By Jeff Vorva
The boys basketball season is just around the corner and Beecher and Manteno hope to keep up some of the excitement they generated the past few seasons.
The Bobcats open the season at 7 p.m. Nov. 25 against another Manteno in the opening round of the Manteno Thanksgiving Tournament.
Beecher enjoyed the best season in school history with a 34-1 record and reaching the Class 2A superectional before falling to eventual state champion Phillips. That came off an exciting 2022-23 season in which the Bobcats went 25-7.
Manteno was 26-5 in 2023-24 and won the Illinois Central Eight conference with a 13-1 mark. That was a huge turnaround after finishing 12-18 the previous year.
Peotone, which went 10-19, is also in the Manteno tournament and opens the campaign at 5:50 p.m. Nov. 25 against Immaculate Conception.
Crete-Monee, which was 13-18 in 2023-24, heads to Oak Lawn High School for the Spartan-Ram Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25, where it will meet the Chicago Agricultural School.
Big running for Herman
The football season has been over for area schools but at least one area athlete is making a lot of noise in the postseason.
Monee resident Nick Herman is the featured running back for St. Rita and his 92-yard run in the third quarter Nov. 16 helped break the game open in a 49-14 win over Quincy in the Illinois High School Association Class 7A quarterfinals in Chicago.
Herman and the Mustangs host Mount Carmel at 3 p.m. on Nov. 23 on the semifinals.
Heading into the Quincy game, Herman was the leading rusher for the team with 887 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He has offers on the table from multiple colleges including Butler, Minnesota State and Valparaiso.
Signing up
During the national signing day on Nov. 13, Beecher softball standout Abby Papas signed with North Park.
Monee resident Ella Kucala, a senior at Providence Catholic, signed up for Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
Players of the Year
Beecher’s Logan Wilkins was named the River Valley Conference’s Boys Soccer Player of the Year while Elana Kvasnicka was named Girls Volleyball Player of the Year.
Bobcats Wences Baumgartner, Tyler Kramer and Jimmy Kypuros were named to the conference’s first team in soccer while Axel Avila and Jadyn Hill made the second team. Gavin Graham was an honorable mention.
All-Staters
Manteno football standout Cooper Monk was named all-state honorable mention in Class 4A by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association while Crete-Monee’s Derrin Crouch made the Class 6A All-State team and Dorian Patterson was named honorable mention.