By Steve Millar Correspondent Mount Carmel survived an upset bid from Kankakee in a Class 2A Brother Rice Sectional semifinal, prevailing 4-3 in overtime. But the poor defensive effort was a wake-up call for a Caravan team that has prided itself on shutting teams down all year. “That was way too many goals,” Mount Carmel…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Sandburg doubled its pleasure in cross country regionals. Both the boys and girls came up with regional titles at Midlothian Meadows in Midlothian on Oct. 22. The Eagles girls won their first regional title since 2015, according to the IHSA, with 23 points. Runner-up Mother McAuley finished with 54 points.…
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By Steve Millar Correspondent With his team trailing Loyola by 10 points at halftime in a battle between two unbeaten teams, senior quarterback Blainey Dowling had a message for his Mount Carmel teammates. Dowling called upon them to remember who they are. “I gathered the team up and I said, ‘Hey, the first half didn’t…
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By Steve Millar Correspondent Keith Monteclar saw the play developing and knew he was about set off a celebration. When Lockport had a mix-up near its own goal in overtime, Monteclar was ready to pounce. “When he messed up, all I was thinking was, ‘We won conference, we won conference,’” Monteclar said. Monteclar came up…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Richards is in a pretty good position to get into the playoffs this year, but all of its success has come within the South Suburban Conference Red. Outside the Red? The Bulldogs know they still have some work to do. After a 68-30 crossover road loss to SSC Blue powerhouse…
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By Steve Millar Correspondent After Mount Carmel beat each of its first five opponents by 24 points or more, senior quarterback Blainey Dowling thinks it is good the Caravan had to fight to the end against an upset-minded Brother Rice team. Dowling ran for the game-winning 15-yard touchdown with 1:58 left to lift Mount Carmel…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer That didn’t take long. The St. Laurence girls golf program is in only its second year of existence but last weekend celebrated a major accomplishment. Coach Jim Tracy’s troops won the Providence Catholic Class 1A Regional by four strokes, logging a 372 to edge University High (Chicago), which finished…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Saint Xavier lost its first two games by a combined score of 88-10. The last thing the Cougars needed was for Siena Heights to come into Chicago and make itself at home. But the Saints tried, scoring on their first drive and putting the Cougars in a hole. This time,…
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By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Saint Xavier is off to a not-so-good start, but veteran coach Mike Feminis is not panicking. The Cougars were ranked 11th in the nation in the NAIA coach’s poll and are 0-2 after a 31-10 home-opening loss to St. Thomas (Florida) on Sept. 10. That followed a 57-0 loss to…
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By Steve Millar Correspondent With Mount Carmel struggling to run the ball against a tough St. Rita defensive front early in the 2022 season opener, it was time for the Caravan to unleash an overlooked weapon: the passing game. “We started off slow running the ball but [coach Jordan Lynch” put together a game plan…
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Softball | Jocelyn Hovanec scores two runs, Ks 12 in Chicago Christian win
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent Chicago Christian is working to find its footing in the inaugural season of the Chicagoland Christian Conference. The Knights entered this week 6-8 overall and 4-6 in the CCC, putting them in fifth place with just two conference games to play among their final seven regular-season contests. The Knights have had…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Boys Volleyball | Marist hands Glenbard West first loss of season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Marist was scary good in the first set. The RedHawks won it 25-12. Even by Marist standards, that’s pretty impressive. Complete dominance. What’s even more stunning is that it came against the second-ranked team in the nation. The RedHawks, who came into the match ranked sixth in the country in the…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…
Pickleball courts coming to Palos Park
By Jeff Vorva There will finally be outdoor pickleball in Palos Park. In a process that went longer than anticipated, the Palos Park Village Council was able give the green light to get a pickleball project started on the Village Green. The council voted April 8 to award the contract to U.S. Tennis Court Construction…
Dread over car drifters on streets
. Reckless drivers take over SW Side intersections . By Tim Hadac At the April meeting of the Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch, a police officer admitted that the drag racing/drifting phenomenon seen and heard in the Midway area in recent years “probably will increase, but we hope not.” The admission was triggered by a brief…
CTA launches ‘chat’ feature on website
. From staff reports Artificial Intelligence has made another step forward at the Chicago Transit Authority. CTA officials recently launched the “Chat with CTA” chatbot, a new virtual automated service featured on transitchicago.com. The communication tool allows riders to report issues, provide feedback and receive answers in real-time. Additionally, it provides the CTA with customer feedback where…
New effort to aid kids with disabilities
. From staff reports A new grant program aimed at providing financial assistance to families of children with disabilities was launched recently by Mayor Brandon Johnson, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities and Ada S. McKinley Community Services. Children with disabilities is a population disproportionately affected by the pandemic, officials said.…
Dart warns of Sheriff’s Office imposters
. From staff reports Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart recently alerted the public of an uptick in telephone and email phishing scams in which scammers identify themselves as a Sheriff’s Office employee in an attempt to defraud victims. Scammers are using the actual names and respective titles of Sheriff’s Office employees to appear legitimate.…
Boys Volleyball | Chicago Christian finishes April strong, takes second at Ridgewood Invitational
By Xavier Sanchez Correspondent A busy and largely successful final seven days of April saw Chicago Christian briefly climb back to the .500 mark after a tough first month of the season. The Knights (11-12, 4-4 Chicagoland Christian Conference) have won seven of their past 10 matches, all of which were played over a seven-day…
Boys Volleyball | Marist hands Glenbard West first loss of season
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Marist was scary good in the first set. The RedHawks won it 25-12. Even by Marist standards, that’s pretty impressive. Complete dominance. What’s even more stunning is that it came against the second-ranked team in the nation. The RedHawks, who came into the match ranked sixth in the country in the…
Sophia Smith’s brace sinks Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent Home has not been that sweet lately for the Chicago Red Stars. The team lost its second straight game at SeatGeek Stadium with a 2-0 setback to Portland in front of an announced crowd of 4,443 on April 27. Portland star Sophia Smith scored in the 10th and 26th minutes, then…
Nazareth Academy celebrates ‘special talent’ J.J. McCarthy in NFL Draft
By Steve Metsch Dennis Moran has no doubts that J.J. McCarthy – the former Nazareth Academy quarterback who is now with the Minnesota Vikings – will succeed in the National Football League. Moran was among about 60 or so Nazareth Academy fans, friends and coaches who gathered Thursday night at The Stadium Club in McCook…
Brother Rice names Al Perez next soccer coach
By Jeff Vorva Correspondent A few new coaches are dotting the area high school athletic scene. One of the more notable hires was Brother Rice bringing Al Perez aboard as the soccer coach. Perez led Chicago Public League power Washington to a Class 2A state championship in 2013, a fourth-place finish in 2015 and a…