Lincoln Park Edges Lane Tech 3-0 in Overtime

[A preview of my Inside-Booster article for this week.]

By Jack Lydon

Ugly isn’t the only word to describe Lincoln Park’s 3-0 overtime win over Lane Tech at Lane Stadium Friday. Painful, dreadful, tedious, boring, even shocking all work well. Neither team could do anything. Neither run nor pass. Penalties. Turnovers. Even a muffed punt. One team kicked the football just slightly better than the other. That proved to be the different.

The Lions improved their record to 5-0 putting them atop CPS’s Red Division. To do it in this fashion didn’t seem to bother Lions’ head coach Andres Flores.

“I don’t think they crossed the 50 [yard line] did they,” Flores said. “The defense has been playing lights out. We just play a different game every week. Whether it is the offense scoring a bunch of points or if it is the defense picking up the slack or the special team on PAT, we find a way to win this year. I think we blocked [Lane’s field goal to tie] with ten people. Which is the crazy part.”

The game started slow and slowed down. The Champions have been throwing more this year than they have in recent years. But that was not to be today. The wind and the Lions’ pass rush saw to that. There was a strong north wind blowing off Addison Street right in Lane’s face as they started the game working south to north.

Wind or no wind, the Lincoln Park defensive line completely controlled the line of scrimmage. Champions running backs struggled to even get to the line of scrimmage. Lane senior quarterback Noah Mayra was pressured on every pass play, sacked multiple times, intercepted twice and fumbled twice. Lane really struggled.

The only scoring in the game came in overtime. Lincoln Park lost the OT coin toss and ended up with the ball first. Starting at the ten-yard line, the Lions first three plays went nowhere. Two runs and an incomplete pass brought the Lions down to fourth and goal from the four. Flores sent in his kicker to attempt a field goal.

This was something of a controversial call. Even if the kick is good, all Lane would have to do is score a touchdown to win.

“[Lions’ junior] Noah Weiss is a great kicker. I trusted my defense. Defense has been lights out all year. Tonight they played a hell of a game again. I was a little worried because [Lane] can run a little bit. I felt that we bottled them up and shut them down. Hat's off to Lane, but it was our night,” Flores said.

Good decision. Weiss sent the ball through the uprights for the only score of the game. It would have been good from 40 yards.

Lane’s offense entered and took the ball at the 10. On first down, a three-yard gain to the seven. On second down, an inexplicable read option by Noah Myara was swallowed for a three-yard loss back the 10. On third and goal from the 10, Mayra tossed a fade pass to the right side of the endzone that had no chance to be caught.

Fourth and goal from the 10, Lane head coach Dedrick Dewalt sent in the kicking unit to tie the game and force another overtime. The dominant Lincoln Park defensive line would have none of it. A host of Lions collapsed the Lane offense line and blocked the kick to win the game.

Midway through the season, it’s clear that Lincoln Park is the class of the CPL northside teams. In recent years, Taft and Lane have been the top teams on the northside. Amundsen has busted into the top with winning records and playoff appearances. This year the Lions are king of the northside jungle. Okay, Taft is good too having lost only to an 8A school, Stevenson, on the road. Amundsen has two losses and Lane has three losses.

Lincoln Park has a 5-0 record includes wins over Phillips, Lane, Lindblom, Comer and Clark Co-op. The Lions will not face any top southside teams like Morgan Park or Whitney Young this season. Noble/Johnson, Westinghouse, Amundsen and Payton remain for Lincoln Park.

Asked if they can “win out,” Flores said, “We’ll take it one game at a time.”

“We’ve got Payton on the last game of the season. We have had a rivalry [with Payton] for a couple years back and forth. Last year they beat us. Year before that we beat them. They are a good team. Well coached.”

DePaul Prep Edges Lane in Volleyball Match

The DePaul Prep Rams girls volleyball team edged Lane Tech 2-1 in an early season rivalry game. The Rams move to 3-0 on the season with wins over Lincoln Park, Wheaton Academy and Lane Tech.

The Lane Tech Champions have a very talented squad, including standout freshman Sophia Polec.

The Rams took control of the first set early and handled the Champions. But there was no quit in the Champions. Despite falling well behind early in the second set, the Champions rallied late and took the set.

“They came out really competitive and they are always hungry to beat us; they are a rival. They definitely were the most aggressive team serve-wize that we have faced this season. That’s the hardest that we have had serves coming at us in a match so far this season. We had to adjust our back row,” said DePaul Prep head coach Caroline Gajzler.

Adjust they did. The Rams jumped out the their customary quick start and held off the talented Champions to take the final set 25-20.

“This is the strongest start that we have had in five years,” said Gajzler. “I told the girls that the sky is the limit for them. We have a lot of starters back from last year. We have 11 seniors on this team. I have never had this big of a roster—18. We are very deep on our bench. They are all very deserving of a spot on this team.”

It’s early in the season. Still tons of volleyball to play. But it’s a short season. IHSA playoffs in mid-October. Stay tuned.

Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout 2024

The Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout this past weekend was a good look at teams in advance this year’s upcoming tournament. I mostly cover the Chicago Catholic League and the Chicago Public League so I wanted to get a look at as many of those teams as I could. But I could only be there on Friday.

I got a look at DePaul Prep in games against Lake Zurich and DeLaSalle. The Rams have plugged in junior guard/wing Rykan Woo, a transfer from Whitney Young. The Rams return Makai Kvamme, AJ Chambers, Rob Walls and Rashawn Porter. They should pick up where they left off.

