Local Sports News
Pigskin Wrap: St. Xavier tops Roosevelt in thriller, gets Feminis career win No. 200
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Saint Xavier coach Mike Feminis was gunning for his 200th career victory, but it looked more like he might be tagged with his 78th career loss. After wasting a 14-point halftime lead, the Cougars found themselves down six in the closing minute of the Homecoming game Oct. 1 at Bruce……
Forest Preserves stocking thousands of trout
From staff reports The Forest Preserves of Cook County’s 2022 fall inland trout fishing season will open at sunrise on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Axehead Lake in Park Ridge, Belleau Lake in Des Plaines, Busse Reservoir-North Pool in Elk Grove Village, Sag Quarry-East in Lemont, Horsetail Lake in Palos Park and Green Lake in Calumet……
Girls Volleyball: Marist knocks Mother McAuley from unbeaten ranks
By Randy Whalen Correspondent Kamryn Chaney had the “eye of the tiger” and Marist got a huge win over their arch-rivals. Hosting Mother McAuley in the regular season for the first time in four years, the RedHawks came out focused. Chaney clubbed a match-high 12 kills and added five blocks and eight digs and an……
Football: Richards scores season-high 49 in win over Shepard
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor It took all of 16 seconds for the fireworks to begin in a high-scoring South Suburban Red matchup between district rivals Richards and Shepard. Terangie Eskridge returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Myles Mitchell scored four touchdowns and the Bulldogs pulled away in the second half to top the……
Football: Previously winless Sandburg takes down defending champ Lockport
By Randy Whalen Correspondent A season ago, Sandburg turned its season around after a big loss to Lockport. This year, the Eagles hope their season has turned around after a big win over the Porters. Sandburg was winless coming into the SouthWest Suburban Blue matchup against the defending Class 8A state champions, but pummeled the……
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars playoff hopes dim with shutout loss in Portland
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer Well, this has quickly turned into a mess and it’s a mess that does not favor the Chicago Red Stars. Heading into last week’s action, it appeared the regular-season finale between the Red Stars and Angel City on Sunday at SeatGeek Stadium would be cut-and-dried. The winner would take the……
Area sports roundup: No drama here, St. Rita grad Hopkins named Mustangs football coach
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer There will be no drama waiting to see who the will coach St. Rita’s football team in 2023. Even though there are four weeks to go in the 2022 regular season, the school last week named Martin Hopkins the successor to Todd Kuska. Kuska, in his 25th season as the……
Football: Evergreen Park edges Reavis in SSC Red
By Steve Millar Correspondent The back-and-forth battle waged against Reavis in Week 5 was the kind of game for which Evergreen Park prepares. It provided the Mustangs a chance to test how they would respond in an intense situation. They passed the test. “Resilience was the key,” Evergreen Park coach Jerry Verde said after the……
Football: York hands Lyons first loss of season
By Steve Metsch Correspondent Lyons’ bid for a fifth win and to essentially clinch a playoff spot was put on hold by York and junior running back Jake Melion. Melion, thrust into the RB1 role because of an injury to starter Kelly Watson, ran for three touchdowns in a 27-14 win for the Dukes. Lions……
Pigskin Wrap: Lincoln-Way West blanks Stagg as Chargers go 0-for-Lincoln-Way
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Stagg had just been beaten 36-0 by Lincoln-Way West in a SouthWest Suburban Red matchup in Palos Hills. It was the third consecutive game against a Lincoln-Way team. It was the third consecutive loss. And in this unholy trinity of games, the Chargers were outscored 126-3. Coach Colt Nero is……
Area Sports Roundup: Sandburg boys finish fourth at Richard Spring Invite
By Jeff Vorva Staff writer The Sandburg boys cross country team is unlikely to win back-to-back Class 3A state championships. But the Eagles are still strong, and it showed that Sept. 17 by finishing fourth in the Richard Spring Invitational at Detweiller Park in Peoria. Oak Park won the meet with 75 points followed by……
