St. Ignatius lineman Justin Scott knew how fast Jack Wanzung was. Joliet West found out on Friday.
“All you really have to do is slow the defender and he’s going to take care of the rest,” Scott, an Ohio State recruit, said. “He’s explosive.”
Wanzung ran for 227 yards and four touchdowns in the Wolfpack’s 39-6 win at Joliet West in the first round of the Class 8A state playoffs.
“[Wanzung] is probably the fastest player I’ve had here,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Miller said. “And he’s a tough kid. He was CCL/ESCC Player of the Year for the Green and had like 800 yards rushing.”
Wanzung scored on runs of six, 56, 37 and four yards. He also threw a 64-yard TD pass to Clement Carey. St. Ignatius (7-3) 18-0 after the first quarter.
“The blocking was there,” Wanzung said. “We had a lot of mistakes but I got my opportunities and I took advantage of them. My teammates put me in good positions.”
Running back Wiliam Barnett had 20 carries for 95 yards for the Wolfpack.
St. Ignatius had a rough week of practice heading into the game and despite the final score, wasn’t happy with the performance overall.
“It was a great opening for us,” Miller said. “The defense played well and we had to capitalize on a few really good individual effort plays from [Wanzung]. Which is awesome but you don’t really want to rely on him just making plays.”
Jack Wanzung with another TD run. That should do it for St. Ignatius, now up 32-6 on Joliet West with 11:12 left. pic.twitter.com/661JGizgLP
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) October 28, 2023
Joliet West (8-2) scored on a trick play late in the first half. Quarterback Juan Rico passed to wide receiver Marion Starks near the sideline and he threw a 24-yard TD pass to junior Payton Turner.
Rico was 16-for-37 for 173 yards with one interception.
It was the first playoff game Joliet West had ever hosted. A large crowd turned in the rain. Just a few years ago the Tigers were struggling to win more than a handful of games every season and weren’t allowed to play on Friday nights for safety reasons. Things have changed quickly in coach Dan Tito’s two seasons.
“It’s a historic step for our program,” Tito said. “It was a watershed moment. There is a different atmosphere to playoff football. The next step is to make this the norm.”
St. Ignatius will face Huntley in the second round next weekend. Joliet West had never faced a triple-option team. Huntley plays three teams that run the offense every season.
“One of the benefits of running a system like this is you run into a team that has never seen it,” Miller said. “But I’m sure Huntley is going to have a plan. We have to be ready for it.”