The Lane Tech Champions also looked like they picked up where they left off. Despite losing Shaheed Solebo to graduation, the Champions return Dalton Scantlebury, a top player in the 2025 class. The returning group of seniors, Braydon Rosenkrantz, Drew Bartoli, Mike Remotigue and Zach Mazanowski. Despite a close lose to Simeon in their first game, the Champions looked good.

The St. Ignatius Wolfpack looked very good against East St. Louis. Returning top player Phoenix Gill looked bigger, stronger and faster. A new group of starters, make this pack of wolves appear especially dangerous in the coming season.

I saw DeLaSalle against DePaul Prep. Meteors coach Gary DeCesare will have this talent group ready. They looked good but not good enough against the Rams.

I saw the first half of St. Laurence against Glenbard West. Jason Opeka had his Hilltoppers playing their 1-3-1 defense that was giving the talented group of Vikings, lead be returning EJ Mosley, some trouble. I didn’t get a good chance to see much of what Roshawn Russell and this Vikings will have in store for the league this winter. I asked one observer about St. Laurence. He said, “We’ll see.”

I also got a look at El Paso-Gridley. A newcomer to the R-B, the Comets look to show off their top performer Jonah Funk. The 6-9 forward didn’t dominate and played on the perimeter more that I expected. The 2-A Comets were overmatched in the game I some them play against DeKalb. It’s difficult to say how well the Comets will fair this season even with Funk. But I got a look at Funk, he will dominate the Comets conference opponents. I intend to get down to El Paso at least once this year to see Funk play, if he stays in El Paso.

I also got a look at Lou Adams’ Rich Township squad. I figured it was only a matter of time before Adams working Rich into a top team. That time appears to have arrived. Look for Rich to make a splash.

I got a look at Benet. The Redwings look special even without one of last year’s top contributor, Gabe Sularski. Sularski a couple court’s over after returning to his home town Lemont team. Sularski had a couple chippy exchanges with Whitney Young’s Antonio Munoz in their matchup.

Whitney Young is, well, Whitney Young. They will be very good as usual—maybe special. Antonio Munoz looks itching to get after a state title.

So those are my impressions of Friday. Here are a few photos from the day.

Lane Wins City Championship 5-3 over Kenwood

It didn’t look good for Lane late in the City Championship game on Monday at Wrigley Field. Kenwood’s senior left-hander Kevari Thunderbird was rolling. He held the Champions scoreless giving up only two hits through five and a third.

Thunderbird hit his pitch count limit with one out in the sixth. It looked bleak for the Champions after Kenwood senior left-hander and center fielder Khamaree Thomas took over for Thunderbird promptly striking out two Champions to keep the shutout going.

But Lane’s head coach Sean Freeman, channeling his inner Jason Heyward, gathered his team during a long delay before the Champions came to bat in the top of the seventh. Not the rain from the Heavens like in Cleveland for the Cubs but an injured umpire stopped the game for an extended period. Freeman rallied his group for one last chance at the City Championship on the big stage.

“I mentioned the 49ers v. the Ravens when the lights went out and the Ravens ended up coming back. I said we are going to do that right here. It ended up being great.”

With one out, junior shortstop Ted Greco walked. Standout right freshman Sebastian Wilson crushed a double to right center advancing Greco to third. Senior Ethan Borggren singled to left scoring Greco.

Then it was Tyler Trapp’s turn. The junior second baseman struggled early in the game with two errors and a strikeout.

“It was a change-up just perfectly down the middle in my perfect spot and I just did everything I know,” said Trapp. He crushed it over the centerfielder’s head to score Wilson and Borggren. Just that quick, the game was tie. Tyler’s celebration at second base was reminiscent of the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo in the tenth inning of the seventh game of the 2016 World Series.

Keeping it going, Champions’ outfielder Henry Owens walked on four pitches. Sophomore third baseman Ronan Owens crushed a long sacrifice fly to right field advancing Trapp to third.

Henry Owens stole second.  

With two out and men on first and second, catcher Elias Padilla singled scoring two runs to give the Champions a 5-3 lead with the Broncos still to bat.

Winning pitcher senior Oliver Evans stayed in for the bottom of the seventh. Strike out swinging for Kenwood’s Damaurion Butler. One out. Kenwood’s Jimmy Downs struck out swinging as well. Two down.

Kenwood’s clean-up hitter, senior first baseman Savion Flowers chopped a ground ball to first base. Ethan Borggren grabs it beating Flowers to the bag. Wrigley erupted in celebration. The Champions rushed out of the first base dugout onto the field. Hats and gloves flew into the air. Players ran into center field in celebration.

Foul ball.

After things settled down a bit. Sean Freeman walked out through the infield telling his team that the umpires had ruled the grounder a foul ball. The game would go on.

With Flowers back in the box and Evans back on the mound, Flowers hit a high fly ball to left. Champions’ senior Grant Leff gloved it. This time it was over. Champions won the Chicago Public League City Championship at Wrigley Field for the second time in three years. A second celebration ensued.

Of Kenwood pitcher Kevari Thunderbird, Freeman could not say enough. “He is a great pitcher. I tip my cap to him. He was the best player on the field today. I knew that once he hit the limit, if we could get him there, our odds would obviously go up a little bit,” said Freeman, not a man given to exaggeration.

The Lane players showed a maturity well beyond their years. Frankly, Thunderbird had them well under control for most of the game. Even when he got in a jam, as he did in the third and fourth, he got himself out of trouble with strikeouts.

“We were trying to work the counts as deep as we could. We knew that he would be pulled after 115 pitches,” Trapp said. Having committed two errors early in the game, Trapp stayed in the game mentally and physically.

