There was talk around Brother Rice that this was the best football team in school history.

On offense, the Crusaders were loaded with a generational receiver in Illinois recruit Ricky Smalling, a strong-armed quarterback in Dino Borrelli and a shifty, powerful running back in Wyoming recruit Xazavian Vallada.

Brother Rice appeared to have the pieces to make a glorious run to the second state championship in program history. That run, however, turned into a misstep in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs Saturday vs. Fremd.

How does the old saying go? That's why they play the games.

In the case of the first round of the playoffs, it proved accurate by way of a couple stunning upsets.

What began with 20 local teams participating in the postseason has dwindled to nine.

Some of the first-round exits were expected, but raise your hand if you predicted Brother Rice and Marist would lose?

Didn't think so.

The Pulaski Road rivals generated considerable excitement during the regular season.

Marist (8-2) did so behind a suffocating defense led by linebacker and Yale recruit Micah Awodiran and defensive end and Kansas recruit Rob Topps. The RedHawks allowed 14 points or less eight times and gave up just 132 points while winning the East Suburban Catholic Conference title.

New Trier quarterback Clay Czyzynski, however, found the solution Friday and departed the South Side with a 31-24 victory. Marist's hopes of returning to the 8A state championship game a second straight season were dashed.

“It's definitely a tough one with the seniors we had,” RedHawks coach Pat Dunne said. “Their quarterback was patient running the ball and extended plays with his feet. We hadn't seen a quarterback even close to what he did. They made plays when they had to.”

Coincidentally, the biggest upset of the weekend occurred down the street from Marist the next day.

Brother Rice won its first eight games until falling to Loyola in Week 9.

There's no shame in that. The Ramblers, the defending 8A state champion, entered with a 25-game winning streak and prevailed 48-37.

It was a game Rice, with a bounce or two, could have won.

The Crusaders eagerly anticipated a potential rematch with Loyola in the quarterfinals.

It won't happen.

Not after Fremd, the 25th seed, stunned the eight-seeded Crusaders 45-42. As explosive as the Crusader offense was, averaging 46 points, the defense surrendered at least 40 points four times and allowed 260 overall.

“We made some mistakes and they capitalized on them,” Brother Rice coach Brian Badke said. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle. We had very high expectations. We believed we had an opportunity with this group to win a state championship. I think the guys were looking ahead. Never underestimate your opponent.”

Now, don't go thinking Badke was throwing his players under the bus. I can vouch for Badke's character. That's not the way he operates. He's a standup guy who accepted responsibility for not having his players focused on the task at hand.

“I don't think our guys were ready to play and that's on me,” Badke said. “Out of 48 minutes, we played six minutes of good football on both sides of the ball. We have to re-evaluate what we're doing. Coaches, players, everything.

“Look at ways where we can improve and get better. We haven't had a whole lot of success in the playoffs. This isn't where we want to be.”

Where Brother Rice finds itself is competing in the Catholic League Playoffs for an opportunity to win the Prep Bowl.

Although Badke is in his fifth season, this senior class was the first group of players he brought into Rice.

To not advance further in the playoffs with a talent such as Smalling feels like a missed opportunity.

“Guys like Ricky don't come around very often,” Badke said. “But we have a lot of good things going on here. We still have an opportunity to play football (Prep Bowl). You have to put things in perspective.

“We're disappointed we're still not in the state playoffs, but it's only a game. There are a lot of worse things in the world.”

pdisabato@tribpub.com

Twitter @disabato