Yearly Archives: 2024

When Hector Hernandez took over as Kelly coach, the Trojans were playing in the lowest division of Public League girls basketball. Slowly but surely, he has guided them up the ladder. Kelly won a Green conference title to move up to the Blue, a Blue conference title to move up to the White, and a […]

Lamia Quinones does more to help Oak Lawn win than what shows up in the scorebook. “I like to pass around the ball and try to get others the opportunity to shoot,” Quinones said after a 66-13 South Suburban crossover win against Tinley Park on Dec. 12. “Even if they miss, I try to pump […]

Stagg’s drought against the Lincoln-Ways is over, and junior guard Abbey Hobart is a big reason why. The Chargers earned back-to-back wins against Central (48-46) on Dec. 3 and East (40-34) on Dec. 5.  “I have never beaten Lincoln Way East or Lincoln Way Central. So to beat them was a rush,” Hobart said. “They […]

Scoring is only part of Yigit Akgunlu’s job for Reavis. “I try to be a leader out there,” Akgunlu said after a 54-53 loss to visiting Tinley Park on Dec. 5. “I want to get our guys going. That’s the most important thing. … “We’re sort of a young team with only one senior starter. […]

Like most prep athletes, Riverside-Brookfield’s Cameron Mercer is always looking for ways to improve his game.  There’s one method available to him that most kids don’t have, however: highlight clips from his dad’s highly successful career. Mercer’s father Ron was a high-school national player of the year and the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year […]

If Marist coach Brian Hynes didn’t want to check his phone during the offseason, who could blame him? “There was a couple rough days I was at work, and twice I just got pictures of X-rays,” Hynes said after the RedHawks raced past Hyde Park 62-31 on Dec. 7 at the Chicago Elite Classic. “So […]

Three state finalists from the Southwest Regional Publishing coverage area. Three state champions. As the final Top 10 of the 2024 season is published, we’d like to laud Mount Carmel for winning its 16th overall state title – an Illinois record – and third in a row. The Caravan are the Class 7A champs. For Nazareth, […]

Myles Mitchell is one of the state’s premier running backs, with a bright future with one of the nation’s best FCS programs. But the path hasn’t always been easy for the Richards senior, who made his college commitment to North Dakota State official during a signing ceremony on Dec. 4. “Eighth grade was kind of […]

The seeds for Chicago Christian’s stunning rise to supremacy in football were planted beginning last year, at Maroa-Forsyth, which dominated the Knights 42-6 in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. “That stuck in my craw,” lineman Brock Sperling said. “We were only down 14-6 at the half.” More seeds were planted this year, […]

It was common knowledge that Mount Carmel quarterback Jack Elliott was playing hurt this year. Exactly how much he was hurt didn’t come out till after the Caravan wrapped up a three-peat on a frigid evening in Normal last month. Elliott accounted for 416 total yards and seven touchdowns as the Caravan rolled past Batavia […]