By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Oak Lawn traveled to Ozinga Field in Crestwood to open the season against Crete-Monee at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, home of the Windy City Thunderbolts. The Spartans climbed to a big lead early and never turned back as they went on to defeat the Warriors, 12-5. Sophomore starting pitcher John Olejniczak…
Read MoreFrom Staff Reports The 2024 season is off to an uneven and somewhat rocky start for Mother McAuley. The Mighty Macs opened the spring with consecutive losses — 9-3 to Oak Forest on March 11 and 18-1 to Benet on March 13 — before getting off the schneid with an 18-1 win over Stagg on…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent A pair of familiar coaches from the area have landed in new spots. Harold Blackmon, who has been head football coach at St. Laurence and Oak Lawn, has been named coach at De La Salle. George Shimko, a former girls basketball coach at Queen of Peace and St. Laurence, will serve…
Read MoreHigh school baseball season got underway March 11, and Oak Lawn started the season with a 12-5 victory over Crete-Monee at Ozinga Field in Crestwood. For the Spartans, senior Brett Gatch had two hits including a home run while driving in four runs. Senior Kyle Bader had two triples and three RBI, and senior Charlie…
Read MoreBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The original March Madness got underway last week across Illinois, and several area teams were crowned regional champions. Teams still alive in Class 4A are Marist and Curie, and in Class 3A are Brother Rice, De La Salle, Evergreen Park and Mount Carmel. CLASS 4A Marist (29-4) cruised to a…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent During the regular season, only one wrestling team from Illinois beat Mount Carmel in a dual meet. Joliet Catholic got the better of the Caravan with a 38-27 victory on Jan. 18. That came two days after Mount Carmel lost to Crown Point (Indiana). The Caravan will be unable to square…
Read MoreBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Stagg came into this season looking for their first winning campaign since 2016. The Chargers did better than that. In addition to being assured of finishing over .500 for the first time under coach Marty Strus, Stagg won the first conference championship in program history. The Chargers (19-11, 5-3 SouthWest Suburban…
Read MoreBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Shepard girls basketball program has been around for close to a half century. The team has had a handful of 20-win seasons and four regional championships. But until this season, the Astros had never won a conference title. A wild celebration took place in the Shepard gym after the Astros…
Read MoreBy Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Curie powered through Whitney Young, Simeon and Kenwood to earn the Chicago Public League championship. The Condors defeated the Broncos, 65-59, in the city title game played Feb. 10 at Credit Union 1 Arena on the University of Illinois-Chicago campus. The win secured Curie’s third city title, with the other coming…
Read MoreBy Brian Frangella Charlie Dell was a picture of consistency for the month of December on the lanes for the Oak Lawn Community High School boys bowling team. He won Top 5 individual medals at three different invitationals, he rolled his career-best 289, and he was the South Suburban Conference Red Individual Champion. All this…
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Boys Volleyball | Stagg ends Marist Invite with win over Riverside-Brookfield
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg outlasted Riverside-Brookfield in a marathon first set, winning 36-34, then followed that with a 25-20 clincher on March 23 to finish seventh in the Silver divison at the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational. The Chargers went 2-3 in the tournament. They opened pool play on March 22 at the Marist…
Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite
Shepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to the Marist…
Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach for the…
Chicago Catholic League greats headed to Hall of Fame
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A handful of area stars will be inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The list features Kevin Bracken (St. Laurence, wrestling), Kevin Carberry (St. Rita, football), Matt Macievic (De La Salle, cross county and track), Mike McGrew (Mount Carmel, football), Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice, football) and…
Fire II tops Chicago City, advances to to second round of Hunt Open Cup
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire II picked up a late invitation to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and beat Chicago City, 6-0, on March 20 in front of an announced crowd of 810 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Giovanni Granda and midfielder Vitaliy Hlyut each made their professional debut and scored their first…
