SRP-IMAGE-Logo

Football | Argonauts run past Bloom

By Mike Walsh
Correspondent

Neither a burst of late-summer heat nor a good Bloom team was going to prevent Steve Holmes from properly performing his job last Saturday afternoon at Sarff Field in Chicago Heights.

In helping visiting Argo to a 23-14 nonconference victory over the Blazing Trojans, the junior running back amassed 176 yards on 36 attempts, while scoring on runs of 1 and 19 yards.

“This was a game of heat and we showed a bunch of fight,” Argo head coach Phil Rossberg said. “Steve wanted the ball and he wanted to win. He’s the ultimate competitor and that’s why the kids follow him. If you get the ball 36 times in 88-degree heat, that tells you something about him.”

Holmes had ample help in the Argonauts improving to 2-0. The offensive line, anchored by 6-foot-2, 270-pound senior right tackle Leo Marquez and senior center Robert Jendral provided sufficient running room for Holmes and the ground game.

“Our offensive line was really good,” Rossberg said. “We were literally grinding the ball on [Bloom] all the time. It was big on big and just moving bodies. When you can chew up three, four or six yards a carry, you control the game. These kids played their butts off.”

Senior quarterback Ryan Edwards carried 15 times for 89 yards and scored on a 3-yard run. Edwards completed four passes in 10 tries for 49 yards.

Senior cornerback Beandre Dugans intercepted a pair of passes, and junior middle linebacker Maciej Jarosz (8 tackles) and senior defensive end Jacob Fries (2 tackles for loss) also contributed.

“Maciej’s probably our strongest player,” Rossberg said. “He’s a beast.”

Up 20-14 with one minute to play in the fourth quarter, Argo secured the decision as Kacper Lobas drilled a 24-yard field goal to set the final margin.

“Credit to Bloom,” Rossberg said. “They fought us in the second half. We were up 13-0 and they hit us in the mouth a little bit.

“Our goal is to become playoff eligible. Our motto this week was ‘Who are we?’ and ‘What are we about?’ We showed a lot of good things today and we have some things we need to clean up. We had more penalties than we would have liked because the kids were a little hyper in the beginning, but they calmed down and settled down a little bit.”

Local News

Bedford Park and the Chicago Sky welcome guests to the groundbreaking last week of the team’s new practice facility. (Photos by Carol McGowan)

Chicago Sky, Bedford Park break ground on $38 million practice facility

It was a groundbreaking event on Oct. 9, as more than 200 people gathered at the future site of Phase 2 of the Wintrust Sports Complex at 65th Street and Central Avenue in Bedford Park. The Chicago Sky, in partnership with the Village of Bedford Park, broke ground on a new $38 million state-of-the-art practice…

Sophie Imielski (left) and Jordyn Hoffenberger were busy hemming garments at an earlier Repair Cafe. (File photo)

Final repair cafe of the year Oct. 19 for Lyons Township

The Township of Lyons will host its final repair café of the year from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at the township hall, 6404 Joliet Road. You can bring a wide range of household items in for repairs free of charge, Township Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg said during the township board meeting Oct.…

Forest View Village Clerk Laura McGuffey (from left), Stickney Township Trustees Laura Kreil, Diane Viverito, Donna Galeher, Forest View Mayor Nancy Miller and Administrator Mike Dropka at the beginning of the October 8 board meeting. (Photo by Carol McGowan)

Forest View loses 2 officials in sudden resignations, mayor ‘saddened’

On Oct. 8, the Forest View village board meeting took a surprising turn when two key officials resigned during a portion of the meeting that was closed to the public. Forest View Administrator Michael Dropka submitted his resignation to trustees who met behind closed doors to discuss an “employee personnel matter,” according to the meeting…

Marko Franco ran for two touchdowns in Back of the Yards' win against Gage Park on Oct. 10.

Football notebook: Marko Franco gives Back of the Yards a boost

Mark Morgan had a plan when he took over as Back of the Yards football coach in the fall of 2021. The Bobcats hadn’t fielded a team in two years, skipping the spring 2021 pandemic season. Getting the program back on its feet took some heavy lifting. Back of the Yards went 1-7 and 2-7…

Nazareth's boys golf team won the third sectional title in program history and heads to state Oct. 18-19. Nazareth photo

Postseason roundup: Nazareth boys, girls both advance to state golf

Nazareth boys golf coach Dave Reed didn’t see this coming. A sectional championship? That happened only twice in school history, in 2009 and 2013. Plus, the Roadrunners had not qualified for state as a team since 2019. Heading into this season, there were no sectional expectations. During regional play, the Roadrunners grabbed the last sectional…

Red Star Ludmila, left, and Gotham's Nealy Martin tangle on Oct. 12 at SeatGeek Stadium. Photo by Jeff Vorva

Pro soccer report: Red Stars clinch playoff spot; Fire names new coach

If the Red Stars had their choice, they would rather have beaten Gotham on Sept. 12 to secure a spot in the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs. Instead, the Red Stars suffered a 2-0 loss to the defending NWSL champions at SeatGeek Stadium, and 24 hours later clinched a spot in the playoffs when Washington…

Saquan Commings returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown in Curie’s 30-0 win against Mather in Week 7. Photo by Mike Clark

