After defeating Porter’s Chapel 56-0 last Friday to complete a perfect 10-0 regular season, the St. Joseph Catholic School football team players and coaches now turn their eyes on capturing a third straight state MAIS high school championship.
The Fighting Irish will have a target on their backs.They are heavy favorites heading into the MAIS Class 3A playoffs. St. Joseph is the top seed and has earned a bye in the first round of the tournament. The Fighting Irish have home field advantage for the entire tournament before it concludes on Friday Nov. 22 at Jackson Academy.
St. Joseph’s first game of the playoffs will be November 8 against the winner of Glenbrook School and Central Holmes.
“One of the main things we want to do is guard against complacency,” St. Joseph head coach John Baker said. “We are going to use this off week to try and heal up and get back to fundamentals.”
Coach Baker expects left tackle Jordan Scott and linebacker Elvis Scott to be recovered from their injuries and ready to play next Friday.
Coach Baker said his team cannot take anything for granted in the playoffs because there are so many capable teams still remaining. Teams like No. 2 seed Winona Christian and No. 3 Marshall Academy have the ability to make a deep run in the playoffs, the coach said.
The Fighting Irish used its victory over Porter’s Chapel as a final tuneup before the playoffs begin. A total of nine different players scored in the Fighting Irish’s victory over Porter’s Chapel, including Cliff Courtney who kicked his first field goal of the season.
Other St. Joe players who scored in the game included Dillon Johnson, Trey Benson, Rhodrick Gentry Jr., Jay Robinson and Kaleb Lockett.
This year’s state playoffs will be the final chance for Fighting Irish fans to see senior stars Dillon Johnson and Trey Benson play in a St. Joe uniform The two talented athletes, who will both play major college football next season, lived up to all the preseason hype and then some. Benson finished the regular season averaging 17.1 yards per carry on his way to 1,504 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. Johnson, meanwhile, rushed for 21 touchdowns as well, averaging 14.2 yards per carry and 1,339 rushing yards.
The Fighting Irish have been more than a two-man team, however. For example, junior quarterback Mekhi Norris has thrown 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions this season. Norris’ main receivers have been Gentry and Lockett, who each have more than 300 yards receiving this season.
