Nov. 16--FOOTBALL
Textbook Mount Carmel football brings victory
Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti couldn't have drawn up Saturday's 20-7 win over Lincoln-Way East any better if given the notepad and pencil prior to kickoff.
An offense ate clock and kept the explosive Griffins offense on the sideline. Check.
A defense pressured the quarterback and prevented big plays. Check.
A team took advantage of its opponents mistakes. Check.
It was textbook Mount Carmel football, which has produced 12 state championships and stands two wins away from adding another.
"The offense was able to eat up the clock and we played Mount Carmel defense," said Lenti, whose Caravan advance to play Providence in the 7A semifinals. "We took advantage of some penalties. We were opportunistic when we were given the chance."
- Pat Disabato
St. Rita falls to Loyola in Catholic League semis
Despite losing to Stevenson last week, Loyola now finds itself with a chance to play for a different title.
The Ramblers routed St. Rita 31-3 Saturday in the Catholic League semifinals.
Loyola (9-3) will play Brother Rice next week for the chance to represent the Catholic League in the Prep Bowl. Brother Rice defeated Loyola 16-13 in Week 3.
Going into the week, Loyola coach John Holecek thought missing a few key starters could set the Ramblers back as they prepared for the Mustangs. That wasn't the case, however, as the offense didn't miss a beat.
"This week was tough because there was so much disappointment after the early exit from the state playoffs," Holecek said. "I think the guys played with a nice sense of urgency. We expect the backups to play well, and they did."
- Zack Pearson
Misfortune finds Geneva in 7A playoff loss to Cary-Grove
Say this for Coach Rob Wicinski's Geneva football team. There's no quit in them.
Say this for Coach Brad Seaburg and Cary-Grove. After Saturday's 44-26 win over the Vikings, there may be no stopping them in the IHSA Class 7A playoffs.
Geneva spotted the Trojans (12-0) a 19-0 lead in the first quarter, lost top receiver Pace Temple to a knee injury in the second and lost the turnover battle 7-2.
Still, the Vikings (10-2) managed to make a game of it, battling within 19-13 at halftime and 25-19 midway through the third before succumbing to the Trojans' efficient triple-option offense that produced two 100-yard rushers and an opportunistic defense led by ballhawking DB Zach McQuade (three interceptions).
"We couldn't have started any worse," Wicinski said.
- Rick Armstrong
Mount Carmel keeps postseason streak alive against L-W East
Very little has come easy for Mount Carmel this season.
It started with a one-point loss in the opener to Philadelphia St. Joseph. There was a two-point defeat on a field goal in the last minute at St. Rita and a loss to Brother Rice in Week 6 that left Mount Carmel on the verge of missing the IHSA playoffs for the first time since 1985.
But the Caravan got turned around in time to keep its postseason streak alive. And even after losing its leading rusher on the first series of Saturday's game against Lincoln-Way East, Mount Carmel is headed to the Class 7A semifinals after a 20-7 win at Gately Stadium.
- Mike Clark
Stevenson football team turns in dominant performance, cruises past New Trier
After squeaking out wins over 16th-seeded Lyons and eighth-seeded Loyola in the first two rounds of the football postseason, top-seeded Stevenson played at a high level on Saturday afternoon. Stevenson didn't just beat New Trier, it overwhelmed the Trevians.
The final score of 38-10 came as a result of an opportunistic defense that forced five turnovers and an offense that took advantage of short fields. The Patriots next travel to Glen Ellyn to face Glenbard West in the Class 8A semifinals on Saturday.
"That's the plan every week going in -- domination of a team. It's the one thing we have in mind," said junior wide receiver Jack Sorenson, who finished with four catches for 69 yards. "We feel that's possible every week, whoever the opponent is."
It took one quarter before Stevenson (12-0) separated from a tough, gritty New Trier team. Early in the second quarter, the Trevians (10-2) led 3-0 and had the ball on their own 33-yard line. Trevians quarterback Clay Czyzynski rolled to his right looking to pass. Patriots senior defensive back James Mahoney read Czyzynski's eyes perfectly, jumping the route and intercepting the pass.
"In practice, our coach tells us to press the sideline when the quarterback rolls out," said Mahoney, who had two interceptions on the day. "I was right where I was supposed to be."
- Jon Kerr
Lemont tops Richards in 6A quarterfinal
Lemont linebacker Hunter LaDuke was assigned the difficult task of trying to rein in Richards dual-threat quarterback Hasan Muhammad-Rogers.
Mission accomplished.
LaDuke recorded four sacks to lead a swarming defense as Lemont seized a 19-13 victory Saturday night in a Class 6A state quarterfinal.
"I had contain, but you always try to be disruptive," LaDuke said. "That was the best our defense has played all year."
Lemont (12-0) advances to face Peoria Notre Dame (12-0) next week. It will mark the third time in four years the Indians will play in a state semifinal after missing the playoffs last season.
-Logan Malloy
Libertyville's Aleks Dragin teams with Jordan McInerney to put the drop on Fenwick
Libertyville's defense was in need of a big play Saturday evening midway through the fourth quarter while holding on to a 14-10 lead in its Class 7A quarterfinal against Fenwick.
Linebacker Aleks Dragin and defensive end Jordan McInerney were more than happy to provide it. Dragin drilled Friars' quarterback Jack Beneventi, forcing a fumble that was recovered by McInerney and returned to the Fenwick 7-yard line.
The Wildcats (9-3) scored seconds later, and added another late touchdown to earn a 28-10 victory at Morton West in Berwyn.
