St. Rita coach Todd Kuska addresses his troops after Friday's playoff win over Geneva. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Pigskin Wrap: Catholic League teams power through first round of playoffs
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
The Todd Kuska Era at St. Rita is coming to a close.
The retiring coach would prefer it would come two days after Thanksgiving, meaning the Mustangs would be playing in the IHSA Class 7A state championship game for a second straight season.
The 12th-seeded Mustangs took the first step in that goal with a 27-14 win over 21st-seeded Geneva in the first round Oct. 28 in Chicago. Junior running back DJ Stewart ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
St. Rita (8-2) will play at fifth-seeded Prospect (9-1) at 7 p.m. Friday. Prospect made it to the second round with a 62-13 win over Reavis. The Knights average 46 points per game.
The two teams faced each other in the 7A semifinals last year, with the Mustangs pulling off a 42-20 victory to advance to the state championship game. Wheaton North defeated St. Rita in the title game.
“It’s a good football team that’s been putting up a lot of points and winning a lot of games,” Kuska said of the Falcons. “I know we’re going to have to score some points. We have to be able to execute in all phases of the game.”
Against Geneva, junior Zack Clark had a 63-yard interception for a score and Alabama-bound Conor Talty kicked a pair of field goals.
St. Rita’s Conor Talty gets ready to kick his second field goal of the night for St. Rita against Geneva in the first round of the playoffs Friday night. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Early in the season, Kuska announced he would retire after this year. In 25 years at the helm, he has collected more than 200 victories and had more than 50 players go to Division I colleges, and five reach the NFL. Martin Hopkins will take over in 2023.
Kuska said he is trying to focus on football in the waning weeks.
“I just want to keep playing and keep winning,” he said. “Was this my last home game? I hope not. I haven’t really thought much about it. I’m sure as we get deeper, maybe I’ll think a little bit more about it.
“I just want to keep my mind on football. It’s like I tell the seniors, ‘this is it. How many times are you going to put on a helmet?’ So, I guess, how many times am I going to put on my whistle. I want to keep winning and keep coaching the kids and help the seniors have a big finish.”
CCL/ESCC
It was a banner first round for area teams in the Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference.
Brother Rice, which was seeded 24th in Class 8A, pulled off a 27-0 victory over ninth-seeded Jacobs in Algonquin. Quarterback Marcus Brown had three rushing touchdowns and Randall Nauden added one. Nauden ran for 122 yards and Brown 86.
Jack Morrison had nine tackles while Henry Ivers and Christian Pierce each had eight in the shutout.
The Crusaders (6-4) host eighth-seeded Collinsville (9-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Mount Carmel, the top seed in Class 8A, beat 32nd-seeded Buffalo Grove, 49-3.
The Caravan visits 17th seeded Downers Grove North at 1 p.m. Saturday. North whipped Lincoln Park, 46-0, in the first round.
In Class 8A, 18th-seeded Marist knocked off 15th-seeded Naperville North, 42-28. RedHawks running back Chris Lofgren ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Dermot Smyth threw for 180 yards and a touchdown and ran for 118 yards and two more scores.
Marist (7-3) hosts second-seeded York (10-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Another CCL/ESCC team that knocked off a higher seed was Nazareth in Class 5A, where the 11th-seeded Roadrunners blasted sixth-seeded Glenbard South, 48-22. In a game with some big plays, Nazareth’s Justin Taylor had scoring runs of 41 and 30 yards and quarterback Logan Malachuk had a 56-yard bolt.
Nazareth (6-4) hosts third-seeded Rockford Boylan Catholic (9-1) at a time and date that were not determines by deadline.
Metro Suburban Red
Tenth-seeded Riverside-Brookfield had its season end at 6-4 with a 35-14 loss to seventh-seeded Kaneland in Maple Park.
South Suburban Red
Eleventh-seeded Richards, the SSC Red champ, dropped a 71-0 game to sixth-seeded East St. Louis Senior, a national power in Class 6A. Richards finished the season 6-4.
Reavis, seeded 28th in Class 7A, fell 62-13 to fifth-seeded Prospect to finish 5-5.
Argo, seeded 31st in 7A, lost to Hersey, 49-14, to finish 5-5.
Chicago Public League
Goode STEM, the fourth seed in the North bracket of Class 5A, enjoyed a 48-0 triumph over 13th-seeded Noble/Pritzker in the opening round.
Goode (9-1) faces fifth-seeded Sterling (7-2) at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Lane Tech.
In Class 3A, Catalyst-Maria had its season end at 6-4 with a 52-8 loss to Pecatonica.
Venerable win for SXU
Junior running back Amari Venerable returned from a preseason injury and helped lead Saint Xavier to a 52-6 road victory over Judson in a Mid-States Football Association Midwest game on Saturday.
It’s the seventh straight win for SXU, which vaulted up to No. 11 in the NAIA coaches’ rankings.
Venerable ran 11 times for 100 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Stuart Ross threw for 177 yards.
