Marian Central finishes regular season 9-0

The Marian Central Catholic High School Hurricanes accomplished their goal of finishing the regular season undefeated Oct. 19 with a 41-7 win over Wheaton Academy. And yet however solid their record, they know Friday’s game left much to be desired as they head into their first playoff game against Wauconda this weekend. 

“We didn’t play as well as we are capable of playing,” said Marian head coach Ed Brucker. “But maybe that will be good for us. Offensively I thought the second quarter was probably the worst we’ve had all season. We’ve got to clean up all that stuff and get ready for the tougher teams.”

Although the ’Canes’ (9-0 overall; 6-0 SCC Blue Division) defense held Wheaton (4-5 overall) scoreless in the first half, the Marian offense was unable to capitalize on some key scoring opportunities in the second quarter. Despite not reaching their potential, the Hurricanes still scored 20 points in the first half. Senior quarterback Chris Streveler (17-23-1-214) led the way with two running touchdowns, including the first of the game when he plowed through a Wheaton defender on the 1-yard line to reach the endzone. 

Juniors C.J. Wightman and Ephraim Lee also ran in touchdowns for the ’Canes. Lee’s 54-yard run in the third quarter put the hammer down on Wheaton. 

“The holes were there in the first half,” said Lee, who rushed 19 times for 191 yards. “I thought I had to keep bouncing it outside. The coaches told me to make one cut and go. That’s what I did in the second half.”

Senior Greg Walczak had three receptions for 80 yards, including a touchdown. Junior Brett Olsen also scored for the Hurricanes on a 17-yard pass from Streveler. 

The Hurricane defense held Wheaton scoreless save for one third-quarter touchdown. 

“They were spreading us out a little bit with the quarterback sneak,” said junior Tom Klinger. “We just needed to get our outside linebackers to fill in more.”

With the win behind them, the No. 2 seed Hurricanes look forward to hosting their first playoff game against No. 15 seed Wauconda (5-4) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26.

“We are going to come out and practice hard,” said Lee. “We will be ready, and we will do well. 

The Hurricanes may face Woodstock North (6-3) in the second round of the playoffs. No. 7 seed WNHS is set to host No. 10 seed Sterling (6-3) this weekend as well.