Brother Rice vs. St. Rita final score: Crusaders end historic 44-year drought in IHSA Class 7A state title game

Billy Heyen

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Brother Rice vs. St. Rita final score: Crusaders end historic 44-year drought in IHSA Class 7A state title game image

For the first time since 1981, Brother Rice is on top of the Illinois high school football world.

The Crusaders had taken two trips back to the state championship game in the meantime, failing to bring home either trophy. But on Wednesday, in a rescheduled IHSA Class 7A title game at NIU, Brother Rice was triumphant.

The final: a dominant 16-0 over St. Rita.

The two South Side schools separated by just 4.6 miles traveled to DeKalb to play a game that was supposed to be contested Saturday, only to be postponed due to snow that shut down the Illinois State campus.

That meant a new hosting site, but in the end, the result was the same as the Week 3 meeting between these schools that Brother Rice won, as well.

It was a game mostly filled with defensive brilliance, including a safety.

Brother Rice QB C.J. Gray, an Army commit, made a few big offensive plays. On the defensive side for the Crusaders, Kameron McGee (4 TFL, 2 sacks) and Brayden Parks (3.5 TFL, 3 passes batted) created havoc as the Brother Rice defense limited St. Rita to just 2-for-6 converting fourth downs.

It marked the first shutout in the Class 7A state title game since 2013.

St. Rita finishes second place in the state for a third time to go along with two previous state championships.

Below, you can re-live our live updates from the championship game.

MORE: Follow along with Mount Carmel vs. Oswego in the Class 8A state final here

BROTHER RICE 16, ST. RITA 0: FINAL

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FOURTH QUARTER

- The ballgame is over. Brother Rice is a state champion in football for the first time since 1981, and second time in school history.

- On the next fourth down, Brother Rice's defense breaks up a pass. That should send this one toward a celebration for the Crusaders.

- St. Rita converts on a fourth-down pass in Brother Rice territory with 2:55 to play to keep slim hopes alive.

- Brother Rice touchdown.  C.J. Gray to Collin Goggin, 9-yard touchdown pass. The point after is good, and BR holds a 16-0 lead. They are on the brink of their first state championship since 1981. (Brother Rice 16-0, 4:10 4Q)

- Army recruit and QB C.J. Gray of Brother Rice kept it himself 54 yards up the middle and into the red zone with less than five minutes to play. Serious chance to ice it for BR here.

- St. Rita misses a 42-yard field goal with 8:24 to play. Brother Rice takes over, still holding a 9-0 lead.

- Three consecutive runs gain a total of four yards. Brother Rice punts. St. Rita takes over near midfield with 10:11 left. It was the 10th punt of the game.

THIRD QUARTER

- Third quarter ends with a St. Rita punt. Brother Rice will start the fourth at its own 20-yard line.

- Brother Rice goes for fourth-and-2 at the plus-40 and doesn't convert. Another turnover on downs, defenses keep playing well, St. Rita takes over and needs to find points.

- St. Rita doesn't convert the fourth. Incomplete pass, another stop for the Brother Rice defense.

- Another key spot coming for St. Rita, 4th-and-8 at the Brother Rice 39-yard line.

- Steven Armbruster completes an 18-yard first down to Donovan Evans, the longest play of the day so far for St. Rita.

- And... The defenses remain on point. St. Rita gets a stop and gets the ball back on a Brother Rice punt.

- With 7:25 left in the third quarter, Brother Rice forces a punt, maintaining its 9-0 lead.

- Damon Sutton Jr. And Steven Armbruster have St. Rita driving to start the second half.

- St. Rita will receive the second half kickoff.

HALFTIME

- Jaylin Green with 15 runs for 73 yards in the first half for Brother Rice, which was limited to just 4 yards in the passing game. Green has more yardage himself than St. Rita has as a team.

- Kameron McGee has been disruptive defensively in the first half for Brother Rice, already with three tackles for loss.

SECOND QUARTER

- No points in the second quarter. It's 9-0 at the half, Brother Rice leading St. Rita.

- St. Rita throws incomplete on fourth down. Brother Rice takes over on the turnover on downs.

- Decision time at the BR 43-yard line for St. Rita. Timeout before the play call.

- St. Rita and Brother Rice each put up quiet possessions, so the ball is back to St. Rita as the second quarter ticks on and the score remains 9-0 BR.

- Brother Rice lined up for a fourth-down go, but the quarterback CJ Gray ended up punting and putting it inside the 15-yard line. 

- A third-down pass breakup by Brayden Parks forces St. Rita to punt again, and although Brother Rice initially muffs the punt, they fall on it to prevent disaster.

- Brother Rice went for it on fourth down at the St. Rita 14-yard line, but a pass fell incomplete to turn it over on downs.

FIRST QUARTER

- It's 9-0 Brother Rice at the end of the first quarter. Jaylin Green ran for 68 yards on 13 carries in the first quarter.

- After the safety, Brother Rice is driving again. Three hard counts have already drawn offsides penalties on St. Rita in the first quarter.

- Brother Rice safety.  Jayveon Lockett got a third-down sack to back St. Rita up. And on the punt snap, the punter's knee went down in the end zone to receive a low snap, recording the 2-point safety. (Brother Rice 9-0, 2:06 1Q)

- St. Rita gets a crucial three-and-out right back, with Killian Lacy playing a key role in the defensive stop. Brother Rice punts back to St. Rita.

- Kameron McGee makes two tackles for loss to force a St. Rita punt right back to Brother Rice to try and expand on the lead.

- Brother Rice touchdown.  They take the opening drive down the field and score in about six minutes. CJ Gray ran in a touchdown from 6 yards out on a shotgun designed run. (Brother Rice 7-0, 6:07 1Q)

- St. Rita won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Brother Rice will receive to begin the 7A state final. And the game is underway a few minutes behind schedule with a game time temperature of 30 degrees and a feels like of 25.

PREGAME

- There appears to be snowed shoveled away from the field, but the turf looks clear at NIU.

- A cool stat via social media: Brother Rice and St. Rita are located 4.6 miles apart on Chicago's South Side.

- This game was slated to be played Saturday at Illinois State. An incoming snowstorm shut down campus that day, and it forced the Class 7A and 8A games to be pushed to Wednesday at NIU.

- This will be the first of two games on the day. Mount Carmel and Oswego will end the Illinois high school football season with a scheduled 6 p.m. Kick for the 8A title after Brother Rice and St. Rita finish up.

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Editorial Team