Jonathan Castro ran for two touchdowns as Kennedy edged Carver 14-12 in Week 5. Photo by Mike Clark
‘Pinky’ power: Jonathan Castro leads Kennedy past Carver
When Jonathan Castro first went out for football at Kennedy, no one knew who he was.
So his new teammates gave him a nickname.
“Honestly, I just love the color pink,” the Crusaders senior said. “So I came in sophomore year and no one really knew my name. They saw I had a pink mouthguard, pink gloves, pink cleats. So they’re like, ‘Pinky, you’re up.’
“And ever since then it stuck.”
Two years later, Castro is still wearing pink and now is a known quantity. That’s a big reason Kennedy is rolling along despite losing its starting quarterback to injury on the first drive of a Week 3 loss to Marshall.
The Crusaders held on for a 14-12 Public League White Southwest win over Carver in Week 5 at Rockne Stadium to move closer to what would be the second IHSA playoff berth in program history.
With Castro and junior Kamarion McCarter taking the bulk of the snaps out of the Wildcat formation, the Crusaders moved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
“We’re kind of piecing it together on offense,” Kennedy coach Robert Albano said. “Got a sophomore quarterback in there, so we’re trying to take a little heat off him. Had some success running and (with) the suffocating defense we have, we’re trying to keep the ball, run the clock and score.”
That formula was working well.
Castro scored both Kennedy touchdowns on short runs and finished with 95 yards on 18 carries. He scored from 2 yards out with 9:51 left in the first quarter, one play after the Crusaders took over after a bad punt snap. His second TD was from 3 yards with 7:13 remaining in the game.
McCarter had 54 yards on 15 carries and sophomore quarterback Julian Cuevas added 23 yards on seven rushes.
Castro is glad to carry the load now that the Crusaders are run-heavy.
“Of course, I love it,” he said. “Any touch I get, I try to get yards. No one can stop me. I know me and my boys, the whole line, all 10 other players on the field — they’re gonna keep pushing for me so I’m gonna keep pushing for them.”
The difference in the game was two missed conversion attempts by Carver (3-2, 1-1).
“Honestly, we overcame some adversity,” Castro said. “But I know our team, I know our guys. They’ve got heart. So long as we’ve got heart, we can do anything we put our minds to.
“Carver was a tough team, but we’re gonna keep on rolling.”
“It’s a program on the rise,” Albano said. “We went from 41 kids last year up to 65 with a JV team this year, and we’re trying to do big things.”
Local News
Starbucks opens on former vacant lot in West Lawn
A new Starbucks opened last week in Chicago’s West Lawn community on a lot that had been vacant for 40 years. Groundbreaking for the newest Starbucks took place in March at 6413 S. Cicero Ave. and was led by Mayor Brandon Johnson and 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn. The lot was a former gas station…
Comings & Goings: Fogo de Chao coming to Orland Park
Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian steak house known for servers carrying slabs of meat on long skewers from table to table, announced last week that it had signed a lease to open a new restaurant in Orland Park. The new location at 15407 S. LaGrange Road would be the chain’s fifth Chicagoland restaurant. The 6,791-square-foot…
Women’s social group launches voting initiative in Summit
A group of women from Summit called Nubian 9, better known as N9, are stepping up to ensure their community’s voice is heard at the ballot box. The social group of nine long-time childhood friends from the Summit-Argo community is committed to fostering sisterhood, social impact and sensational living (living life to the fullest). In…
Lyons Township Assessor outreach event in Summit recovers $36,000 for taxpayers
An outreach event sponsored by the Lyons Township Assessor’s office at the Summit Park District recovered more than $36,000 for taxpayers. Nearly 200 Summit residents concerned about the recent jump in Cook County assessments attended the August 29 outreach. Assessor Patrick Hynes gave a brief presentation about the local property tax landscape, the recent reassessment, and tips…
Local physician surpasses 500th robotic surgery at Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital
Northwestern Medicine Palos Heights Hospital is celebrating an exciting milestone for one of its surgeons. Dr. Samer Rajjoub, a surgeon at Palos Hospital, recently celebrated his 500th robotic surgery with state-of-the-art da Vinci robots that allow surgeons to perform complex minimally invasive procedures with more precision, often leading to less pain for the patient post-surgery…
Lyons High School junior shines in pageantry, animal advocacy
Sophia Aviles, a junior at Lyons Township High School, earned a national honor that propels her closer to realizing her dreams in pageantry, fashion modeling and animal welfare advocacy. The 16-year-old from La Grange Park enjoys photography, reading in the park, and volunteering at a local veterinary clinic. Recently, she placed as the second runner-up…
Obituaries October 3, 2024
DAVID DARRELL BONBRAKE David Darrell Bonbrake, 62, of Macon, Georgia, passed away on September 19, 2024. Services will be private. David was born in Oak Park to the late William Jospeh Bonbrake and Dorothy Mae Richardson. He graduated from Argo Community High School in 1980. David was a truck driver for more than 30 years…
A Symphony of Dreams: Sisters open music school in Palos Hills
Two sisters are aiming to bring the power of music to the southwest suburbs. Kasia Szczech-Dlugosz and her younger sister, Karolina Szczech, opened the Magical Keys Institute of Music at 7840 W. 103rd St., Palos Hills, about three weeks ago. They celebrated with a grand opening on Thursday, Sept. 26, to greet the community and…
Palos East Elementary named National Blue Ribbon School
Palos East Elementary School in Palos Consolidated School District 118 has been named a National Blue Ribbon School award winner by the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, made the announcement on September 23 that Palos East Elementary has been named a 2024 National Blue Ribbon School. Schools are nominated by…
Neighbors
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
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
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’
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
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
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
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
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
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
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…