“I just let the errors stay in the past. I can’t change the past. I just keep looking toward the future, toward my next opportunity,” Trapp said.

Next opportunity is the IHSA playoffs that start Wednesday.

[As for the photos, I worked up about three or four times as many as I usually do delaying the posting of them. I figured more is better under these unique circumstances. Not often—okay probably never again—will these players get photos of themselves playing at Wrigley Field.]

Lane v. Whitney Young

I went over to Kerry Wood Field Friday evening to catch the Lane v. Whitney Young baseball game. According to Max Preps, the Champions came into the game with an 8-0 record. Lane Head coach Sean Freeman corrected me when I asked about the spotless record saying that they dropped a couple split squad games to out-of-state teams on their Spring Break trip.

The Dolphins jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Champions’ senior right handed pitcher Jack Davis gave up three singles, a walk and two runs with two out but settled down pitching five full innings allowing only one earned run with eleven strike outs and two walks.

I couldn’t stay for the whole game so it’s not going to get the full treatment and a story in the Booster. There will be time for that.

Sean Freeman’s Champions have three division one commits: senior first baseman Ethan Borggren (Northwestern), senior center fielder Henry Murray (Boston College) and freshman right fielder Sebastian Wilson. The talent is there for the Champions to have a great season.

It turns out that the Champions fell to Kenwood 6-4 on Saturday in what might be a telling look at the top teams in the Chicago Public League.

With the weather warming up and league play starting, I will be getting out to as many CPL and CCL games as I can.

The photos are not my best. It was coooold and I didn’t give it the full treatment. I am still getting back in the swing of taking baseball photos.

Simeon Edges Lane 53-50

The Lane Tech Champions (17-11, 7-2) hosted reigning IHSA 3A runner-up Simeon Wolverines (14-13, 6-2) in the Chicago Public League quarter-final at Lane Tech on Wednesday. The Champions defeated Whitney Young for the first time in memory on January 24th, could Simeon be next?

None of the Lane Tech fans wanted talk about such a thing as they waited for the Wolverines to arrive at Lane. Lane Tech defeated Perspective ITT and Crane to move up to the CPL playoffs’ quarterfinal and the chance to defeat Simeon. Simeon defeated Dunbar and Brooks and would have to travel up to the Northside to take on Lane.

This is not your father’s Simeon Wolverines. Not even your brothers. Legendary Simeon basketball coach Robert Smith is enjoying his first year of retirement. Last year’s Rubin brothers have moved onto division one college basketball.

Smith’s long time understudy Tim Flowers is at the helm of the Wolverines this year. Flower’s 2023-24 Wolverines start one returning player, Rashad “RJ” McKinnie and four talented but inexperienced sophomores Lorenzo Shields, Kassidy Nelson, Jocahana Pullum and Andre Taylor.

Lane played right with the Wolverines in the first quarter. Lane’s junior center Dalton Scantlebury had 5 points and senior guard Shadeed Solebo had 5 but the Champions trailed 16-14.

The second quarter began to show the Champions weaknesses. If Lane was going to come up with another huge win in this winning season, they would need not only big games from Scantlebury and Solebo, they would need their outside shooters Brandon Labkon and [name redacted] to drain some threes. No threes in the first half for the Champions. Simeon opened a 31-21 lead at the half.

Not much better for the Champions in the third quarter. They were making foul shots and working the boards very well against the young Simeon squad but still trailed by nine at the end of the third. Simeon’s senior leader RJ McKinnie was playing lights with 14 points in the first half and finished with a game high 22 points.

Nick LoGalbo’s Champions never quit. Seven unanswered points by the Lane got them right back in it midway through the fourth quarter. The Champions trailed by only four points and had all the momentum. Simeon was not done. They added free throws at the end keep their lead.  Lane’s [name redacted] and Brandon Labkon added a couple huge buckets after Shaheed Solebo fouled out. The Champions trailed but three in the final seconds and had the ball after a critical Simeon turnover.

It was not to be. A miss and a turnover robbed the Champions of a chance to tie.

It was an emotional win for the Simeon Wolverines who have struggled at time this season.

“It’s been a big road for me. Last year I played with all seniors. It was easy. But this year I have to be more of a leader and lead the younger kids. It’s hard [to take that on]. Everybody wants to beat Simeon,” said Simeon senior guard RJ McKinnie.

Simeon moved on to play Curie in the City Championship semi-final on Thursday but lost to top seed Curie Condors 75-51.

McKinnie lead all scorers with 22. Lane’s Dalton Scantlebury had 15 and Brandon Labkon 14

Lane Tech Defeats Whitney Young 67-51

Preview of my story this week in Inside-Booster.

The biggest win for Lane Tech in decades. The Lane Tech Champions (14-10, 7-2) defeated the Whitney Young Dolphins (12-10, 5-2) 67-51 in a jam-packed crosstown rivalry and conference showdown. No one could remember the last time Lane defeated Young. One would never have known that from the energy in Lane’s gym. Two overflowing student sections and the rest of the gym packed with spectators were rocking at a deafening pitch from before the game even started.

Lane’s senior shooting guard Shaheed Solebo was the story of the first half. He had 11 of the Champions’ 14 first quarter points and kept it up with 11 more points in the second quarter.

“[Shaheed’s] been on a run the last two weeks. He put on a show Monday [against Lincoln Park,] said Lane Tech head coach Nick LoGalbo. Lincoln Park (17-8, 6-3) was ranked #15 coming out of the holiday tournaments but that Champions dropped Lincoln Park 75-64 in the Lion’s tiny (and poorly lit) gym.