Football: Fast start helps Richards top Evergreen Park
By Steve Metsch Correspondent Richards had a chip on its shoulder coming into its homecoming game against Evergreen Park. The Bulldogs were not happy being 1-2 entering the game, while the Mustangs came in 3-0. Regardless of those records, the Bulldogs are the perennial favorites in the South Suburban Red, and it was time to……
Pigskin Wrap: St. Xavier wins, moves Feminis within two of milestone
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,……
Pro Soccer Report: Red Stars hanging on to playoff spot; Fire eliminated from postseason contention
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer The Chicago Red Stars returned to Bridgeview with mixed results in two games, but held onto the final playoff spot in the NWSL and increased their lead over seventh-place Angel City. The top six teams make the playoff in the 12-team league. The Red Stars (8-6-6, 30 points) cooled off……
Area Sports Roundup: Stagg and St. Laurence advance in soccer showcase
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Stagg and St. Laurence’s boys soccer teams advanced to the championship weekend of the Bodyarmor Sports Series showcase by winning games last weekend at Olympic Park in Schaumburg. Stagg opened with a 2-0 victory over Notre Dame in the first round on Sept. 10. Piotr Zawislan and Kamil Bak scored……
Pigskin Wrap: No panic for SXU after tough start to season
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……
Pro Soccer Report: Fire breaks goal drought in win over Miami
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Remember when the Chicago Fire opened the season getting shut out in six of its first eight games? Recently, the Fire started to recreate that skid as they entered their battle with Miami having been blanked in four straight matches and 402 consecutive minutes. Chicago was able to finally break……
Football: Balanced attack leads Marist over Nazareth
By Steve Metsch Correspondent After being blown out by 28 points on their home field, one might think the Nazareth coach Tim Racki would be frustrated. Not exactly. Racki was pleased by the Roadrunners’ refusal to back down despite trailing Marist 24-3 at halftime in their Week 3 game Sept. 9. Nazareth held the RedHawks……
Football: Stagg batters Oak Lawn for first win streak since 2018
By Jason Maholy Sports Editor Stagg coach Colt Nero and his Chargers came into this season expecting to win. Some might consider that a lofty expectation considering the program had entering 2022 lost 23 consecutive games and had not been victorious in Nero’s time at the helm, which began with the truncated 2021 spring season.……
Pigskin Wrap: St. Rita trips up Rice
Mt. Carmel, Argo, Evergreen Park and Lyons improve to 2-0 By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Longtime rivals St. Rita and Brother Rice had not played each other since the Chicago Catholic League merged with the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Brother Rice is in the league’s Blue Division while St. Rita is in the Green, and……
Pro Soccer Report: Road to final playoff spot tough for Red Stars
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer With five games left in the season, the Chicago Red Stars are hanging on to the NWSL’s sixth and final playoff spot. The Red Stars (7-5-5, 26 points) can make a lot of headway if they get hot, but that is not going to be an easy task. They visit……
Area Sports Roundup: Sandburg sports flying high; 14 area teams to play in soccer showcase
By Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Even by Sandburg’s standards, this was a big sports weekend for the Orland Park school. Eagles freshman cross country phenom Lindsey Gerhardstein took first place at the Mike Kuharic Invitational at Lyons and is emerging as a star in the making. Aimee Crnich and Elysa Corcoran finished first and second……
Girls Volleyball: Marist rebounds from back-to-back tourney losses, tops St. Francis in two sets
By Randy Whalen Correspondent A fourth-place finish in the most prestigious early-season tournament in the state wouldn’t prompt most teams to do some soul searching. Marist isn’t just any team. Between 2017-19, the RedHawks lost a total of seven matches while winning back-to-back Class 4A state titles in 2017 and 2018, then placing third in……
Boys Soccer: Shepard’s run to Windy City Ram title game ends with loss to Lockport
