St. Laurence coach Adam Nissen was a happy man following the Vikings’ 24-0 shutout victory of Niles Notre Dame,
Whether running the ball or dominating the Dons defensively, St. Laurence turned in an impressive performance in the CCL/ESCC crossover on Sept. 13 in Burbank.
The Vikings defense allowed just 55 yards of total offense (39 rush, 16 pass). Standouts for St. Laurence were Jacob Bylina (9 tackles), Gary Coleman (3 tackles, 3 sacks), Brendan Carroll (6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss), Cory Les (4 tackles, blocked field goal) and Mikhail Riley (interception).
“Our defense was the highlight of the night for me,” Nissen said. “Our defensive staff and coaches had an unbelievable plan for the week. The kids were flying all around and we had 11 hats to the ball. They’re picking up what we’re teaching them.”
He added that Carroll and Bylina were “all over the place.”
“They were diagnosing plays before they got going,” he said. “They were in the middle of every play. They made good contact and finished off plays.”
Harley Rizzs led the Vikings offense with 22 carries for 174 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown. Les had five carries for 89 yards and a 57-yard TD run.
Quarterback Chase Kwiatkowski (12-of-15 passing, 70 yards) connected with Kyle Richardson on an 8-yard TD toss while Collin Bagley chipped in a 36-yard field goal.
Playing an integral role in the offense’s success was the offensive line consisting of tackles Gio Delgado and Jahlen Williams, guards Brian Killen and Julian Garcia, and center Angelo Arellano.
“They were physical, and we pride ourselves on playing a physical brand of football,” Nissen said. “They played nasty off the ball for four quarters. I wanted to see them go four full quarters of physical football and they answered the bell.”