Some may think that a sought-after two-sport athlete would have an easy time picking a college.
But Marist senior Stephen Brown had a tough time just choosing a sport.
He entered the Chicago school with Division I offers in basketball. But on the Dec. 3 early signing day, he instead made it official that he’ll play football at North Carolina State. Â
“I don’t think most people realize the stress he was under,” Marist football coach Mike Fitzgerald said. “He was playing two sports and had a path in both, and that’s a stressful decision. Something just clicked and he really saw that being 6-6 or 6-6 1/2 in football is a lot different than being 6-6 1/2 in basketball. He started to see where he could take this thing.”
Also a part of the school’s signing ceremony were football teammates Danzel Newell (New Mexico) and Rico Schreiber (Purdue), along with softball player Rylee O’Connor (Loras).
Even after Brown suffered a broken collarbone in football his junior season, he still didn’t want to give up on the sport.
“I thought about it for a little bit,” Brown said. “But that can’t be the reason I would give football up. I’ve healed now and I’m good.
“When I was playing football over the summer again, I loved it. Football is just amazing.”
In the middle of this football season, Brown made the decision to put all his chips into that sport. Despite the late commitment to football, he was still in demand.
“He was always in everybody’s radar,” Fitzgerald said. “Him being 50-50 might have slowed things down early. But I think everybody kept checking in and then they saw he was coming toward football, it all worked out the way it was supposed to.”
Other signees
The Southwest Regional area had a handful of other early football signees.
Class 7A champ Brother Rice recruits are quarterback CJ Gray (Army), defensive lineman King Liggins (Illinois), and wide receiver Jovan Green and cornerback Emeir White, who are both going to South Dakota State.
For Class 8A champion Mount Carmel, offensive tackle Claude Mpouma signed with Nebraska and defensive lineman Braeden Jones signed with USC.
Nazareth wide receiver Jake Cestone chose Illinois State. Sandburg cornerback Vincent Smith picked West Virginia. Andrew offensive lineman Jake Palucki signed with Toledo.
Mr. Perfect x 2
On Nov. 22, Sandburg bowler Eddy Banks flirted with a perfect game in the first game of the Oak Lawn Spartan Classic at Palos Lanes, but finished with a 279.
But in December, he finished the job. Twice.
Banks shot a 300 on Dec. 1 against Richards at Palos Lanes.
And then he shot his second perfect game the next day in a battle with Lincoln-Way East, also at Palos Lanes.
It was the first time in program history that a bowler rolled two 300s in as many days.
Another stunner for Morton
Morton College’s men’s basketball team is making this a habit.
The Panthers stunned South Suburban, ranked 10th in the nation among NJCAA Division II teams, 74-58. Zion Young and Kevin Cathey Jr. each had 15 points for Morton (6-4).
On Nov. 22, the Panthers knocked off Milwaukee Area Tech, 88-80. Tech was ranked eighth in NJCAA Division II at the time.