Red Stars top Seattle, open season with two wins for first time in franchise history
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Last year’s last-place finish notwithstanding, the Chicago Red Stars have had a pretty rich history of success. The franchise has seven NWSL playoff appearances and has finished runner-up twice (2019, 2021), and prior to 2022 had finished no lower than fourth in the league ‘s regular season standings for six consecutive…
College Football | Marian (Indiana) and St. Francis highlight Saint Xavier 2024 home slate
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Saint Xavier has released its 2024 football schedule, which has the Cougars opening the season in Michigan. SXU will travel to the Detroit suburb of Southfield to play Lawrence Tech on Sept. 7 in a Mid-States Football Association crossover. The Cougars’ home opener kicks off at noon on Sept. 14 when…
Boys Volleyball | Shepard finishes 4th in Bronze at Marist Invite
Shepard served as one of three host sites for the 20th Marist RedHawks Invitational, and kicked off play in Palos Heights by facing Lincoln-Way East on March 22. The Griffins defeated the Astros, 25-10, 25-15. Marian Catholic beat Shepard, 25-23, 25-9, in the Astros’ second match of the day. The Astros fell to the Marist…
Obbie’s Pizza to stay ‘unique and delicious’
. New owner vows to serve same popular menu . By Tim Hadac Archer Avenue’s long-time king of pizzerias will continue to rule. Same recipes at Obbie’s Pizza, 6654 W. Archer. Same pizza and ingredients. Same pasta, broasted chicken, shrimp, perch, Italian beef/sausage/meatball sandwiches, sides and pop. Same seasoned, Middleby Marshall pizza oven built in…
Thome sweet Thome: Nazareth baseball defeats Hall of Famer Jim Thome’s alma mater
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Nazareth baseball team took a road trip to the middle of Illinois and improved its record to 7-0 on March 23 by beating Limestone, 6-0. Limestone is the alma mater of former White Sox player and Baseball Hall of Fame member Jim Thome, who is an assistant coach for the…
Chicago Catholic League greats headed to Hall of Fame
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A handful of area stars will be inducted into the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The list features Kevin Bracken (St. Laurence, wrestling), Kevin Carberry (St. Rita, football), Matt Macievic (De La Salle, cross county and track), Mike McGrew (Mount Carmel, football), Dan Nicholson (Brother Rice, football) and…
Fire II tops Chicago City, advances to to second round of Hunt Open Cup
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Chicago Fire II picked up a late invitation to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and beat Chicago City, 6-0, on March 20 in front of an announced crowd of 810 at SeatGeek Stadium. Defender Giovanni Granda and midfielder Vitaliy Hlyut each made their professional debut and scored their first…
Red Stars top Seattle, open season with two wins for first time in franchise history
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Last year’s last-place finish notwithstanding, the Chicago Red Stars have had a pretty rich history of success. The franchise has seven NWSL playoff appearances and has finished runner-up twice (2019, 2021), and prior to 2022 had finished no lower than fourth in the league ‘s regular season standings for six consecutive…
College Football | Marian (Indiana) and St. Francis highlight Saint Xavier 2024 home slate
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Saint Xavier has released its 2024 football schedule, which has the Cougars opening the season in Michigan. SXU will travel to the Detroit suburb of Southfield to play Lawrence Tech on Sept. 7 in a Mid-States Football Association crossover. The Cougars’ home opener kicks off at noon on Sept. 14 when…
Morton College women’s hoops takes fifth in nation
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent For the second year in a row, the Morton College women’s basketball team finished fifth in the country. The Panthers closed out the 2023-24 campaign in Joplin, Missouri, with a 75-67 victory over Iowa Western on March 23 in the consolation championship game at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament. It…
Boys Volleyball | Marist tops Lockport for Gold at RedHawks Invite
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Marist enjoys getting its season going by hosting a tournament that is now in its 20th year. They had a good time again this season, going unbeaten over five matches in two days to win the Marist RedHawks Invitational for the sixth consecutive time. The RedHawks ended the tournament with a…