Downers Grove North's defense held St. Rita scoreless on offense and the Trojans ground out a 17-7 Class 7A second-round playoff win on Friday, Nov. 6, at Carstens Field.

The victory sends DGN (10-1) to the quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year, according to Shaw Local's Friday Night Drive.

St. Rita's only points came on the game's second play. Kyle Keyser intercepted a screen pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. After that, the Trojans' defense did not allow a score for the rest of the game, the fifth shutout of the season for the unit.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable," DGN coach Joe Horeni said. "The game plan was phenomenal, the execution from our kids was fantastic. It was a very physical game. So proud of our kids for continuing to fight."

The Mustangs (7-4), the Class 7A runner-up a year ago, managed just 111 yards of total offense and seven first downs. St. Rita was held to 11 yards in the first half.

Junior defensive lineman Declan Davies set the tone early with two sacks, including a 13-yard takedown of St. Rita quarterback John Fennell on the Mustangs' second offensive play.

"It was pretty physical, one of the most physical games we've played," Davies said. "We all did a good job of getting done what needed to get done."

Fennell dislocated his thumb on the opening series and could not grip the ball the rest of the game. Neither starting quarterback completed a pass.

"Without John being able to throw the ball we got singlehanded," St. Rita coach Martin Hopkins said.

Trojans grind it out on the ground

Kevin Jay rushed for 111 yards on 16 carries and Grant Georgas added 103 yards on 17 carries. Each scored a touchdown.

DGN's offense struggled early despite good field position. The Trojans threw two interceptions and had a field goal blocked in their first four possessions. Baker Glomb connected on a 35-yard field goal to get DGN on the board.

The go-ahead score came late in the second quarter. After a Joey Serpico punt return and a Mustangs penalty put the ball at the St. Rita 13-yard line, Jay punched in a 1-yard touchdown run to give DGN a 10-7 lead with 4:10 left in the half.

"The defense has saved us all year and they were saving us big," Jay said. "We had to put the ball in the end zone and that's exactly what we did."

Georgas sealed the win with a 26-yard touchdown run with 6:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 17-7.

Defense closes the door

St. Rita's best drive of the second half covered 48 yards on 10 straight runs. DGN's Connor Crowley stopped Fennell short on a fourth-and-2 run around left end. The Trojans made another fourth-down stop on St. Rita's next series at midfield.

"Sweep to the outside, read my key and went and made a play," Crowley said.

Hopkins credited the DGN defense. "They teed up on us in the box and we couldn't get on the perimeter," he said. "Running the ball is not going to be enough against them."

DGN's quarterfinal matchup is at Oak Lawn Richards, according to Shaw Local's published pairings. The No. 3-seeded Trojans are scheduled to play the No. 11-seeded Bulldogs at 1 p.m. Saturday.