Football: Mister Leads Richards to Dominating Win over Oak Lawn

Breaking It Down: scored a touchdown on every offensive possession in the first half of Friday night’s game against , as the host Bulldogs burst out to a 23-point halftime lead en route to a 55-12 victory.

With RBs Sean Hayden and Ahmad Shatat running well, Oak Lawn seemed to have an early advantage on the ground, but Richards started to stack the box and the Spartans were never able to muster much of a ground game after halftime. Outside of Oak Lawn QB Bob Olsen’s first touchdown pass, the Spartans weren’t much of a threat through the air.

Richards was the beneficiary of two early Oak Lawn turnovers, giving the Bulldogs good field position that they maximized. Marcus Smith’s hard-nosed running attack gave Oak Lawn fits and set up the deep pass for Richards. Bulldogs QB Tommy Mister hit junior Jose Bou on a 42-yard strike in the second quarter, giving Richards a 14-12 lead.

Oak Lawn made a myriad of mistakes on special teams that put the Spartans in an early hole. In addition to a missed extra point and failed two-point conversion, the Spartans had a fumble on a kickoff return and a punt return.

For the first time all season, Richards has won two consecutive games and now finds itself in need of one more victory to become playoff-eligible.

Patch’s MVP: Marcus Smith, Richards. Smith ran for the tough yards in between the tackles and was able to break two long runs in the first half for touchdowns. His second carry of the game resulted in a 57-yard touchdown on fourth down and set the tone for the Richards offense early on. Smith helped Richards run the clock down in the third quarter and set up Mister’s 12-yard run that put the Bulldogs up by 30 points.

Richards Stat Pack: Tommy Mister had a nice night passing and running. The sophomore QB was 6-for-9 passing for 102 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran the ball six times for 35 yards and two touchdowns. Smith finished with 186 yards on 18 carries to go along with his two touchdowns.  

Oak Lawn Stat Pack: Olsen finished 8-for-17 passing for 69 yards and a touchdown. Shatat had 17 carries for 78 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Hayden carried the ball 14 times for 69 yards. Most of their damage was done in the first half. Dan Townsend was on the receiving end of Olsen’s 33-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.  

Quotable I: Richards coach Tony Sheehan, on Marcus Smith: “He’s a big, strong back—a tough kid. He’s a little faster than most people think he is, and if I was a (defensive back) I really wouldn’t want to have him in the open field coming after me.”

Quotable II: Oak Lawn coach Sean Lucas: “Five wins is still within reach. That can get us in the playoffs. We just have to refocus and get back after it.”

Team Records: Richards improves to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in South Suburban Red play. Oak Lawn falls to 3-4, 1-3.

What’s Next: Richards goes on the road to Eisenhower next Friday night, while Oak Lawn hosts Argo.

Other Scores of Interest: T.F. South defeated Shepard 35-9. For more scores, visit the IHSA score zone.