“He knew what this game was. He battled and battled the entire game. He was super aggressive for us. He made the kicks when he needed to. He commanded so much attention, it opened things up for other guys especially in the second half. He was awesome,” LoGalbo said of Solebo.

Solebo knew what this game was and was determined to beat Whitney Young in his last try at them. This game had more intensity a playoff game. It was personal. The two student sections cheered back and forth at each other. The Champions and their fans were sick of losing to Whitney Young and this was the night to end it. The players were focused but a little tight to open the game missing usually makable shots.

“We had high expectations coming in. We had a preseason ranking which did wonders for our team’s ego. We struggled through injuries. We really didn’t have our team the whole month of December with Dalton being out,” LoGalbo said.

The Champions and their big man in the middle, junior center Dalton Scantlebury, did a great job limiting Whitney Young to one shot in the first half.

“That’s been an all-season struggle. I was really impressed with the way we rebounded as a team. We have struggled this season boxing out as a unit. I get a majority of our rebounds so sometimes other people lag a little. Today we all really come together,” Scantlebury said.

Despite the Solebo’s huge first half, Lane went into halftime only up 31-26. Halftime adjustments by Whitney Young’s legendary coach Tyrone Slaughter might spell disaster for the Champions who might struggle to keep up their intensity in the second half.

“Dalton came out a little flat. He missed some [shots] that he has been putting in for us pretty consistently,” LoGalbo said of Scantlebury.

Scantlebury proved his place as a top public league player in the second half. Dalton dropped a three-point play inside early in the third quarter freeing up Solebo to keep up his scoring.

“Best one-two punch in the City when those two guys are playing well together,” LoGalbo said about Solebo and Scantlebury.

The second half was not all Solebo and Scantlebury. Timely open three-pointers from senior guard [name redacted] and senior guard Jackson Labkon took the life out of any third quarter comeback by the Dolphins. Junior guard Kenneth Rosario added a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter.

Even so, the Dolphins were hanging around keeping the Champions’ lead under ten points.

“We had [the lead] to ten or eleven and just didn’t turn the corner until the fourth quarter. That is a sign of what we are still trying to prove. If we are going to be the team we say we want to be we have got to smell the blood in the water and put them away,” LoGalbo said after the game.

This was Lane’s night. The energy in the gym never dissipated. There would be no let down. Good teams finish. And that’s what these Champions did.

“We felt like let’s get into our delay game then they will start fouling. We will get some easy ones at the line. At about thirty seconds, we would run our stuff. If it is not there on the back door, let’s just reset. And that’s what we did. One time we got in the set and we scored. The other times we got a few back doors and it worked out,” said LoGalbo.

The last points were scored by Whitney Young with 1:18 left in the game. They would get no closer with the final score 67-51. It was a convincing win for Lane over Whitney Young. One that was decades in the making.

Even with the contributions of Scantlebury and timely threes by Labkon and Rosario, make no mistake, it was the force of will and the 34 points by senior standout Shaheed Solebo that brought home the historic victory to Lane. His presence, production and leadership on the floor made the difference.

“We knew how good we were since last Spring. We knew it. Now we are just showing everybody else,” said Shaheed Solebo.   

Lane Falls to Maine South 56-52 at Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic

The Lane Tech Champions fell to the Maine South Hawks 56-52 in their first round game on Wednesday evening. Great game but the Champions’ comeback came up a little short.

DePaul Prep Rallied to Defeat Taft 50-38

After the Lane v. Chaminade game, I left for the Tom Winiecki Gym. Six minutes later I arrrived just after the second half of the DePaul Prep v. Taft game started. The game was tied. Both teams were running and gunning. A fast paced game.

In the fourth, the Rams defense got a bunch of stops. On the other end the Rams finished layups and free throws to build a lead and they won the game 50-38. An impressive finish against a talented Taft squad.

The Rams move on to the Loyola Christmas tournament next week.

Merry Christmas basketball fans!

Lane Tech Falls to Chaminade 64-60

Chaminade College Prep, the St. Louis Catholic high school with a nationally renowned powerhouse basketball program, came to Chicago to face Lane Tech at Lane Tech. Lane’s head coach Nick LoGalbo coaches with Chaminade’s coach Nick Bennett in the USA Basketball program. They have been wanting to make this game happen for a while now and it started today. Lane goes to St. Louis next year.

Chaminade is one of the schools that travels and plays a national schedule in big time shootouts. Frankly, our Lane Tech Champions are not on that level, at least not yet. But somehow after being down 40-28 at the half, the Champions battled back and near edged Chaminade in the end.

I continue to be impressed with the fight in the Champions. Not the biggest, the most athletic nor most skilled but I have not seen a team this year with more fight.

Final: Chaminade 64, Champions 60.

Niles North Edges Lane Tech 63-61 at the Battle of the Bridge.

This was a game. The ranked against the should be ranked. Lane came into the game ranked at #20 in the Sun-Times Super 25. Niles North is ranked but the topic of discussion in the “No Shot Clock'“ podcast this week was that they will be. Maybe sooner rather than later.

Niles North junior guard Yaris Irby was a revelation. He was every bit as impactful as Lane’s D1 prospect senior guard Shaheed Solebo.

Niles North came out doing what they wanted to do. They played up tempo and scored in transition. Lane’s length gave the Vikings fits. No problem; they just had Irby and Reid Olson pour in some threes and you’ve got a ten lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

“And we were playing the pace we wanted to play at. Playing fast. We were getting up and down. That was in our favor. The game slowed down in that second quarter,” Niles North coach Glenn Olson said after the game.

