Senior Xavier Mrozik-DeJesus and his undefeated Riverside Brookfield High School football teammates faced a challenge Friday from visiting West Chicago in the third quarter. The Wildcats had just tied the game and Mrozik-DeJesus, the Bulldogs’ leading receiver for their high-scoring offense, still hadn’t caught a pass. 

But he felt the chances were coming.

“There wasn’t any change in our game plan. We knew we had to step up on both sides of the ball,” Mrozik-DeJesus said. “I talked to safety Warren Mason and he said, ‘I fight for you, you fight for me and we win this game.’ The defense knew they had to give up less points, make stops. The offense knew we had to score points every time we got the ball.”  

That’s what happened. Mrozik-DeJesus had receiving touchdowns on the Bulldogs’ next two possessions and they rolled to a 31-14 victory by scoring 17 unanswered points, all in the fourth quarter.

RBHS (8-0) moved to 5-0 in the Upstate Eight Conference East Division to set up a winner-take-all showdown for the championship, Oct. 24, at defending champion Glenbard East (7-1, 5-0) in the regular-season finale.

“To come down to a Week 9 true conference championship game, it’s something we’re really looking forward to,” RBHS coach Sam Styler said. “We know they’re going to be a tough team, but it’s a great test for us to get ready for the playoffs as well. We know West Chicago’s going to be a playoff team, so for our guys to really have that feeling of what playoff-type football is like is really exciting.”

The Bulldogs are seeking their first conference title since 2009 and first undefeated regular season since 2001. Glenbard East won last year’s season-ending matchup 42-19 to take the UEC East at 6-0 and leave the 4-5 Bulldogs out of the playoffs.

“We didn’t have the season we wanted last year. Nothing’s better than winning a conference championship,” Xavier-Mrozik said. “We want this game because it means a lot to the program and to a lot of us. I think the boys are ready.” 

Mrozik-DeJesus began Friday’s scoring deadlock on the first play of the fourth quarter. He caught a 22-yard fly pass down the left sideline from junior quarterback Braeden Novak for a touchdown and 21-14 advantage.

After the defense forced the first punt by the Wildcats, Mrozik-DeJesus caught a third-and-17 Novak pass at the 29 and turned it into an 83-yard TD pass play, his longest scoring play with the Bulldogs, for a 28-14 lead.

When the defense got a West Chicago turnover on downs, Novak opened with a 32-yard run to the Wildcats’ 17. Senior John Bielobradek delivered a 27-yard field goal.

RBHS scored on five of its six possessions for the game. Novak was 7-for-10 passing for 183 yards and Garcia rushed for 85 yards. 

In the first half, West Chicago kept the defense busy with its triple-option offense that ran 39 plays with only one pass attempt. That was a dropped roll-out screen on fourth-and-4 at the RBHS 9, which ended the game’s opening drive.

“When they’re able to [run the ball] effectively they can be dangerous. Our guys did enough to hold them to 14 points and came up with big stops when we needed,” Styler said. 

“Our offense didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities, but every time they were out there, they were able to capitalize.”

Defensive leaders included Bryan Rimpila (8 total tackles), Luke Ferguson (6 tackles), Damian Nieves (sack), Jayden Lee (tackle for loss) and John Evans Jr. and Lee (pass breakups).

Nieves’ first-down, 2-yard sack and Lee’s tackle for a 7-yard loss on a broken pitch play helped stop West Chicago’s two drives after RBHS led 21-14. 

The Bulldogs turned their first possession into a TD after a 72-yard run by junior running back Giancarlo Garcia to the 19. After a 13-yard pass from Novak to Nico Caputo, Jacob Retana scored on a 3-yard run for a 7-0 lead.

West Chicago answered with a 20-play, 80-yard TD drive but missed on the two-point run to keep RBHS ahead 7-6 at halftime. 

The Bulldogs opened the second half with Retana’s 1-yard TD run, two plays after Xavier-Mrozik’s first catch for 12 yards to the 1. But the Wildcats answered with a 62-yard TD drive and two-point pass to tie the game 14-14.

With recently returned Michael Kallas sidelined again by injury, Xavier-Mrozik also stepped in as the long snapper.

Two plays before the Bulldogs went ahead 21-14, right tackle Charlie Jicha recovered a fumble at the 36 and Retana followed with a 14-yard run. 

During his 83-yard TD, Xavier-Mrozik said receiver Nico Caputo kept potential tacklers distracted by completing his pass route.

“If it wasn’t for Nico, that would not have been a touchdown at all,” Mrozik-DeJesus said. “He is such a great team player, one of the best teammates I’ve ever played with.”