What stands out about St. Rita quarterback Steven Armbruster to Mustangs coach Martin Hopkins?
“Steven works hard,” Hopkins said. “And he prepares very hard. When you work hard like he does in practice, the more comfortable you are on game day and that makes things easier for us.
“Steven puts the team in good positions and he makes smart decisions. It’s been great to see him grow this season and I know he’ll only get better.”
On Nov. 9 in Villa Park, Armbruster set the tone for the Mustangs in a 21-9 win against Willowbrook in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs. St. Rita (9-2) hosts Quincy (11-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals.
It’s the fifth time the Mustangs have reached the state quarterfinals since 2017.
Armbruster was 13 of 22 passing for 121 yards against Willowbrook. His 17-yard TD pass to Tommy Perry at 6:40 of the second quarter was his 16th of the season, a program record.
“Getting that record says a lot about him and how hard he’s worked for us,” Hopkins said. “The O-line and the receivers also have done a great job.
“It’s not just the quarterback; all the guys have contributed to him getting that record and Steven would say the same thing.”
Up 7-3 after three quarters, St. Rita widened its lead to 14-3 at 9:25 of the fourth when Nick Herman scored on a 13-yard run. He finished with 25 carries for 156 yards.
“Every week, Nick runs hard and he’s hard to take down,” Hopkins said. “Nick turns a 1-yard run into a 5-yard run and a 5-yard run into a 10- or-12-yard run.
“He takes a beating out there. You ask him after the game how he feels and he says, ‘I’m fine. We won.’ We put a lot on him and he does a great job for us.”
After Herman’s TD, the Mustang defense provided some additional breathing room. Owen Lynch forced a fumble on a strip sack and inside linebacker James Kingsbury had a 15-yard scoop-and-score for a 21-3 edge with 8:07 remaining.
“Owen and James both play with a lot of passion,” Hopkins said. “They fly around and they’re very good students of the game. They watch a lot of film to pick up (opponent’s) tendencies.
“They go out in practice at 100 percent and that makes games slower for them on Fridays or Saturdays.”
Also chipping for the Mustangs’ defense was Andrew Elwood, who had an interception.