Pigskin Wrap: St. Rita trips up Rice
Mt. Carmel, Argo, Evergreen Park and Lyons improve to 2-0 By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Longtime rivals St. Rita and Brother Rice had not played each other since the Chicago Catholic League merged with the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Brother Rice is in the league’s Blue Division while St. Rita is in the Green, and…
Pro Soccer Report: Road to final playoff spot tough for Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer With five games left in the season, the Chicago Red Stars are hanging on to the NWSL’s sixth and final playoff spot. The Red Stars (7-5-5, 26 points) can make a lot of headway if they get hot, but that is not going to be an easy task. They visit…
Area Sports Roundup: Sandburg sports flying high; 14 area teams to play in soccer showcase
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Even by Sandburg’s standards, this was a big sports weekend for the Orland Park school. Eagles freshman cross country phenom Lindsey Gerhardstein took first place at the Mike Kuharic Invitational at Lyons and is emerging as a star in the making. Aimee Crnich and Elysa Corcoran finished first and second…
Girls Volleyball: Marist rebounds from back-to-back tourney losses, tops St. Francis in two sets
By Randy Whalen Correspondent A fourth-place finish in the most prestigious early-season tournament in the state wouldn’t prompt most teams to do some soul searching. Marist isn’t just any team. Between 2017-19, the RedHawks lost a total of seven matches while winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles in 2017 and 2018, then placing third in…
Boys Soccer: Shepard’s run to Windy City Ram title game ends with loss to Lockport
By Steve Millar Correspondent Shepard’s run at the championship of the Windy City Ram Classic fell just short, but senior forward Zach Soltysiak knows there is plenty for the Astros to take away from the experience. The Astros won their first four games in the 32-team tournament to reach the title match before falling 4-1…
Football: Chris Lofgren runs for 146 yards, 4TDs as Marist rolls over Richards
By Steve Millar Correspondent For the second week in a row, Marist’s players looked at the scoreboard and saw the score was 21-0 less than five minutes into the game. This time, though, it was in the RedHawks’ favor. After Marist’s rally from a big early deficit fell just short against Glenbard West in Week…
High School Football: Xavier Rogers has first and last words as Shepard tops T.F. South
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Shepard coach John Rone said he challenged Xavier Rogers to get stronger, faster and better during the offseason. If Week 1 of the 2022 season was any indication, the senior running back/linebacker fully embraced that challenge on all fronts. Rogers scored two touchdowns and was a key cog in a…
Pro Soccer Report: NWSL approves free agency, says players can negotiate with other teams during season
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Things are getting serious in the NWSL. Free agency is now a thing and, in its first day, controversy abounded. And it affects the Chicago Red Stars. On Friday, the NWSL released a list of 26 players who are eligible for free agency. That included Red Stars veterans Yuki Nagasato…
Area Sports Roundup: Former Lyons and Morton College coach Stamas now the boss at Brother Rice
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer A guy who has seemingly done it all in the basketball world is coming to Brother Rice. Conte Stamas, a former Lyons and Morton College head coach, was hired Aug. 25 to replace Bobby Frasor Frasor left the program to work in the corporate field. If the the expected returnees…
Pigskin Roundup: 23-skidoo — Stagg losing streak is history after season-opening win over Reavis
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The boss got it right. Before the Consolidated High School District 230 Board of Education Meeting on Aug. 25, Stagg Principal Eric Olsen talked to a news reporter about the coming football season. Olsen said the Chargers would soon snap their 23-game losing streak dating back to Week 2 of…
Girls Volleyball: Lyons caps unbeaten opening week with win over Lockport
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Kamryn Lee-Caracci is going to keep hitting. When she connects, watch out. Lee-Caracci clubbed a match-high 12 kills and had 15 digs and added a pair of aces as Lyons opened its season by rallying for an 18-25, 27-25, 25-16 victory over host Lockport on Aug. 24. The match was played…
High School Football: Mt. Carmel air attack, dominant ‘D’ star in season-opening romp over St. Rita
By Steve Millar Correspondent With Mount Carmel struggling to run the ball against a tough St. Rita defensive front early in the 2022 season opener, it was time for the Caravan to unleash an overlooked weapon: the passing game. “We started off slow running the ball but [coach Jordan Lynch” put together a game plan…
