Saint Joseph tops Adams, ends losing streak

SOUTH BEND — Saint Joseph used a ball-control offense Friday night to keep the ball out of the hands of Adams junior quarterback Ira Armstead to end a three-game losing streak with a 36-12 high school football victory over the Eagles.

Coach Bryon Whitten’s Indians rushed for 214 yards, spreading the ball around among senior quarterback Ashton Ruszkowski, senior running back John Paul Lewis and junior John Driscoll, who returned from a leg injury that kept him out of losses against Mishawaka and Culver Academy.

Driscoll led the ground attack with 79 yards on 13 carries, one a 2-yard touchdown, and Lewis added 68 yards on 10 carries and a 3-yard touchdown. Ruszkowski, meanwhile, had 51 yards on seven carries, including a pair of TD runs of 1 and 5 yards, while also completing 11 of 20 passes for 147 yards and a 3-yard touchdown to Driscoll.

The victory improved the Indians to 5-4 heading into next Friday’s Class 4A Sectional first-round game at Kankakee Valley.

Armstead, who totaled 313 yards running and passing two Fridays ago in a 28-7 victory over Washington, was limited to 233 total yards by Saint Joseph. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound junior rushed 25 times for 133 yards and touchdown runs of 40 and 6 yards, but he managed just 100 yards on 13-of-27 passing with two interceptions.

Coach Antwon Jones’ Eagles had problems on special teams, especially punting. Jonathan Thomas had a punt blocked (by Saint Joseph’s Mark Hiestand) and then fumbled the snap on another attempt, both leading to Saint Joseph touchdowns in the second and third quarters, respectively. Armstead also had a fourth-down punt attempt blocked.

The 3-6 Eagles have next week off and then play host to LaPorte at TCU School Field on Oct. 26 in a Class 5A Sectional semifinal.

For the game, Saint Joseph totaled 367 yards on 62 plays while Adams had 277 on 60.

Driscoll gained 67 of Saint Joseph’s 148 rushing yards in the first half as the Indians took a 16-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.

On the game’s first possession, Ruszkowski dumped a pass out in the flat to Driscoll, who rambled 29 yards to give the Indians a first-and-goal at the Adams 9. Lewis then gained six yards, but the Indians were called for a personal foul, the first of 10 penalties for 105 yards on the night, and they never recovered. Patrick Oliva kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Indians scored on the first play of the second quarter when Ruszkowski sneaked in from the Adams 1 to complete a 12-play, 64-yard scoring drive that featured four Ruszkowski completions for 42 yards. A poor snap from center led to Oliva’s PAT hitting the upright, but Saint Joseph led 9-0.

Armstead scored on a 40-yard TD play to cut the Indians’ lead to 9-6 in the second quarter. But just before half, Hiestand blocked Thomas’ punt and the ball was covered by the Eagles at their own 11. Driscoll carried twice, the last time from the 2 for the touchdown.

The Indians put the game away in the third quarter with Lewis’ 3-yard TD run, the 3-yard Ruszkowski-to-Driscoll pass and Ruszkowski’s 5-yard scoring run.

• SOUTH BEND SAINT JOSEPH 36, SOUTH BEND ADAMS 12

At Father Bly Field/Leighton Stadium, South Bend

Adams 0 6 0 6 —12

Saint Joseph 3 13 20 0 —36

SJ – FG Patrick Oliva 29

SJ — Ashton Ruszkowski 1 run (kick failed)

A – Ira Armstead 40 run (kick blocked)

SJ – John Driscoll 2 run (Oliva kick)

SJ – John Paul Lewis 3 run (Oliva kick)

SJ – Driscoll 3 pass from Ruszkowski (Oliva kick)

SJ – Ruszkowski 5 run (kick blocked)

A – Armstead 6 run (kick failed)

Adams SJ

First Downs 15 17

Rushing Yards 177 214

Passing Yards 100 153

Comp.-Att.-Int. 13-27-2 12-22-2

Punts-Avg. 2-0 0-0

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0

Penalties-yards 4-35 10-105