jr. Bills with 1:07 left in the first quarter. 

“I think it’s just been great preparation, not only by me, but the entire offense,” said Brooks on the topic of his recent success. 

Marquette continued to respond to the Jr. Billikens’ offensive success, manhandling the SLUH defense as they manufactured another strong scoring drive and tied the game by virtue of a 1-yard QB run with 10:00 to go in the first half. 

The Jr. Billikens brought out the fireworks on their next drive. On just the fourth offensive play from scrimmage in the second quarter, Johnston connected with sophomore Ryan Wingo for a 67-yard touchdown score with 9:11 to go in the opening half. 

The Mustangs continued to match the Jr. Bill offensive attack, and, with help of a big passing play, knotted the score at 21 with 6:55 to go in the half. 

This would prove to be the final scoring play of the first half, and both sides entered the locker room in a 21-21 tie. 

The first half was largely controlled by the offensive showcases both teams put forward. The second half, conversely, was largely controlled by defensive efforts of both sides. 

“The offense really carried the team in the first half, and the defense played a lot better in the second half,” noted head coach Mike Jones. “Both sides of the ball really contributed.”

Neither team could string together a substantial scoring drive until 4:15 remaining in the third quarter. The offense manufactured a fruitful drive, and Brooks notched his third touchdown of the game, again running it in from the wildcat formation to make it a 28-21 contest. 

The next 14 minutes of game clock was largely characterized by mutual defensive stands and subsequent punts. 

“We were able to tackle the football,” Jones said. “We made some great plays.”

It seemed as if the Jr. Bills might be able to scrape out a win without any more offensive production, but the Mustangs finally broke the second half Jr. Bill defensive excellence. 

The Mustangs tied the game with 2:11 remaining, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run, yet they should have known they left way too much time on the board for the Jr. Billiken offense. 

Senior Andre Tucker swung the momentum right back to the SLUH sideline, and set up the offense for success with a 36-yard squib kick return down to the Mustang 45. 

Marquette’s defense didn’t make it easy for the Jr. Bills, but Johnston kept the drive going and moved the chains with a third down scramble when the Jr. Billikens’ backs were against the wall. 

SLUH was content with driving into field goal range and giving senior kicker Connor Greninger a chance to walk off the game, but they never ruled out the thought of posting seven rather than three. 

With less than 30 seconds left in the game, Johnston lobbed the ball over the top of the defense and found junior tight end Zach Ortwerth in the back of the end zone. Ortwerth tapped two feet in bounds and put the Jr. Bills up by 7. 

“After the catch I was just excited to contribute to a good team win,” Ortwerth said. “I had an opportunity to make a play and I made it.”

Marquette still had a chance to answer, and had a great starting field position to do so. The possible late game Marquette heroics were deterred on the first play the Mustangs ran, though, as Brooks sealed the win for SLUH with a clutch interception. 

“It was great,” Brooks said. “It’s always great to help contribute to a win of that magnitude. …  I’m just happy that my actions helped lead to such a big win.” 

Johnston, again, led the offense, posting 220 yards on 16 for 26 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also surpassed 2,000 passing yards this season, the most in a single season at SLUH since Trevor McDonaugh threw for 3,440 on the 2011 Final Four team. 

Johnston’s success was made possible by the balanced receiving corps around him. Brooks contributed 4 catches for 58 yards, Wingo grabbed 2 for 88, Tucker snagged 2 for 6, and the Ortwerth brothers had four catches apiece, Zach going for 57 yards and Craig going for 11 yards. 

The Jr. Bill air attack was complemented by 109 yards on the ground, with Tucker leading the way with 47 yards, followed by Brooks with 19, senior Derrick Baker and Johnston with 17, and Wingo adding 9. 

“I think that as an offense we have been executing well,” Ortwerth added. “We’ve been able to run the ball consistently, allowing us to open up the passing game.”

The defense also came up huge, as senior Philip Bone, junior Louis Kertz, junior Zach Ortwerth, senior Cayden Owens, senior Pierston Sanders, and senior DonTavion Sullivan each recorded a sack. 

Owens led the team with 14 tackles, Kertz contributed another 12, and Etling came up with his fourth interception of the season, the most since Tony Adams snagged six in 2015. 

This gritty, hard-nosed win has earned the Jr. Billikens a date with the top seeded CBC Cadets in the District Championship, the furthest they have advanced since 2011. 

They will face a familiar foe in CBC, a team they haven’t beaten since 2005. 

The Jr. Billikens faced CBC earlier this season and lost 59-27 in a game the Jr. Bills were leading 21-17. They will look to make some adjustments, trust their fundamentals, and bounce back this week, in order to advance to the State Semifinals as the heavy underdog. 

“We know not many people believe in us and that’s what’s been driving us this whole week and entire playoff run really,” Brooks said. “We believe in ourselves and come Friday we’re going to go out and give it our all. “