Yes it did. If there is anything Lane’s head coach can to it’s fire up his Champions. It was like the Champions turned up the speed and intensity 100%. No more full court offense for rhe Vikings, The Champions used there inside size and seemed to score helped by a couple threes from Dylan Pepper and one from Shaheed Solebo.

The second half was back and forth battle. Very even half with two excellent teams. Niles North had just a little bit more.

Vikings 63, Champions 61.

Lane Tech Handles Jones 60-40 in the Battle of the Bridge Opener

The Lane Tech Champions opened the season against the Jones College Prep Eagles with an impressive 60-41 victory at the 2023 Annual Battle of the Bridge Tournament.

The Champions come into the season as a ranked team, #20 in the Sun-Times Super 25, for the first time that I can remember. There are high expectations for the Champions who feature two of the top rated players in the area, senior guard Shaheed Solebo and junior foward/center Dalton Scantlebury.

I wasn’t planning a full story on this game. We will have to save that for Friday’s championship game. I also took some photos at the barnburner between the Champions and the Niles North Vikings. I will post those photos shortly.

Basketball Season is Here

Basketball is here. From now until the state finals on March 16th next year, we’ll have four and a half months of tournaments, high-profile shootouts, league play, non-conference matchups and basically just fun and excitement.

This year is a little different than most. I do most more my shooting and coverage of the DePaul Prep Rams who are coming off a 2A state championship. This is new for me. No team that I have ever regularly covered or even been a fan of has won a state championship.

What makes this really interesting is that the Rams haven’t should still be very good. Gone are Maurice Thomas and Payton Kamin. But Rob Walls and Jonas Johnson both of whom had championship experience should fill in nicely.

And the other team I cover often, the Lane Tech Champions, look to have their best season in a long time. Led by Shaheed Solebo and junior power forward Dalton Scantlebury, the Champions and their coach Nick LoGalbo are ranked #20 in the Sun-Times Super 25. The expectations are high for the Champions.

We will get an early chance to figure out the Champions. They will face good teams in Niles North and either DePaul Prep or Notre Dame in the Battle of the Bridge, the Thanksgiving tournament hosted by Lane and DePaul Prep. Maybe this will be their year to take home a win in the tournament.

The Battle of the Bridge Tournament dates back to 2014, the first season after Gordon Tech changed its name to DePaul Prep. I could only find the results of the Battle of the Bridge going back to 2018. The 8 to 18 website is offline after its purchase by another company so the old Gordon Tech records are only longer easily available.

So here we go. Enjoy. It goes by fast.

Lane Beats Amundsen 7-3 for Northside Bragging Rights; Both Move on to IHSA Playoffs

“We still run the north,” was the refrain of the Lane players after the game. Last Wednesday’s newspaper and television stories of the ascendence of the Amundsen football program on the Northside were on the minds of the Champions before and after the game.

The Lane Tech Champions made their case for that claim Friday evening with a victory 7-3 over a very good Amundsen Vikings squad at Lane Stadium.

This was about as close as games get. Both teams evenly matched. Both moved the ball at times. Amundsen Sophomore running back Reginald Mitchell was able run for some yards in the middle of the field. Lane junior quarterback Noah Mayra had a sixty-yard touchdown run called back on a penalty but still provided the Campions with a ton of rushing yards. Both defenses stiffened around the goal line.

 With the Vikings up 3-0, the turning point came at the 10:32 mark early in the fourth quarter with Amundsen deep in their own end. The Amundsen punter bobbled the snap and could not get the punt away. The Lane rushers tackled him at the seven-yard line where the Champions took over on downs.

 “We call it the brotherly shove,” Lane junior quarterback Noah Mayra said of the next two plays. The Champions lined up in their best imitation of the Philiadelphia Eagles now famous quarterback sneek play. Mayra carried, or was actually pushed forward from the Amundsen seven down to the two-yard line. Lining up quickly, the Champions ran the same play in from the two for the game’s only touchdown.

“We have been running that all year. We’ve gotten like four or five touchdowns on it. Two-point conversions,” continued Mayra after the game.

There was still plenty of time left for the Vikings to come back. The Vikings moved the into Lane territory but gave up an interception. The Champions gave up an interception of there own with under four minutes.

 Holding penalties plagued the Vikings as they struggled to rally for the win.

 “We must have had seven or eight holding penalties that really stalled drives. It’s hard to overcome penalties when you are playing good teams,” Amundsen head coach Nick Olson said after the game.

 “I fell like we just didn’t execute tonight, poor execution on the offensive side. Football is a game of inches. We had a bad snap on a punt deep in our own territory and that was the difference. They ran two quarterback sneaks and got the easy touchdown. We kind of just gave this game away. Our defense did a really good job. Our defensive coordinator and coaches had a really good game plan. We moved the ball at times and we kept stalling out before we punched it in. We had a big drop in the endzone before halftime. It just continued to spiral down. Great play; bad play. Great play; bad play. We really have to work on our consistency. Inconsistency is what cost us tonight.”

 Olson was a little hard on himself and his team. They played very well but make no mistake, Lane came in ready.

“We have a pretty good gauge on these guys from Amundsen. We kind of know what they like to do. We kind of know how to cut off the water to the things they like to do the best. That’s what we did tonight,” said Lane head coach Dedrick Dewalt.

“We kept a corner in the box, up in the flats the whole game. It disrupted what the wanted to do. We know they are not going to through the ball down field. So we liked to take way the screens and play well against the run. They may be a little bigger than us up front but we are quicker so we just looked to beat them to the punch.

