With players like senior offensive lineman Ethan Posey, Brother Rice is a team built to push around opponents.

The 6-foot-4, 304-pound Posey is quick to mention a sophomore offensive lineman who is even bigger.

“You look at big CJ Anderson, our right tackle, he’s like 6-8, and you think, ‘Where in the world did that kid come from?'” Posey joked. “Chicago’s a pretty talented area for offensive linemen. Then you get a strength coach like coach (Mike) Cano, who makes them look physically impressive with the size, and that’s what we’re getting.”

The eighth-seeded Crusaders were dominant in the trenches on both sides of the ball during a 48-7 victory over 25th-seeded St. Charles North in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs in Chicago on Saturday.

Brother Rice (8-2) will host another team from the DuKane Conference, Batavia (8-2), in the second round.

This wasn’t a game for gaudy statistics. Brother Rice freshman quarterback Sam Holcomb threw for 167 yards in the first half and then sat out as the second half was played with a running clock.

The Crusaders scored on a 65-yard punt return by senior Damari Thigpen and also scored off a bad snap on a field-goal attempt when senior kicker Anthony Cartolano picked up the ball and ran 13 yards, Chester Marcol-style, for a touchdown.

“Our main goal is to dominate every game,” Posey said. “I think there was a play with Sam in pass protection where all three of their defensive linemen were on the ground, so he had all day in the pocket. That picture right there, we watched it on the sideline — that’s exactly what we want to accomplish. Give the quarterback all day to make his plays and basically be playing 7-on-7 back there.”

Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld talked about the process of learning this team’s identity with just three starters back on both sides of the ball.

One move that paid dividends was shifting 6-6, 310-pound senior Carlos Rios, a San Diego State commit, from tackle to guard so they could get Anderson on the field. Joseph Bartozek, a 6-0, 260-pound junior, and Tyler Houlf, a 6-5, 270-pound junior, are the other starters on the offensive line.

“Then it was figuring out even more micro — the offensive line, what’s their identity? What were they good at?” Quedenfeld said. “We kind of mixed and matched for four games and finally stumbled upon our best five for this year, and they’ve done a good job of grooving together, learning together and ultimately finding their identity.”

St. Charles North (6-5) has been a scrappy team all season but just couldn’t find the leverage to make a stand in this game. The North Stars scored on a 39-yard run by senior Josh Wilkerson in the fourth quarter.

St. Charles North senior quarterback Landon Conroy threw for 99 yards with no turnovers but was sacked five times. He left the field after the final sack late in the game but said later he was OK. Teammate Braden McPheeters, a senior defensive end who had a sack in the first half, left with an injury and spent the second half on crutches with an ice bag on his left knee.

“We didn’t really care about their size,’” Conroy said. “We came into it just looking at, ‘Remember your steps. Remember your fundamentals.’

“Even though the score didn’t say so, I’m so proud of every one of my teammates because we were able to move the ball up and down the field. Even though we were such big underdogs, proud of the way we were able to handle that.”