By Steve Millar Correspondent Shepard’s run at the championship of the Windy City Ram Classic fell just short, but senior forward Zach Soltysiak knows there is plenty for the Astros to take away from the experience. The Astros won their first four games in the 32-team tournament to reach the title match before falling 4-1……
Football: Chris Lofgren runs for 146 yards, 4TDs as Marist rolls over Richards
By Steve Millar Correspondent For the second week in a row, Marist’s players looked at the scoreboard and saw the score was 21-0 less than five minutes into the game. This time, though, it was in the RedHawks’ favor. After Marist’s rally from a big early deficit fell just short against Glenbard West in Week……
Local News
Woman sentenced in 2003 murders of newborn twins
From staff reports A 44-year-old woman, charged in the 2003 deaths of her newborn twins following an extensive cold case investigation by Cook County Sheriff’s Police, has been convicted of murder. On May 8, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced that Antoinette Briley pled guilty to murder at the Bridgeview Courthouse and was sentenced……
McCook approves ‘preventive’ rodent control program
By Steve Metsch The McCook Village Board earlier this month approved what Mayor Terrance Carr calls “preventive maintenance.” The board on May 6 unanimously approved paying Rose Pest Solutions $12,000 for a 10-week rodent control program throughout the village. It’s not that the McCook now has a rat problem, Carr said. It’s that officials do……
Tollway to hand out free transponder stickers in Justice
By Carol McGowan Earlier this year, the Illinois Tollway began phasing out the plastic I-Pass transponder and introduced a sticker tag that goes on your vehicle’s windshield. If you’re still using a transponder, or want to get a new sticker, the Village of Justice is the place to be on Saturday, June 8. Rather than……
Oak Lawn Library draws a crowd with Fan Fest
By Kelly White Comic book lovers gathered together in one common space earlier this month. Oak Lawn Public Library hosted its eighth annual Fan Fest, an all-ages celebration of pop culture, on May 11 at the library, 9427 S. Raymond Avenue. “It’s wonderful to see the community come together in celebration of shared interests,” Elaina……
Navajo Hills residents want to save threatened cul-de-sacs
By Nuha Abdessalam Navajo Hills greenspace islands could be getting the ax and residents are upset. Residents of the East and West Courts of Navajo Hills, aware of the historical significance of the greenspace, spoke up during the Palos Heights City Council meeting May 21. There are five cul-de-sacs in the Navajo Hills subdivision and……
Summer concerts coming to Palos Heights
By Nuha Abdessalam At the May 21 City Council meeting, Ald. Jeff Key shared exciting news about some of the summer activities coming to Palos Heights in the coming months. Key said the Concerts in the Park, a series of family-friendly events featuring live music, food vendors, and fun activities for all ages, will kick……
Nerds and bullies among topics of Orland’s State of the Village
By Jeff Vorva The 2024 Orland Park State of the Village Address was held at the Orland Park Civic Center, but it could have been held on a playground with talk of nerds and bullies and cool kids. Mayor Keith Pekau spent the first half hour “ripping off the Band Aid” of some recent controversial……
Folks urged to enter costume contest for La Grange Pet Parade
By Steve Metsch About 40,000 people are expected along the streets of downtown La Grange on Saturday morning June 1, with some of them dressing in costumes for the 78th annual La Grange Pet Parade. A costume contest has long been part of the parade, Molly Price, the parade’s executive director, said on May 23.……
Hodgkins breaks ground on new public works building
By Carol McGowan The Village of Hodgkins is getting ready to welcome a new public works office building at its facility off of 67th Street, east of East Avenue. Village officials and public works employees gathered last month for a groundbreaking. Hodgkins Mayor Ernest Millsap explained the history behind the Paul G. Struve Public Works Building. “Fifteen years……
‘Curtis got it done’
. Pete’s Fresh Market opens at 87/Kedzie . By Tim Hadac A grand opening that wasn’t supposed to happen…happened in Ashburn this month. For 18th Ward Ald. Derrick G. Curtis, architect of the development, it was a time of joy and nervous energy. “I didn’t get any sleep last night,” he told several hundred people……