A jubilant Noah Mayra continued after the game, “We lost Antonio [Bombe] our senior running back. We have our freshman running back Sam [Boadu]. He is great but we can’t give him the ball every time. He is still developing. He is still learning. So I am trying to take it upon myself to run the ball and get the ball to my teammates. Some I should have thrown. Some I should have just given to Sam but we pulled it off.

 The game was a fitting cap to good seasons for both teams, a really exciting game for both teams with each team finishing 6-3 and earned playoff appearances.

The Vikings will face the Belvidere North “Blue Thunder”, 7-2, third place in the Northern Illinois Conference behind Hononegah and Boylan Catholic. Amundsen’s playoff opponent from last year, Harlem, came out of that same conference. Amundsen lands the thirteenth seed in the 6A northern bracket. Belvidere with the fourth seed.

The Champions on the other hand are in 8A by virtue of being one of the largest schools in the state. They will face South Elgin on Friday night in South Elgin, which I learned is its own town interestingly. Who knew? The South Elgin “Strikers” were 8-1 in the Upstate Eight Conference (which actually has 10 teams). The Champions land the 26th seed out of the 32 teams in 8A. South Elgin comes in with the seventh seed.   

Helluva August

It’s gonna be a helluva August.

I basically took July off from photos and sports writing; a much-needed break. It began to feel like a job.

I’m going to LA on August 1st for an overdue vacation, then the football season starts. I am gonna be taking photos and writing again. I am very jazzed about that.

I have wanted to go to Los Angeles for a long time. I was there in 1974 as a boy. I thought it was so cool. My dad bought a map of the stars homes and we drove around Beverly Hills. We drove past Lucille Ball’s house. When we came upon Paul Newman’s house down the street, there he was standing on the sidewalk out front in a white t-shirt drinking a Budweiser talking to a man I assumed was his neighbor.

My sister shrieked, “Paul.” She was all about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid at that time.

He looked up, smiled and waved. My dad kept driving.

How cool was that?

Well that was 50 years ago. Paul is gone, God rest his soul. But there must be others like that to see. Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, somebody like that.

My daughter Mary is going with me. She is totally into the trip but prefers to visit the reality TV locations like Sur restaurant from Vanderpump Rules. That’s fine. Reality TV is the one thing that she doesn’t mind me being around for, and the Cubs too. We religiously watched all the 2016 playoff games together.

I have never looked forward to a vacation as much as I have this one. I just want to go to LA and look around. I want actually see the places whose names I have been hearing my whole life. The San Fernando Valley, Malibu, Compton, Sunset Strip, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Orange County, Long Beach, etc.

Then when I get back football season starts. I am looking forward to covering the area teams again. Amundsen should be good again. Lane will be good. I really enjoyed Lane coach Dedrick DeWalt’s old school double wing offense last season.

DePaul Prep will give it another try. That school has become the premier Catholic School high school on the Northside. It’s up to about 1100 students. Mary Dempsey and her team are opening a new classroom building when school starts. It’s only a matter of time before Coach Mike Passarella’s Rams move up divisions and take over the CCL/ESCC the way Tom Kleinschmidt’s basketball teams have done with multiple state final appearances and a state championship.

I am gonna get out to as many St. Viator football games as I can as well. My brother Steve is not coaching football this season and promised to come in for a game. My brother Dan, Fr. Dan Lydon, CSV, for those non-family members out there, is the president of the school so I suppose I should show them some love. There was a time when St. Viator won the ESCC every year. But that was like forty years ago now. Dan and the St. Viator staff have plans to build an on-campus stadium. That will make a big difference for the school and the football program.

Once football runs its course, we are right into basketball. The Battle of the Bridge will be here before one knows it. That’s when the real funs begins. It should be a great new high school basketball season.

Great time to be alive.

Lane Tech Broadcaster Alex Burstein set to Graduate and Conquer the World

A preview of my upcoming Inside—Booster article 

By Jack Lydon

Alex Burstein is going to be famous someday. That day may be soon. The eighteen-year-old Lane Tech senior is a young man on a mission and that mission is well underway. Alex broadcasts Lane Tech football, basketball, volleyball and baseball games on Lane Tech’s You Tube channel.

“Tonight (April 24 game against Von Steuben) was my 163rd broadcast,” Alex said. “I do every baseball home game. And for basketball it’s home and away. I also do home games for girls’ volleyball and football. I also did one or two flag football and boys soccer games. I’ve done the boys basketball games since freshman year. I have done the baseball games since sophomore year.”

To prepare for each broadcast, “I keep notes. I email the coach a week in advance. I talk to the opposing coach in advance. I look up the opposing players on Twitter and news articles. Even if it’s one or two notes about a player. Parents really love when they hear me say something about a player,” said Alex.

The Rogers Park eighteen-year-old, whose brother Simon is a junior at Lane, has known what he wants to do from an early age.

“Growing up I was always interested in sports, but I was not great at sports. In fifth grade, I realized that I wanted to do this as a career. I wanted to find a way to work in sports,” Burstein said.

“Before [Alex] even started at Lane, I was in the stadium for a state soccer game. He hunted me down trying to talk about next year’s football team,” said Lane Tech men’s basketball coach and former athletic director Nick LoGalbo.

“Broadcasting is my thing that I do out of school. I put a lot of time into it. Basketball season is usually three games a week. Baseball is three to four a week. I also work with the school newspaper as a co-editor-in-chief,” Alex said.

