Driscoll, the winner of six-straight state championships (five in 4A and one in 3A), scored on its first seven possessions and belted out its own version of the song, defeating Chicago Christian 48-7 in the teams’ quarterfinal contest in Addison.
The win kept the Highlanders perfect for the season at 12-0. It moved them into next week’s semifinal showdown against Coal City and one victory away from shooting for an unprecedented seventh consecutive state crown. Chicago Christian ended its season at 10-2.
“We had a nice day for sure,” said running back Tim Franken, who rushed for 124 yards on 17 carries and punched in scores from 1, 8 and 15 yards. “We like playing that Bon Jovi song before the game. It’s a fun song.”
However, it usually doesn’t end up being much fun for the opposition when visiting Driscoll. This was no exception. The Highlanders were the recipients of six Knights turnovers (three fumbles, three interceptions) and even pulled off an onside kick. There wasn’t much the hosts didn’t do right on Saturday.
Driscoll quarterback David Schwabe took the team 69 yards in 12 plays on its opening possession. Franken’s run from a yard out capped it at 7:01. Then the Highlanders executed the onside kick, which Mike Balaskovits grabbed on one bounce at the Knights 34. It led to a 33-yard field goal by Brett Warren and a 10-0 advantage.
In the second quarter, Nick Stenzel’s fumble recovery at the Christian 23 set up Franken’s second score, a five-yard run. Driscoll’s Trace Jenkins recovered another Knights fumble on the following possession. Three plays later, Franken danced in from 15 yards out to take a 24-0 lead. The score ballooned to 41-0 by halftime. P.J. Fajardo had the Highlanders’ lone second-half score on a dazzling 38-yard run.
“We did what we wanted to do today,” said Schwabe, who was 14-for-20 for 146 yards in the air. He had a 13-yard TD pass to Kevin Palermo and scored on a 14-yard run in the first half. “We wanted to jump on them early and we did that. And then our defense [causing the turnovers] made it easy.”
The Knights’ only score came with 5:05 left in the game. Quarterback Alex Haan hooked up with wide receiver Kevin Drenth to avert the shutout.
The Highlanders’ win wasn’t all smiles. Mike “Loci” Loconsole was laid to rest earlier in the morning. The 53-year-old, who was an assistant football coach at Driscoll for 16 years, lost his three-year battle with cancer Wednesday. The players and coaching staff dedicated the game to him.
