As Driscoll began its quest for a seventh straight state championship Saturday afternoon against Bishop McNamara, the last thing the Highlanders needed was extra motivation.
They got it, however, courtesy of an ill-timed display of excessive chirping before kickoff by a group of Bishop Mac players, and the result was a 47-19 Class 4A opening-round playoff shellacking of the Fightin’ Irish.
“I thought it was going to be like Miami vs. Florida State (before the game), but we’re not a program like that,” said Driscoll senior quarterback David Schwabe, who completed 10 of 15 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
“We didn’t like what they did in the beginning, but we shut them up pretty fast.”
Fast as in a 12-0 lead before Bishop Mac had even run a play. The Highlanders (10-0) drove 62 yards in eight plays on the game’s first possession, punctuated by a Schwabe 25-yard run up the middle.
Driscoll’s Chris Nudo then recovered a pop-up squib kickoff at the Irish 38, and halfback Tim Franken (176 yards on 20 carries, four TDs) ran in from 3 yards out four plays later.
Bishop Mac (5-5) answered on its first drive, as Anthony Grant’s 1-yard plunge cut the lead to 12-6.
But Driscoll then strung together three straight touchdowns on a 16-yard Franken gallop and 34- and 10-yard Schwabe scoring strikes to Austin Baker and Clay Cooper for a 33-6 halftime cushion.
Driscoll’s Mike Balaskovits intercepted Bishop Mac junior quarterback Matt Lambert (16 of 31, 195 yards, two TDs) to end the first drive of the second half, and Franken had touchdown runs of 23 and 5 yards on the Highlanders’ next two possessions to build a 47-6 advantage and start a running clock.
Driscoll will play eighth-seeded Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central (8-2) in the second round next weekend.
“I definitely feel that come playoff time we step it up another level,” Franken said. “We know that this is when things start to come together, and we have to play our best.”