In addition to broadcasting, Alex is one of three editors-in-chief for the Lane Tech school newspaper, the Champion. Oh, and his grade point average is 5.07 on a four-point scale. His tireless work in and out of school has landed Alex a full ride scholarship to Syracuse University where he will major in broadcast journalism with a minor in political science.

Alex has a gained a certain celebrity in the Lane Community. “The parents, a lot of them watch. But also the coaches. LoGalbo doesn’t love it because a lot of the coaches get film on him. So a couple times this year we “privated” video. There is not a lot of programs like this in Chicago. It’s nice to get recognition,” Alex said.

As for the players, “they all think it’s pretty cool.”

“I have been doing this now for almost 20 years. He is one of the most special people that has come out of our school,” LoGalbo said.

“For what he does, he is driven by such a clear north star and sense of purpose. It’s really crazy to see that. To have a young man like that who has had a such a clear sense of purpose and direction, he’s done wonders for our school and our athletic department.”

“Him getting a full scouting report on us for other teams when they watch his live broadcasts hasn’t been awesome but if you are a good coach you are going to do your scouting anyway,” LoGalbo admitted.

“Alex does his homework on the other teams too. He has called every coach that we have played for the last four years to get their starting lineup, to get their story to get their records. It’s no wonder he’s got a full ride to Syracuse. We’ll see him on ESPN one night.”

Last year after Lane’s varsity basketball game at Whitney Young, legendary Dolphins’ head coach Tyrone Slaughter went over to Alex who was broadcasting from a table on the sideline and said to Alex, “I am a huge fan. I watch you on You Tube. You do a great job. I find it very helpful.”

Lane head baseball coach Sean Freeman praised Burstein as well. “He is a huge piece of Lane. Not only does he do all the sports games; he is head of the paper. He does a lot for the community as far as getting out all the good things that are happening. He has been an invaluable piece of our program, the football program, the basketball program and covering school wide news.”

“I think it’s a great thing [that Alex broadcasts our games]. We have people all over the country that are now able to watch our games. My parents live in Colorado. Up until last year, neither of them had seen any of our games live, now they are able to watch every home game because he puts those on-line. If the other teams get a little scouting edge on us, in my book, it’s worth it overall,” said Freeman.

“I am not surprised that [Alex] has a high GPA. He’s been part of our publication here for his four years. He did not take journalism as a freshman but he contacted me” to get involved, said Lane Tech English and journalism teacher and newspaper advisor David Strom. 

“Alex became the sports editor pretty early in his sophomore year. He has been co-editor-in-chief his junior and senior years. He has a ton of experience with reporting and writing. That’s a huge advantage. He is a leader in our classroom and our staff. He collaborates with first year journalism students. He will go along on an interview with someone who is new. That is hugely valuable for me as a teacher,” Strom said.

“He carries himself like a professional and he has just been there. And he does really good work. I have seen the improvement he has made. People recognize that and think highly of him because of it,” Strom said.

Favorite experience as a Lane broadcaster, “probably Wrigley Field. That’s hard to beat. So the City Championship last year for baseball, that was pretty cool. For basketball, I’ve done the Chicago Elite classic every year. My freshman year, they had me on radio row at DePaul’s Wintrust arena. That was early on but that was hard to beat. This past summer I went to Israel to cover the Maccabiah Games. Just calling games there was really cool. That was probably my favorite,” Alex said.

As for favorite broadcasters, “I would say it’s Pat Hughes, the Cubs’ radio broadcaster. That’s my dream job, Cubs’ radio. For basketball, it’s Adam Amin, Bulls’ TV broadcaster. He also does a lot of national work with Fox Sports. That’s my other dream job because he does so many other sports,” Alex added.

“Broadcasting has been my main extracurricular. That and the school newspaper. I am the editor-in-chief of the school paper. Those two are the heart of my college applications. I think it helps a lot. I have a demo real that I submitted to a couple schools. I wrote my essay about going to Israel and transitioning from being an athlete to be a broadcaster. I am going to Syracuse. I am majoring in broadcast digital journalism. My goal is to do this professionally. I really like sports journalism but I really like political journalism. I am probably going to do minors in sports analytics and political science.”

As for a color commentator on his broadcasts, “it’s hard to find someone to do it. The biggest thing is that the kids who care most about sports that could be a color commentator are the kids playing. It would be ideal to have a color commentator, but I think it’s good practice [for me] to do both rolls,” Alex said.

As for the equipment used, “it’s a mix. I bought a lot of the audio equipment,” Alex said. [The school has] helped with a couple GoPros and stuff so it’s a mix.”

“They are all really supportive. The broadcasts are on the school’s You Tube channel. They kind of have let me do whatever I want to do with it. All the administrators know about it and they watch. There is a lot of support. And obviously, with the coaches too.”

You can find Alex’s broadcasts on the Lane Tech You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@lanetechathletics743/videos

Lane Tech Defeats Whitney Young 6-1

Lane Tech Champions are on a roll. Josh Katz keep his foot on the gas with a 6-1 complete game over the Whitney Young Thursday at Kerry Wood Field. Katz gave up one run on threes hits with eleven strike-outs.

Last Friday evening, the Champions dropped the Dolphins at Whitney 16-2 with an impressive outing by Jack Davis. Davis gave up two runs on seven hits. A scoreless six up, six down save by Zach Sharpe sealed the victory.

The Campions look to continue steamrolling the Public League with games against Walter Payton College Prep on Wednesday and Thursday.

DePaul Prep Defeats Lane Tech 51-38

The Lane Tech Champions came over the Chicago River bridge to DePaul Prep’s Tom Winiecki Gym to face the DePaul Prep Rams Saturday afternoon.

