Dec. 02--Three state-championship trophies boarded a bus and took a jubilant ride from DeKalb to the Western Suburbs as Montini, Nazareth and Glenbard West reasserted the area's superiority on the gridiron.
One of them was doing quite an impression of a basketball school at the time.
In addition to winning its second Class 7A football title in four years, Glenbard West had quite a week on the hardwood, knocking off each of the other three Glenbard schools before handing Hinsdale South and Barret Benson their first loss on Saturday night, 66-54.
The Northwestern-bound Benson is an obvious candidate in what looks like a wide-open Mr. Basketball derby this year. It looks like Justin Pierce might be a candidate, too.
Coming off a huge offseason in which he settled on playing for William Mary at the next level, Pierce appears to be sitting on a huge senior season.
The versatile 6-foot-6 wing already has two 36-point games to his credit and is averaging a double-double. In addition to Pierce, Alex Passi and Brian Cochrane are three-year starters.
Cochrane was busy playing quarterback last week, so he was not part of the 4-0 start, which means the Hitters, er Hilltoppers, flew out of the gates despite missing a key cog.
Whatever their nickname is, they look like one of the best teams in the Western Suburbs in both sports this year. And what looks like a bit of a down year for individual talent in Illinois looks like a really good one in that region.
To wit:
1. Both divisions of the West Suburban Conference look pretty good.
Like Glenbard West, York (3-1) played well in Week 1, but Oak Park-River Forest is still the favorite in the Silver until proven otherwise. The Huskies have their usual array of skilled athletes, and plenty of size to boot. They were no match for No. 4 Riverside-Brookfield on Saturday, losing by 20 in the final of R-B's Thanksgiving tournament. But that kind of a loss against an experienced team like R-B this time of year is hardly cause for concern.
They'll get another early opportunity to grow on Friday night against Fenwick in the opener of the Chicago Elite Classic. The Friars took care of business at Morton and will be eager to showcase their talent on a big stage.
2. Hinsdale South and Downers Grove North could be ready to overtake Proviso East and Morton atop the West Suburban Gold.
Benson is off to a great start, and it's clear he's not a one-man show.
Brian Kern, probably the team's second-best player last year, is also off to a strong start, and 6-6 forward Sean McCormick is just starting to get his basketball legs after a record-setting season as the quarterback of the team's state-semifinal football team.
The Hornets beat defending Class 4A champion Stevenson by 19 on opening night and added a victory against defending West Suburban Silver champ Lyons.
Downers Grove South went 5-24 last year, but 6-6 forward T.J. Clifford and 6-2 guard Denis Alibegovich clearly benefited from that experience and have the Mustangs (3-1) operating at a high level. Their only loss was against St. Joseph, which got a huge game from Nick Rakocevic to defeat DGS 69-60 in the final of the St. Charles East tournament.
3. Benet is at it again.
Whether the Redwings have high-level talent or not, they play stifling man-to-man defense, they fight for every inch and loose ball and they win the kind of games some don't like to play.
They're 4-0 against good competition, holding St. Ignatius to 43 points, Lake Forest to 45, Glenbrook South to 34 and Lincoln Park to 37.
Marian Catholic and Notre Dame might have more talent, but watch out for Benet in the ESCC.
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
