By Jack Mallon ‘22

This has been a huge weekend for Crusader football. Friday night, the Crusaders took on the Marist Redhawks at 115th St. The Crusaders were down 14-0 when they took control of the game. The Crusaders scored 40 unanswered points until the Redhawks finally scored in the 4th quarter. The Crusaders won the game with a final score of 40-21.

The game at Marist ended the regular season for the Crusaders. They finished with a record of 7-2and were 2-1 in the CCL Blue.

To conclude the regular season, the varsity football program held a playoff seeding dinner for coaches and players.

Senior captain Pat Galeher said, “This event was more than a dinner. It was a nice little team bonding experience for us all. I think it is important we can have events like this to bring the team together.

The IHSA seeding event was streamed online giving the brackets for all divisions. The Crusaders will play in the 7A division this year. However, the past 2 years the Crusaders were in 8A for the playoffs.

The show started while players and coaches anxiously awaited who the Crusaders would face in the first game. Then, the bracket for 7A was released. The team found out who they would play Wheaton Warrenville South in the first round. The Crusaders are the #9 seeded team in the 7A division. Wheaton Warrenville South is ranked #24 with a record of 5-4.

The Crusaders are the favorite to win the 7A title. However, there are many challenges along the way. The Crusaders have a chance to play CCL rival Mt. Carmel or undefeated Batavia in the quarterfinals. The program feels very confident at a state championship run.

Senior defensive lineman Jimmy Hogan said, “This team has come a long way. I think in our last game we proved we are a force on both sides of the ball.”

The playoff journey begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30. The Crusaders face the Wheaton Warrenville South Tigers at home. Hopefully there will be many more home games to follow.