The athletic competitions between schools literally right next to each other for the last sixty-two years ought to be more of a big deal that they are. I don’t know the last time the Lane and Gordon Tech/DePaul Prep played each other in football or baseball. The boys basketball teams played a few years ago in basketball but only in the championship of the Battle of the Bridge holiday tournament.

But thankfully, there is girls’ basketball featuring two coaches that came out of the St. Benedict girls’ basketball powerhouse. Megan Molloy and Sarah Zarymbski both played basketball at St. Benedict elementary school a few blocks away at Leavitt and Irving Park Road for the long time girls basketball coach Bernadette Molloy.

As for the game, Sarah’s Rams got the better of Megan’s Champions 51-38. The Rams look pretty good. Coach Zarymbski looks to continue deep playoff runs for her Rams. The Rams have reached 2A Super-sectionals the last 2 IHSA playoffs.

Lane Tech Falls to Neuqua Valley in 8A Playoff 37-0

These are my photos from Friday night’s 8A playoff game at Lane Stadium between the Lane Tech Champions and the Neuqua Valley Wildcats.

My article this week was about the Amundsen game so no full treatment.

The Champions hung touch against the Wildcats in the first quarter. The depleted Champions struggled stopping Neuqua Valley after that. The Champions’ depleted offense could not move the ball despite expanding the offensive scheme at times moving into an I-formation.

The final was 37-0.

Champions move into the CPS city playoffs now and will likely face Taft next weekend.

IHSA Playoffs Preview—Lane Hosts Neugua Valley, Amundsen Hosts Harlem, Payton Hosts ITW Speer

By Jack Lydon

The IHSA released its football playoff pairings Saturday evening. Five area teams made the playoffs: Lane Tech, Amundsen, Payton, Lincoln Park and Senn.

In 8A, the Lane Tech Champions (7-2, 6-1) will play the Neuqua Valley Wildcats (7-2, 5-1) from Naperville at Lane Stadium on Friday night in 6A football playoffs. Neuqua Valley comes out of the DuPage Valley Conference, perhaps the top conference in the state with powerhouse programs such as Naperville North, Naperville Central, Metea Valley, Waubonsie Valley and DeKalb. Neuqua has 3522 students, a little smaller than Lane with 4273. The Wildcats last made the playoffs in 2018; Lane in 2013.

Lane’s coach Dedrick Dewalt knows his team of Champions have their work cut out for them.  “We got a tough draw. I pretty familiar with what they are and who they are. They have been a pretty stout program for years. Very well coached. They have a history of winning. They play in a very tough conference probably tougher than the Catholic League in some respects,” Dewalt said.

“It will definitely be an electric atmosphere,” Dewalt said of Friday evening’s home game. “We’ll get the student body to support us. I am so happy for these kids. A lot of these kids have endured losing seasons for so long. It kind of makes everything worth it.”

“When you are playing teams like Neugua Valley, you get the total package. You get the athletes, you get the disciplined football player, you get the strong football player, you get the special teams, the outstanding coaching. You get everything,” Dewalt added.

Maybe so, but Lane’s double wing offense requires a special discipline to stop. Lane will add in plays its been practicing but don’t appear on film. Stopping the four plays that Lane runs can be taught but Neuqua Valley will see more than those four plays Friday.

“I have plenty of things up my sleeve that we were going to use [against Simeon], but I thought we were just going to hold for for next week,” said Dewalt.

In 6A playoffs, the Amundsen Vikings (7-2, 5-1) will play the Harlem Huskies (6-3, 5-2) from the Rockford area next Saturday. The final details of when and where still needs to be worked out but the game will probably be next Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Winnemac Park.

The Harlem Huskies from Machesney Park, Illinois, are something of a mystery to Chicago coaches and fans. Located just north of Rochford, Machesney Park has 22,000 residents, 1739 of whom are in Harlem High School. The ten team Northern Illinois Conference placed five teams in the playoff. Harlem is coached by Robert Moynihan, one time star defensive lineman at St. Viator High School who went on to play at Southeast Missouri State. In his three seasons, Moynihan’s Huskies have only lost five games.  

Amundsen comes into the IHSA playoffs for only the second time. The Vikings only previous appearance was in 2018. The Vikings put together an amazing season with only two non-conference tough losses to area schools Lane and DePaul Prep. Moynihan’s Harlem Huskies better not overlook the Vikings which features top area prospect wide receiver Adam Muench and talented linebacker John Norton.  

The Payton Grizzlies (7-2, 5-1) will host Noble/ITW Speer (6-3, 5-2) in the 5A playoffs at a time and place to be determined. The Grizzlies may have the best chance of any of the area teams to advance without having to face a suburban powerhouse. Although the Payton program struggles for numbers, they have very good players lead by senior wide receiver Charlie Newton and senior quarterback Kyle Osterman. Noble/ITW Speer is a charter school located on West Grand Avenue in Chicago. Speer finished second to Maria-Catalyst in CPS’s Red-Central Conference.

In 7A, the Lincoln Park Lions (7-2, 6-1) will face Downers Grove North Trojans (6-3, 3-3) from the West Suburban Silver Conference. The Trojans only losses to top teams in their conference: #4 York, #6 Glenbard West and 8A #14 seed Lyons. The talented Lincoln Park Lions were have their paws full.

In 6A, the Senn Bulldogs (5-4, 4-3) travel to Grayslake North to take on No. 3 seed Knights (8-1, 6-1) from the Northern Lake County Conference.

Lane Tech’s double wing offense approaches the line of scrimmage.