Girls Volleyball: Mother McAuley tops Matea Valley for Oswego East title
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The storyline was simple for Mother McAuley. An opportunity to cap the first week of this season by gaining a measure of revenge from last year’s loss in the Class 4A state title match. The Mighty Macs did that as they came out clicking and didn’t let up in a 25-21,…
Safety first: Strong defenses and turnovers rule as Nazareth beats Kankakee, 2-0
By Steve Metsch Correspondent Tim Racki has coached hundreds of high school football games. He’s won seven state championships, including three at Nazareth. But he’s never seen anything like the Roadrunners’ 2022 season-opening game against Kankakee. One minute and five seconds into the game, on second-and-13 from Kankakee’s 5-yard line, a snapped ball sailed past…
Area Sports Roundup: Sandburg golfer Jillian Cosler opens high school sports season with a bang
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The 2022-23 high school sports season opened with a bang. Practices were allowed to begin on Aug. 8 and the IHSA unleashed boys and girls golfers on Aug. 11; and there was some excitement the next day. Sandburg’s girls golf team participated in the Prep Tour Showcase at Hickory Point…
Pro Soccer Report: Chicago Fire to play four matches at SeatGeek
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Before soccer fans could blink their eyes, SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview has been tabbed to host four Chicago Fire games. SeatGeek was the MLS club’s home from 2006 until 2019, when it moved to Soldier Field. Conflicts with Soldier Field’s prized tenants, the Chicago Bears, and damage to the playing…
‘Coach Q’ era begins at Brother Rice
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer You might say the man they call “Coach Q” was as cool as a Q-cumber on the first day of high school football practice for the 2022 season. As an assistant coach, Casey Quedenfeld helped Episcopal High School in Texas win a private school state championship in 2019. He also…
Area Sports Roundup: Saint Xavier football tabbed 11th in preseason rankings
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Saint Xavier’s football team has something to feel lucky about. The Cougars are ranked No. 11 in the preseason NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll. That’s a number to which people around the school have taken a liking. “Hopefully 11 is our lucky number and maybe it’s…
Pro Soccer Report: Milazzo’s first goal at SeatGeek helps Red Stars snap skid
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer At one time in early July, the Chicago Red Stars were tied with San Diego for the most points in the NWSL. For most of the month they hung around second place, but after ending July with a two-game losing streak, they entered Sunday’s home game against Gotham FC in…
46th Junior PGA Championships begin Tuesday at Cog Hill
Two of golf’s major junior championships return this week when the 46th Junior PGA Championships tee off Tuesday at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Palos Park. The championships run until Friday. This is the first time both the boys and girls championships are at the same venue since 2017. Sandburg’s Jillian Cosler, of…
Spartans hoop to keep the good times rolling
By Randy Whalen Correspondent The recent string of success for the Oak Lawn boys basketball team is something that hasn’t been seen at the school in 50 years. Now, with the edition of Xavier Sulaiman, who scored 38 points in an 86-85 travel team loss in mid-July, the Spartans have the potential to be even better. “Xavier…
Area Sports Roundup: Costa and Busker named top athletes at Trinity; St. Rita’s Talty to kick for Tide
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Former Richards volleyball standout Alex Costa led the NAIA with 508 kills and 613.5 points last season. Not a bad season for the Trinity Christian College sophomore. It gets even better. Last week, Costa was named TCC’s Male Athlete of the Year. The Oak Lawn native also had top numbers…
Pro Soccer Report: San Diego rookie Shaw, 17, scores lone goal in 1-0 win over Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The pregame attention went to 32-year-old Alyssa Mautz. The postgame attention – and surely a lot more attention to come – went to 17-year-old Jaedyn Shaw. Mautz announced that last Saturday’s game against the San Diego Wave would be her final last for the Chicago Red Stars. She has accepted…
Bobby Frasor steps down as coach at Brother Rice
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The wins. The mosh pits. The jokes. These are just a few of the things that will be missed by Bobby Frasor, who stepped down last week as the basketball coach at Brother Rice and is leaving the world of hoops. Frasor was a star player for the Crusaders who…
