St. Rita’s ground game kicks into high gear
By Tim Young For Sun-Times Media September 29, 2012 12:22AM
Updated: November 1, 2012 6:27AM
St. Rita senior running back Tim Lombard rushed for two touchdowns and started the second half by returning the opening kick for an 89-yard touchdown to lead the Mustangs to a 45-12, Catholic League crossover win over Hales Franciscan (4-2).
“2-3 is not where we want to be,” said St. Rite coach Todd Kuska, whose team improved to 3-3. “We were worrying about the wrong things. We need to worry about each game. Our first step was getting one in the ‘W’ column.”
The Mustangs did so behind a solid ground game led by Lombard (77 yards), Sondai Adjel (53 yards, 1 TD) and Derrick Miles (76 yards); and a swarming defense led by senior linebacker Ben Threloff (2 sacks) and junior defensive back Lamar Dawson (one interception) that forced two interceptions and 11 plays that ended up in negative yardage.
“There definitely is a sense of urgency to continue (what we did tonight),” said Threloff. “We need to control the game so the offense can do what they do.”
Just as Threloff knows the defense needs to pick up its play, Lombard expressed the same feeling for the offense.
“The offense needs to step it up,” he said. “We haven’t all year.”