Saquan Commings’ pick-six highlights Curie shutout of Mather

Slowly but surely, Curie is learning how to win again. The Condors were one of the Public League’s top football programs earlier this century, advancing to the IHSA playoffs 11 times from 2005-19 and winning 41 games between 2014-17. But before first-year coach Jarve Lewis-Bey arrived this fall, Curie had only four victories in the…

Mustafa Sulaiman, a familiar figure on the Chicago-area prep basketball scene, is taking over as boys coach at Universal. Provided photo

Universal hires Mustafa Sulaiman as boys basketball coach

Mustafa Sulaiman wasn’t looking for another job, but one came looking for him. Sulaiman is a familiar figure in Chicago-area prep basketball circles as the creator of the Xposure Runs podcast and the Chitown Showcase for uncommitted players trying to raise their recruiting profile. Now he’s also the head coach at Universal. Sulaiman was hired…

Logo-Evergreen Park

AJ Powell does it all for Evergreen Park in win vs. Reavis

Anything you can do, chances are AJ Powell can do better. The 5-foot-9, 150-pound senior demonstrated that in a 21-13 Week 7 win against Reavis in South Suburban Red action. Playing running back and cornerback, Powell rushed 11 times for 83 yards. On defense, he had 9.5 tackles and two interceptions. Powell also blocked an…

Defensive end Joey Quinn (from left), quarterback Jack Elliott and running back Danyil Taylor Jr. all played key roles in Mount Carmel’s 35-21 win against Joliet Catholic in Week 7. Photo by Mike Walsh

Jack’s back: Elliott leads Mount Carmel past Joliet Catholic

Welcome back, Jack. Senior quarterback Jack Elliott missed Mount Carmel’s loss to Brother Rice in Week 6 with an injury. But he was back in the Caravan lineup for Week 7 against Joliet Catholic in Chicago. How much of an impact did Elliott have in Mount Carmel’s 35-21 triumph over the Hilltoppers? A significant one.…

Neighbors

Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan

Jury deadlocks, mistrial declared in case of ex-AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A federal judge on Thursday declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked in their deliberations over whether former AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza bribed longtime Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan via a no-work contract for the speaker’s political ally. After nearly 15 hours of deliberation…

High court: Smell of burnt cannabis is not cause for warrantless vehicle search

High court: Smell of burnt cannabis is not cause for warrantless vehicle search

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com Law enforcement officers in Illinois cannot rely on the smell of burnt cannabis alone to justify searching a vehicle without a warrant, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The decision was unanimous, though Justice Lisa Holder White did not take part in it. Writing for the court,…

State wraps up case in challenge to assault weapons ban

State wraps up case in challenge to assault weapons ban

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A federal judge invoked images from the 1917 race riots in East St. Louis, Illinois, on Thursday at the end of a trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. Judge Steven McGlynn, who has…

Gun expert says assault weapons ban ‘describes the most popular firearms I’m involved with’

Gun expert says assault weapons ban ‘describes the most popular firearms I’m involved with’

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – A firearms expert testified Wednesday that the weapons restricted under Illinois’ assault weapons ban include many of the most common firearms that American consumers use for self-defense. Steven Randall Watt, a combat veteran and retired law enforcement officer who now owns a private firearms…

Case of former AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan heads to jury

Case of former AT&T boss accused of bribing Madigan heads to jury

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – On Valentine’s Day in 2017, then-AT&T Illinois President Paul La Schiazza got some good news: After years of trying to push for legislation in Springfield that would save the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan had agreed to a…

State Supreme Court hears arguments in Jussie Smollett’s effort to overturn conviction

State Supreme Court hears arguments in Jussie Smollett’s effort to overturn conviction

By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in actor Jussie Smollett’s appeal to overturn his conviction on disorderly conduct charges for falsifying a hate crime. Smollett, who was an actor on the TV show “Empire,” was improperly charged with the same crime twice, his legal team…

Testimony continues in 2nd Amendment challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban

Testimony continues in 2nd Amendment challenge to Illinois’ assault weapons ban

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – An engineer who spent decades designing weapons for one of the world’s leading gun manufacturers testified Tuesday that the assault-style weapons now banned in Illinois are intended only for civilian use and cannot be easily converted into military-grade firearms. James Ronkainen, a former engineer…

Contractor’s unsecured databases exposed sensitive voter data in over a dozen Illinois counties

Contractor’s unsecured databases exposed sensitive voter data in over a dozen Illinois counties

By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Around 4.6 million records associated with Illinoisans in over a dozen counties – including voting records, registrations and death certificates – were temporarily available on the open internet, according to a security researcher who identified the vulnerability in July. The documents were available through an unsecured cloud storage…

Prosecutors rest case against former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing Madigan

Prosecutors rest case against former AT&T Illinois boss accused of bribing Madigan

By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – After years of pushing in Springfield, AT&T Illinois’ executive team was thrilled when the Illinois General Assembly in 2017 passed legislation that would get the company out from under expensive obligations to maintain its aging copper landline wires in Illinois. “Game over. We win,” AT&T Illinois…

Trial begins in challenge to assault weapons ban

Trial begins in challenge to assault weapons ban

By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com EAST ST. LOUIS – The owner of a gun store testified Monday that Illinois’ ban on the sale of assault-style weapons and large capacity magazines has had a significant impact on his business and prevented his customers from buying items they would normally use for self-defense, hunting, target…