Sam Holcomb

🟠Brother Rice (8-2) rolled to a 48-7 win over St. Charles North on Halloween. Sam Holcomb accounted for four total TD in the first half, spreading the ball around as usual. Damari Thigpen and Anthony Cartolano had special teams touchdowns. The defense finished with five sacks, rarely giving Landon Conroy more than a couple seconds to find an open receiver. In other words, it was a ho-hum early-round playoff win for a team that is vastly superior to most of the rest of 7A, despite replacing a lot of starters from last year’s state title team. Tomorrow’s game, however, shapes up to be more interesting. If you want to watch a battle between two excellent groups, don’t miss Brother Rice’s defense vs. Batavia’s offense. 🔴Next Game: Home vs. Batavia (8-2), 4:00 Saturday If you’re not familiar with the Bulldogs, they boast one of the most explosive passing offenses in the state. Scoring 40 points per game is good against any slate of opponents, but Batavia did it while playing in the DuKane and scheduling non-conference games against Maine South and Rochester. Wyoming commit Michael Vander Luitgaren is at the helm, and the Crusader secondary will have its hands full with this group of receivers. Amazingly, the last time Batavia lost in the playoffs to a non-CCL team was 2016. They won 7A in 2017 and then lost to Nazareth in '18 and '19, Mt. Carmel from 2021-24, and St. Rita in last year’s semifinals. ☑️Illinois Media poll: #7 in 7A 🗓️Schedule: Extremely tough - 49 opponents’ wins, 4 ranked teams, 1 RV 🏈Scoring averages: Offense 40.1 / Defense 26.7 🏆Best regular season win: Week 1 vs. Maine South, 49-35 ↔️Common opponent: Both teams beat St. Charles North. Batavia won 55-35 in Week 5, and Brother Rice won 48-7 last Saturday. 👀One unit to watch: The Bulldogs graduated four OL starters in May. The new group has played well overall, but this will be their biggest test of the season. @BrotherRiceFB @BRice_Athletics @Jameson_Davis27 @RoccoGalasso27 @BraydenParks27 @samholcomb_ @aydanyarbrough5 @KameronMcGee202 @Tyler_Houlf @c_rios78 @EthanPosey79 @AustinKava83075 @AndersonCj2029 @DanielDes2028 @Tyler_Frazier1 @elijahechols06 @Timothyboler3 @LucasRios60 @NateElsea @jameermurphy2 @JahonEdwards3 @lucas__strang1 @JackMac2028 @KolbyJDaniels @mason_marable @J_shelton28 @Jeremiah_Chr1s @Tymel_Lofton44 @JackBadke @AriEdwards2010 @cfk_ajj @Decatur_W @JordanJMoore11 @Logan_Monroe03 @ConniesPizza

🟠Brother Rice (7-2) begins their 7A title defense on Saturday. The jaw-dropping scoring averages below provide a good snapshot of the Crusaders’ season. They’re loaded on both sides of the ball, and they’ve proven that they are every bit as good as the consensus top 3 teams in 8A (a 1-point loss at LWE, a 3-point loss at Loyola, and a 35-24 win vs. Mt. Carmel). The Crusaders cruised to the title game last year, but the draw this year should provide some good games. Batavia is likely next, Normal Community bludgeoned the rest of the Big 12, and a potential matchup with East St. Louis would come in the semifinals. RB Jameson Davis and QBs Sam Holcomb and Rocco Galasso would be good on any team, but this O-line makes them better. Tyler Houlf, Ethan Posey, Carlos Rios, CJ Anderson, Daniel Desouza, Austin Kavanagh, Lucas Rios, Tyler Frazier…it’s an embarrassment of riches. 🏈Scoring averages: Offense 43.7 / Defense 14.2 👀Duo to watch: Kameron McGee and Brayden Parks spend almost as much time in the backfield as opposing QBs do. If there’s a better defensive 1-2 punch in the state, I haven’t seen it. 🔵Behind Enemy Lines: St. Charles North The North Stars (6-4) make their fifth straight playoff appearance. They’ve had a heavy dose of CCL schools in that time, going 1-3 in those matchups, and they fell to Brother Rice last year in the quarterfinals. The offensive line is inexperienced but talented, and though they haven’t seen pass rushers like the Crusaders can offer, they’ve been tested this year and looked good. 🗓️Schedule: Strong - 46 opponents’ wins, 3 ranked teams, 1 RV 🏈Scoring averages: Offense 32.4 / Defense 27.9 🏆Best win: Week 2 at South Elgin, 56-21 👀One player to watch: Senior RB Tommy Vendl accumulated 213 total yards and 4 total TD last weekend @BrotherRiceFB @BRice_Athletics @Jameson_Davis27 @RoccoGalasso27 @BraydenParks27 @samholcomb_ @aydanyarbrough5 @KameronMcGee202 @Tyler_Houlf @c_rios78 @EthanPosey79 @AustinKava83075 @AndersonCj2029 @DanielDes2028 @Tyler_Frazier1 @elijahechols06 @Timothyboler3 @LucasRios60 @NateElsea @jameermurphy2 @JahonEdwards3 @lucas__strang1 @JackMac2028 @KolbyJDaniels @mason_marable @J_shelton28 @Jeremiah_Chr1s @Tymel_Lofton44 @JackBadke @AriEdwards2010 @cfk_ajj @Decatur_W @JordanJMoore11 @Logan_Monroe03