It took a while, but all the pieces are back in place for St. Laurence.
Running back Harley Rizzs and quarterback Chase Kwiatkowski both missed multiple games this season because of injuries.
Senior linebacker Brendan Carroll also had a significant injury, breaking his right thumb in the same game Kwiatkowski went down. He didn’t miss any games but has played since with a club-like cast on his right hand and forearm.
All of them played starring roles on Saturday afternoon when St. Laurence beat Wheaton Academy 26-14 in a Class 4A second-round game in Burbank.
The Vikings (8-3), who finished second in 4A last season, play at DePaul Prep (8-3) in next weekend’s quarterfinals.
Rizzs, the defending Class 2A state champ in the 100 meters, ran 24 times for 126 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a 12-yard shovel pass for a TD from Kwiatkowski, who was 9 of 11 for 61 yards, Running back Corey Les added a pair of short scoring runs for the Vikings.
Kwiatkowski, an Illinois State commit, transferred this year from Lake Central in Indiana. His only season with the Vikings went sideways when he was hurt in Week 5.
With a less balanced offense, St. Laurence lost three of its last four regular-season games.
“Man, it was terrible,” Kwiatkowski said of sitting out. “I was just watching every single week and I was like, ‘I want to be on that field.'”
He returned for last week’s 35-17 win against Richmond-Burton and the Vikings were back in sync.
Rizzs was glad to have Kwiatkowski back, and not just for what he did on the field.
“He understands the game really well,” Rizzs said. “And when we know that we know what we’re doing on offense, it gives us supreme confidence.”
It also helps to have Les, a 6-foot, 205-pounder who finished with nine carries for 45 yards.
“He’s a really good blocker, which I like a lot,” Rizzs said. “He can run, he can do it all. He’s a good all-around athlete. I feel more confident when he’s on the field.”
And St. Laurence coach Adam Nissen feels more confident with Kwiatkowski and Rizzs healthy again.
“Having [Kwiatkowski] back there, it’s been a game-changer,” Nissen said. “He’s impacted our team attitude. … He’s a really, really good leader.”
And he keeps defenses honest.
“Having him back out there with the threat to pass and the threat to run, it’s really opened up a lot of doors for Harley and Corey.”
Carroll and defensive back Jimmy McDermott also made an impact with interceptions for the game’s only takeaways. Carroll’s — his first of the season — was all the more impressive given that he’s been playing basically one-handed half the season.
“I honestly don’t know how I came down with that,” Carroll said. “I just went up, tipped it and tried pulling it in. I was bobbling it for a second but I got it.”
For Wheaton Academy (9-2), quarterback Nathan Downey was 9 of 19 for 141 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Zach Moravec along with two interceptions.