Evergreen Park native and Brother Rice graduate Jessi Plunkett had one carry for a 65-yard touchdown.
The Cougars (7-2, 5-0) hosts St. Ambrose at noon Saturday.
St. Rita’s DJ Stewart, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Friday, carries the ball against Geneva in a 7A playoff opener in Chicago. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Local News
Victress Women’s Wellness Center sets goals for 2022
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Empowering women in the new year is Victress, a wellness center for women, in Palos Heights. The center opened in October at 7120 W. 127th St. and welcomed in the new year with a goal-setting seminar open to women in the local community called, Achieve 2022: This year set goals,…
Broadcast news — Palos Heights’ Channel 4 has big 2021
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The first Palos Heights city council meeting of 2022 featured a few minutes of bragging about Channel 4’s success in 2021. The local cable channel had a record-breaking year and Alderman Jerry McGovern was more than happy to run down the happy totals at Tuesday’s board meeting at City Hall.…
Obituaries for Jan. 20, 2022
Spread the loveTHERESA M. BALDWIN Theresa M. Baldwin (nee Boxlietner), age 76, passed away December 12, 2021. Beloved wife of Richard Baldwin; loving mother of Michael Kresch, Kenneth Kresch, Crystal Nelson and Denise Baldwin; dear grandmother of Samantha Peters, Dennis Nelson, Devorie Nelson, Korin Leeth, Kayla Nelson, Kaylee Nelson, Travis Spagnola, Kyle Kresch, Sydney Kresch,…
Experienced bakers buy The Great American Bagel in Palos Heights
Spread the loveNew owners nearly double the menu for breakfast, lunch By Cosmo Hadac When The Great American Bagel’s shop in Palos Heights changed hands late last year, the new owners who walked in the door weren’t exactly new. Manny Rios Sr. and his wife, Silvia, have nearly 50 years of combined experience in…
New owner will keep Palmer Place name and burgers Copy
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Palmer Place Restaurant and Biergarten, a mainstay in downtown La Grange for nearly 40 years, will soon have new owners. But not much else will change. The name on 56 S. La Grange Road will still read Palmer Place. The employees now there will still have their jobs. And the…
Palos Park could be making its decision on gaming on Monday
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Will Palos Park make its decision on bringing in gaming machines to the village on Monday? The world will have to wait until Monday to find out. The village council will meet for the first time in 2022 on Monday after its Jan. 10 meeting was cancelled because of a…
Pekau takes Rubin and Foxx to task over mandate punishments
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Orland Park has Cook’s County’s attention. The village’s decision to vote against enforcing Cook County COVID-19 mandates at a special meeting Dec. 28 has been a hot topic. The village’s position is that businesses need not require proof of vaccination for patrons to enter. Some businesses are taking the board…
‘These bruises won’t heal’
Spread the loveCPS kids back in school, but bitterness remains By Tim Hadac Teachers who walked off the job in the new year returned last week after the Chicago Teachers Union rank and file voted to accept Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s offer of increased safety measures at schools. But it was a divided vote, with just…
Smooch from a pooch
Spread the loveMutts of the Midway volunteer John Shaker smiles as he gets a smooch from Burt, a 5-year-old American Pit Bull/Boston Terrier mix. Shaker works as a transporter, driving dogs to and from veterinarian appointments. The 37-pound Burt was rescued by the non-profit Mutts of the Midway from a shelter in Texas. For several…
Neighbors
Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan
By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on Friday – at least for now –…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Members of a would-be union representing staffers in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office filed suit against their boss on Friday, asking a Cook County judge to force recognition of the union. The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, which formed in the fall of 2022, claims Welch’s…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Jimmy Soto spent more than 42 years wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. In 2020, he was moved to the “F-House” at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a condemned unit, not because he was being punished, but because it was where the facility was housing individuals…
Judge blocks law that would have banned newly slated candidates from ballot
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A Sangamon County judge on Wednesday blocked the Illinois State Board of Elections from enforcing a new law that would have prevented certain General Assembly candidates who didn’t run in the March primary from getting on the November ballot. The move doesn’t void the bill in its entirety,…
“No Schoolers”: How Illinois’ hands-off approach to homeschooling leaves children at risk
By BETH HUNDSDORFER & MOLLY PARKER CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS investigations@capitolnewsillinois.com This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. It was on L.J.’s 11th birthday, in December 2022, that child welfare workers finally took him away. They arrived at his central Illinois home to investigate an abuse allegation and decided…
Brushing off concerns of overspending, Pritzker signs $53.1 billion state budget
By ANDREW ADAMS JERRY NOWICKI & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed the state’s $53.1 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, the largest in state history. The signing caps months of work – and tension – among top Democratic leaders in Springfield and within the…
Stalled bills: ‘Dignity in Pay Act,’ Prisoner Review Board changes fail to move
By ALEX ABBEDUTO, COLE LONGCOR & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com A bill eliminating the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities failed to pass the General Assembly ahead of its May adjournment, although sponsors say they hope to pass it when lawmakers return in the fall. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938…