Althoff, Breese Mater Dei lock horns in key non-conference rivalry grudge match affair

Fresh off a 54-0 shellacking against Decatur St. Theresa, there was no telling how Althoff’s defense would fare against always potent Breese Mater Dei.

On Friday night, the Crusaders’ defense impressively pitched a shutout for almost 42 minutes and then closed the door in the final minute of play.

Junior defensive back Taylor Powell stopped a fourth-down pass with a tackle to kill a late Mater Dei and then knocked down the Knights last gasp, final pass toward the end zone with .6 seconds left and Althoff held on for a thrilling 13-7 upset win at Mater Dei High School.

It was a satisfying win for a young and developing Althoff club which moved to 2-1 in the young season. The outcome also avenged a 31-13 loss to Mater Dei in 2021.

“I can’t say enough about our defensive staff coming off of kind of a rough week and they really flipped the script. It’s total kudos to coach Tripp and coach Whetstone — and all the other defensive coaches — that put together a great game plan and I couldn’t be happier (with that),” Althoff coach Austin Frazier said. “Offensively, we had our moments, but I think we’re gonna continue to grow and we’re gonna be better on that end, too.”

Althoff’s offense came out sharp on the opening drive as the Crusaders marched 65 yards and scored when junior quarterback Braylon Grayson connected with Charleston Coldon on a 25-yard fade pass for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 9:46 left in the first quarter.

Mater Dei (1-2), coming off of a big win over Breese Central last week in the Milk Bowl, struggled to get its offense going in the first half.

Right before intermission, the Knights had a chance to get even as junior quarterback Trenton Zeeb and senior running back Drake Rensing drove them down to the Crusaders’ 24-yard line.

The drive stalled on 4th and 8 when the Crusaders’ swarming defense stopped Zeeb for a 1-yard gain.

“We had a big emotional game last week against Central and that obviously carried over a little bit to this game. We were a little bit off, a little bit slow getting off the ball until the second half when we really came together, and then we really started clicking, but it was just a little too late,” Mater Dei coach and Althoff graduate Jim Stiebel said. “We’ve just got to play cleaner ... a senior four-year starter drops a punt and gives them half the field — it’s just not things we do as a team that we have to clean up.”

Late in the third quarter, the Crusaders gave the defense a big boost when Grayson finished off an 11-play, 60-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that pushed the lead to 13-0.

Grayson skillfully directed the Crusaders’ offense all night with a touchdown pass and a score on the ground and no interceptions.

“He’s a tough-as-nails kid — only a junior — and he’s only gonna get better every rep he gets and he’s a no ego kid,” Frazier said. “I couldn’t be happier with his progression.”

After getting shutout for almost three and half quarters, the Knights finally found the end zone when Rensing broke loose off the right end for a 46-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to 13-7 with 6:15 to go.

Knights have late opportunities

Mater Dei had two more chances to complete the comeback down the stretch. Powell snuffed out the first chance when he brought down Knights senior tight end Dalton Markus short of the first down marker on fourth down with just under two minutes left.

“Well, I knew I had to make a play and big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games in big-time moments and I did it (tonight),” Powell said.

Then, with .6 seconds left, Powell knocked down Zeeb’s desperation fourth-down pass inside the Althoff 15-yard line to stop the Knights one final time.

“We played our hardest and we played for one another and we played our hearts out,” Powell said.

All in all, Crusader defenders Luke Gundlach, Javonte Mosby, Andrew Lyke, and Patton Leib were relentless on the pass rush harassing Zeeb in the pocket all night while the Althoff defense gave up just 121 yards rushing and 67 yards receiving.

‘It felt good’

Powell was emotional after the game as the win was very special for the Crusaders, who have struggled in recent seasons.

“It felt good,” he said. “We all did it for everybody and we did it for the whole Althoff family.”

Frazier agreed, stating, “For us, this is a big rivalry game and I’m good friends with coach Stiebel and I was on his staff here and we work together in the summer. So this is a big one for us in every way you could think of. Love those guys and respect the heck out of them and hope to see them again in the playoffs. That would be awesome.”

Next up

Both teams resume action at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, as the Crusaders open South Seven Conference play at Mount Vernon while Mater Dei visits Alton Marquette.

This story was originally published September 10, 2022 at 12:34 AM.