Posts by Xavier Sanchez
Softball | Sandburg tops Richards, Crete-Monee to begin rebound season
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent With a blank slate, unblemished record and all goals still theoretically intact, beginning of the season for any sports team offers — if nothing else — hope. Teams are looking to start fresh and either rebound from a season that failed to meet expectations, or build on the success from and…
Read MoreBoys Basketball | DePaul Prep holds off Mount Carmel for Class 3A title
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Competing for and winning state championships are not new for Mount Carmel. Except in basketball. The Caravan football and wrestling teams have already won state titles this school year — the second consecutive championship for the former and the second in three seasons for the latter — but the basketball program’s…
Read MoreBoys Basketball Class 3A Playoffs | Thornton tops Brother Rice to advance to UIC Supersectional
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Brother Rice went toe-to-toe with Thornton in a hostile environment, but the Wildcats did what potential state championship teams do and played their best ball late to pull out a 61-54 win in the Class 3A Thornton Sectional title game. The game was played at the Wildcats’ home gym in Harvey,…
Read MoreBoys Basketball Class 3A Sectionals | Evergreen Park’s historic ends with loss to Thornton
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The 2023-2024 Evergreen Park boys basketball team had one of the greatest seasons in program history. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, that season has come to an end with a 77-47 loss to Thornton in the semifinals of the Class 3A Thornton Sectional on Feb. 27. Evergreen Park was coming off its…
Read MoreBoys Hoops Wrap | Curie, Rice and Marist among area regional champs
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The original March Madness got underway last week across Illinois, and several area teams were crowned regional champions. Teams still alive in Class 4A are Marist and Curie, and in Class 3A are Brother Rice, De La Salle, Evergreen Park and Mount Carmel. CLASS 4A Marist (29-4) cruised to a…
Read MoreBoys Basketball Class 3A Playoffs | Evergreen Park tops Hillcrest for first regional title since 1974
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Some Evergreen Park players have deep roots in the community, but it was a newcomer that carried the Mustangs to a monumental win. Senior guard Tre Dowdell put up a game-high 30 points and Mustangs rolled to a 74-60 win over Hillcrest in the Class 3A Evergreen Park Regional championship game…
Read MoreGirls Basketball | Nazareth tops Homewood-Flossmoor, heads to Illinois Final Four for fifth time in past six seasons
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Nazareth head coach Ed Stritzel has built his Roadrunners into a powerhouse program with a defense-first philosophy that is carrying the reigning Class 3A state champions through another deep postseason run. Four nights after Nazareth held Kenwood to a season-low 37 points in the Class 4A Mother McAuley Sectional championship game,…
Read MoreGirls Basketball | Sandburg outlasts Romeoville for first regional crown since 2016
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent It was the Eagles’ game to win and no one was going to change the outcome. On its home floor against a Romeoville team that had not lost this year, Sandburg used overtime to defeat the Spartans, 62-58, on Feb. 15 for the Class 4A Sandburg Regional title. It is the…
Read MoreGirls Basketball | Evergreen Park’s Scaduto signs off after career spanning four decades
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent The box score does not always give the full story of a game. Evergreen Park visited Hinsdale South on Feb. 16 with the hope of winning a regional championship. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the game did not go their way. The Hornets jumped to an 18-3 lead in the first quarter…
Read MoreBoys Basketball | Stagg tops Bradley to clinch program’s first conference title
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Stagg came into this season looking for their first winning campaign since 2016. The Chargers did better than that. In addition to being assured of finishing over .500 for the first time under coach Marty Strus, Stagg won the first conference championship in program history. The Chargers (19-11, 5-3 SouthWest Suburban…
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