Dierre Hill Jr. makes the most of limited action as Althoff rolls to first-round win

The Althoff Catholic Crusaders began what could be a dominating run toward a IHSA Class 1A football championship Friday.

Powered by senior standout running back Dierre Hill, Jr., an explosive offense, and a dominant defense, top-seed Althoff Catholic rolled to a 60-0, first-round playoff win over Dupo at home.

Althoff (10-0) will next face the winner of the Winchester-Carrollton game next weekend in a second-round playoff matchup.

It was a fun return to the field for the Oregon-bound Hill, who missed the season finale against Kaneland last week while resting a right shoulder injury. He was still used sparingly, but he made the most of this three carries with 123 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

“It was a great feeling just to get back out here with my brothers and just taking the recovery slow. We’ve got a big season ahead of us and a career ahead of me as well, so we’re trying to play it smart,” Hill said. “But today was a great opportunity and a great decision to get back out here.”

Althoff got its big-play offense going early as junior quarterback Jayden Ellington found senior wideout and Boston College recruit Charleston Coldon for a 39-yard touchdown pass.

On the Crusaders’ second drive of the game, Hill raced around right end and scored on a 67-yard touchdown run, making it 14-0.

“Coach saw that they weren’t really pursuing that outside, so we gave that ball to me on the outside and I had two great blocks out there from Steven Brown, my littfe brother,” Hill said. “Charleston Coldon, my other brother, set me up with some great blocks for s long run touchdown.”

Brown followed with a 13-yard touchdown run on the Crusaders’ final drive of the first quarter to make it 20-0.

Then the Crusaders kicked the offense into high gear to start the second quarter, scoring four touchdowns in just under five minutes.

Ellington connected with Logan Thompson on a 40-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 9-yard run, Hill broke off a 47-yard touchdown run, and Lucas Jacquot capped the four-score blitz with a 13-yard touchdown. Jacquot finished with 82 yards on 13 carries.

Althoff added once more score just before the half on a 21-yard Mason Thacker to Kyle Kantner pass, pushing the lead to 54-0 at the break.

The onslaught set off a running clock in the second half.

“I’m excited that everybody got a chance to get into the end zone and the whole team got a chance to play a playoff game and get experience,” Althoff coach Austin Frazier said. “That was fun to watch.”

The Crusaders defense forced six turnovers including two Lorne Green interceptions and a John Taylor 30-yard pick-6 that capped Althoff’s scoring.

“We’ve had a pretty good defense for most of the year, but have not turned people over, so it’s nice to get that rolling in the playoffs. Maybe we’ll start changing that around a little bit,” Frazier said. “(Green is a) guy that’s had his struggles at different times this year, but we’ve never lost faith in him.

“Love the kid and he keeps working and working and I’m more happy about him than anybody else.”

Dupo’s season ended at 5-5 with the loss. It was the Tigers’ second trip to the playoffs in three years under coach Zach Klaustermeier, who led them back to the post season for the first time in 10 years in 2022.