Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

Article updated on 11/30/24 at 2:21 p.m. and the ‘Chicago Christian Returns Home as Champions’ video was added on 12/1/24 at 3:45 p.m.

The Chicago Christian Knights delivered a dominant performance in the 2024 Class 2A IHSA State Championship (on November 29), securing a victory over Maroa-Forsyth. This was a rematch from the previous season when the Knights had fallen to the Trojans 42-6 in the first round. However, this time, Chicago Christian would go on to set an IHSA record.

On the opening drive, the Knights’ defense forced the Trojans to punt.

The offense quickly capitalized, with senior running back Kenny Jager running for a 27-yard touchdown. Jager threw-off one defender and stiff-armed another, just enough, to reach the end zone.

The Chicago Christian defense continued to dominate, stopping Maroa-Forsyth on another three-and-out. With just 23 seconds left in the first quarter, senior quarterback Christian Flutman ran for 39 yards, aided by key blocks from his offensive line and wide receivers.

As the first half wound down, Flutman threw a pass intended for VanDellen, but the ball was tipped and appeared destined for an interception. However, senior Niko Griggs managed to catch the deflected pass. Griggs then sprinted 59 yards to the end zone.

Halftime: Chicago Christian 21, Maroa-Forsyth 0.

The second half was more of the same, as Chicago Christian added two more touchdowns. Both came on the ground, with Flutman rushing for scores of 16 yards and 14 yards, respectively.

In the fourth quarter, senior wide receiver Jared Hall caught a touchdown pass from Flutman, triggering the running clock. The final score of the game came from a two-yard rushing touchdown by senior Blake Denman.

The final score was Chicago Christian 47, Maroa-Forsyth 0, making the Knights the 2A State Champions.

The WCCN Offensive Player of the Game was senior quarterback Christian Flutman, who accounted for five total touchdowns—three rushing (86 yards) and two passing (132 yards).

The WCCN Defensive Player of the Game award was given to the entire Chicago Christian starting defense, which included senior Christian Flutman (4 solo tackles), senior Jared Hall (1 solo), senior Demo Griggs (1 ast), senior Jake Verstrate (1 solo & 2 ast), senior Brock Sperling (3 solo & 2 ast), senior Caleb Vande Werken (1 solo & 2 ast), senior Niko Griggs (1 solo & 4 ast), senior Kerry Teague (2 solo & 1 ast), senior Eddie VanDellen, sophomore Isaac Workman, and senior Kenny Jager (2 solo).

This cohesive unit set an IHSA Championship record for any level of football, holding Maroa-Forsyth to just 23 total yards.

Following the championship, WCCN caught up with first-year head coach CJ Cesario, along with Christian Flutman,  Kenny Jager, Niko Griggs, Josh Crawford, and Caleb Vande Werken; which can be seen here.

This victory secured Chicago Christian’s first-ever state championship in any sport.

Special thank you to the IHSA, Matt Troha, CJ Cesario (C.C. head Coach) and Josh Jostes (M.F. head coach).

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Chicago Christian Returns Home as Champions video can ONLY be seen in full on YouTube (linked below).

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