"The play before my coach said, 'If it is spread out, go get him [the quarterback],' " Dragin said. "That next play it was spread out, so I got a free shot on the quarterback. I just hit him as hard as I could and the ball came out. Jordan recovered it; it was just a great feeling."
Libertyville advanced to host top-seeded Cary-Grove in the semifinals next Saturday.
- Patrick Kelly
Providence defense dominates in victory over Wheaton-Warrenville South
Wide receiver Miles Boykin, the offensive standout for Providence with 18 touchdowns, couldn't play Saturday after having surgery on a dislocated finger.
The Celtics' defense took matters in its own hands.
Lineman Luis Vasquez recorded a first-quarter safety and sreturned an interception 16 yards for a 9-0 lead in the third quarter to spark Providence to a 23-6 Class 7A quarterfinal win over Wheaton-Warrenville South.
Providence (11-1) moves on to a road semifinal against Mount Carmel (8-4), a 20-7 winner over Lincoln-Way East.
- Tim Tierney
Nazareth football rides powerful rushing attack in romp over Lake Forest
If the Nazareth football team plays the rest of the Class 6A playoffs the same way it did against Lake Forest on Saturday, it will be awfully hard to beat.
The top-seeded Roadrunners (12-0) remain unbeaten following a dominant 54-24 home victory over the 13th-seeded Scouts and will face St. Francis next weekend in the state semifinals.
"We're a confident team, but most important, we're humble," Nazareth coach Tim Racki said. "We don't take anyone for granted."
- Tim Froehlig
Glenbard West scores 21 straight to overtake Barrington
For two quarters, Barrington was the better football team against host Glenbard West in their Class 8A state quarterfinal game Saturday.
"We dominated our first two playoff games, and we were dominating this one," Barrington senior Scotty Miller said. "And then we let it slip."
The Broncos led Glenbard West by two touchdowns at halftime only to watch the Hilltoppers score 21 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 28-21 victory that ended Barrington's season.
Glenbard West (12-0) moves on to a state semifinal game against Stevenson (12-0), but Barrington (10-2) had the Hilltoppers on the ropes.
"That's as good a team as you're going to play in 8A," Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said of the Broncos. "We saw Barrington play Oak Park and we knew they were the real deal.
"They're so well-coached, their offense is sophisticated. And it was a chess game. What are they doing to counter [running back Sam] Brodner? What are we doing to counter Miller? It was a great game."
- Gary Larsen
GIRLS SWIMMING
Loyola wins girls swimming and diving sectional title
The Loyola girls swimming and diving team won its first sectional title on Saturday.
The Ramblers beat four-time defending state champion New Trier 255-219 in the Niles North Sectional.
"The goal [today] was qualifying as many people [for state] as we could," Loyola senior Maria Jardeleza said. "But it's really exciting because we've never won a sectional title before in the history of the school."
Loyola has never won a state championship in girls swimming, but it will try to change that next week. The two-day state tournament is scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday at Evanston.
Jardeleza was one of four Ramblers to capture an individual title on Saturday afternoon. She won the 100-yard butterfly (56.74 seconds). Sophomore Olivia Andrew won the 200 freestyle (1:52.94), senior Grace Tierney was victorious in the 500 free (5:02.96) and senior Katie Rourke began the meet with a victory in diving (531.60 points).
- Eric Van Dril
Fenwick's Erin Scudder and Catie Wallace advance to state swim in 4 events
Fenwick had one goal heading into its own sectional Saturday in Oak Park.
The Friars wanted to qualify as many entrants to the state meet as possible and did so big time.
"It's really exciting for them to see their hard work pay off," Fenwick coach Renee Miller said. "Everyone pulled for each other and were so excited for each other. I love it when hard work pays off. They knew they had to get the job done today of getting to next week and now we're start to focus on what we can accomplish [at state]."
Fenwick (324 points) topped Oak Park-River Forest (298) to win the sectional crown, while both teams will bring a large contingent to the state meet Nov. 21-22 in Evanston.
Juniors Erin Scudder and Catie Wallace both qualified in four events, with Scudder winning the 200-yard freestyle (1:53.57) and taking second in the 100 butterfly (57.65). She also teamed with senior Katie Vulich, junior Catherine Clancy and junior Theresa Mullen to win the 200 medley relay (1:45.83) and Wallace, freshman Grace Rogowski and Mullen to win the 400 free relay (3:30.94).
- Ken Ryan
Katie Rentz helps Rosary win girls swimming sectional, Waubonsie second
Sectional champions usually come from the last heat of every event, but that wasn't the case Saturday.
Rosary junior Katie Rentz emerged victorious in the 100-yard butterfly in 56.68 seconds despite swimming in the penultimate heat at the Metea Valley Sectional.
Rentz won despite being seeded eighth and, like most of her teammates, not having tapered for the meet.
"I was a little bit nervous," Rentz said. "I didn't want to let the team down. They were counting on me. I was wearing a fast suit and I had the mentality that I wanted to make state."
- Matt Le Cren
Lake Forest dominates swim and dive sectional
By qualifying swimmers for the state meet in every event Saturday, Lake Forest dominated its girls swim and dive sectional.
The Scouts racked up 315 points to take the sectional crown. All three relay teams earned a trip to state along with 10 individuals, including four who will compete in two events. Mundelein was second with 218 points, followed by Libertyville (208), Warren (169) and Vernon Hills (144).
"We finally swam like I know we could," Lake Forest coach Carolyn Grevers said. "We have someone in every event, including diving. Not even in 2001 when we took [second] in state did we qualify someone in every event."
- Steve Sadin