Lyons grad Izzy Lee headed to Illini
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Izzy Lee grew into her role as a two-sport standout at Lyons. Now she’s taking that growth to college at Illinois, where she will play goalie for the women’s soccer team. A couple years ago, Lee experienced a growth spurt. Being taller and stronger predictably supplemented her soccer and hoops skills.…
‘This is what we warned about’
Neighbors furious over pedestrian death on Cicero By Tim Hadac For as long as two years, Southwest Side neighbors have warned that unless the Lightfoot Administration puts an end to drag racing and drifting along the Pulaski Road and Cicero Avenue corridors, innocent men, women and even children would wind up getting injured or…
Hunt killers of McKinley Park man
Police release video with teen suspects By Tim Hadac Police are asking the public to review surveillance video of several wanted for questioning in connection with the April slaying of a 27-year-old McKinley Park man. The video is posted at https://youtu.be/-w485iPXhV4. The crime occurred in the 2000 block of West 35th Street, at 10:29 p.m.…
Back to school, together
For the first time in more than 75 years, St. Richard and St. Bruno students walked into a combined school, as ordered by Archdiocesan officials. Fourth through eighth graders attend the St. Richard campus, 5025 S. Kenneth, while younger students attend the St. Bruno campus, 4839 S. Harding. To reflect the new arrangement, the old…
‘Jobs, jobs, jobs’ in gear-making
Daley College cuts ribbon on machining center By Steve Metsch Glancing around the new American Gear Manufacturers Association National Center in partnership with Daley College, Michael McKernin said “if I could hire six guys right now, I’d hire them.” Such is the need for well-trained people in the machining and manufacturing industry, he said. That…
A good woman in ‘the storm of her life’
By Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • [email protected] If you attended Kennedy High School in the early 1980s (especially if you were class of ’85), you may recall Christina Sarelli as a classmate from the Crusaders volleyball team or from the Drama Club. Her sister, Angelina (Sarelli) Malone, describes Chis…
Little student, big welcome
St. Symphorosa School must seem huge to a 4-year-old on her first day of school last week, but the warm welcome she and others received from preschool teacher Pauline Baisa and others made the day less daunting. The school at 6135 S. Austin is accepting last-minute registrations for the 2022-23 academic year and offers tuition…
A family of readers
Members of the Pindozzo family are all smiles after the successful conclusion of the seven-week Summer Learning Challenge at the Garfield Ridge Branch Library. The City of Stories initiative challenged both adults and children to read and participate in storytelling activities. Some 325 children participated from the Garfield Ridge Branch. Citywide, thousands participated. – Supplied…
Last weekend for Heritage Corridor excursions
This Saturday will be the last chance this season for Chicago area residents to use Metra’s Heritage Corridor to explore the “Rails, Trails and Ales” – and more — along the historic route on Saturdays. Metra has operated the Saturday excursion trains, equipped with Metra’s new bike cars to carry extra bikes, along the route…
2 GOP candidates out of the running in November
By Bob Bong Two of the late Republican candidates who filed to fill vacancies on the November 8 ballot are no longer in the running as the fall campaign season gets ready to start up after Labor Day. At the end of July, Cook County Republicans, led by Palos Park’s Sean Morrison, filed a host…
Palos Park author gets assist from her kids
By Kelly White Living in Palos Park, Lisa Herpy decided to take her parenting to paper with the help of her three young children. Together, Herpy and her children, Jonathan, Jr., 7; Diana, 6; and Mia, 4, wrote and published, Brother and Sister: Summer Adventures, a book about two siblings enjoying all their favorite activities…
Police urge safe driving for Labor Day
With Americans celebrating during the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants to remind everyone about the dangers of drinking and driving. This Labor Day weekend, local police departments and Illinois State Police are spreading the word about impaired driving dangers and will be taking part…
Oak Lawn man charged in son’s shooting
By Bob Bong An Oak Lawn man has been charged with shooting his 19-year-old son during a fight last Friday morning inside their home. Mark Pillette, 57, of the 9500 block of Kenneth Avenue, was charged with one count of aggravated battery with a firearm. Police said they responded to a call of a person…
