Elmhurst's IC Catholic Prep football team can clinch the Chicago Catholic League (CCL) White Division title Friday, Oct. 16, when the Knights host Joliet Catholic at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams enter the regular-season finale unbeaten in division play. IC Catholic is 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the White. Joliet Catholic is 5-3 and 2-0, according to Shaw Local's CCL Week 9 preview. The winner takes the division.
The Knights carry momentum from one of the most prolific individual seasons in the program's recent history. Quarterback Nate Lang has thrown 21 touchdown passes against zero interceptions in eight starts, according to Shaw Local. In IC Catholic's Oct. 9 loss to Class 8A No. 1 Loyola, Lang threw for 369 yards and five touchdowns with only three incompletions.
"I will take a chance with my guys against anybody," Lang said in Shaw Local's Suburban Life football notes column published Wednesday, Oct. 14, reflecting on the Loyola game.
That 45-35 loss was IC Catholic's only defeat this season. The Knights led 35-21 at halftime before Loyola shut them out in the second half. Lang told Shaw Local after the game that finishing was the takeaway.
"The biggest takeaway is we've got to be able to finish games," he said after the Oct. 9 loss. "We just have to keep the rhythm going that we had in the first half."
Despite the defeat, Shaw Local's coverage noted the performance cemented IC Catholic as a Class 3A playoff favorite. The Knights entered the Loyola game ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A Illinois media poll.
Lang's top target, junior wide receiver Grant Bowen, has 37 catches for 625 yards and nine touchdowns this season. The 6-foot-4 four-star prospect hauled in 10 catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns against Loyola, including a toe-tap score in the back of the end zone. Yale recruit Anthony Carroccio added five catches for 106 yards and a touchdown in that game.
Joliet Catholic presents a different challenge. The Hilltoppers lean on a three-man running back rotation of Derrick Pomatto, Da'Sani Smart and Johnsburg transfer Duke Mays, according to Shaw Local. Smart rushed for 159 yards on 26 carries in Joliet Catholic's 38-14 Week 7 win over St. Patrick. Pomatto added 96 yards on 13 carries.
The Hilltoppers have been a divisional powerhouse. They won the CCL Orange Division title the past two seasons and have won 24 of their last 25 divisional matchups since 2019, Shaw Local reported. Joliet Catholic was ranked No. 5 in the Class 6A media poll entering Week 8.
Head coach Bill Krefft's Knights have shown a reset-and-reload mentality all season. After IC Catholic's 42-14 win over Benet on Oct. 2, Krefft told the Daily Herald his team needed to start fresh and prepare for the next opponent.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at IC Catholic Prep in Elmhurst. The Class 3A playoffs begin the week after.
