by Paul Johnson for the Courier News.

St. Edward quarterback Anthony Holte had a forgettable start to Monday night’s rescheduled game against Guerin.

by Jerry Fitzpatrick for the Daily Herald.

The St. Edward homecoming dance had taken place 48 hours earlier at Villa Olivia in Bartlett.

The king and queen had long since been crowned.

Of course, there was still this little matter of a football game to be played.

Because stormy weather forced a postponement on Friday and Guerin was unavailable to play Saturday, the St. Edward football team experienced Monday Night Football for the first time.

The Green Wave took well to the experience in a 56-0 blowout in a Metro Suburban Red matchup in Elgin.

Senior quarterback Anthony Holte completed 16 of 21 passing attempts for 327 yards and 6 touchdowns, both career highs.

"I'm happy that my line was there all night to block for me," Holte said of seniors Luke Breier and Andy Cielak and juniors Luke Sauceda, Owen Gill, and Tristan Merlin. "And my wide receivers made plays."

Holte's top target was sure-handed Zeke Rolando. The 6-foot-3, 150-pound junior made 8 catches for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had 3 touchdown receptions in the game's first 14 minutes and 32 seconds as the Wave raced to a 22-0 lead.

The first Holte-Rolando connection came on a broken play that was supposed to go to the left side. Instead, the quarterback ended up rolling right and pinpointing Rolando in the back right corner of the end zone with a 15-yard scoring pass.

"Anthony has always talked with coach about how we're trying to extend plays," Zeke said. "I just wanted to try to get open and help Anthony out."

Rolando made things happen on their second connection. He caught a 10-yard pass, broke a tackle and raced up the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown.

The duo's third scoring play was clutch. On fourth-and-22 from the Guerin 34-yard line, Rolando slipped behind the defense and hauled a pass in with his fingertips.

"I knew if I threw it up to him, he would come down with it because he always makes big plays and makes me proud," Holte said.

St. Edward (3-2, 3-0) gained 531 total yards compared to 51 for Guerin (1-4, 0-3). Rolando, Clem McCullough and Liam Pomeroy had interceptions to help St. Edward win the turnover battle 5-1.

"I thought our kids executed a lot of things, a couple of different run plays that we don't usually run," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "Whatever they give us, we have to learn to learn to do something else. I think we have enough in that we can usually counter whatever somebody is trying to do to stop us."

Junior running back Joe Sacco rushed for 98 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown. He caught two balls for 34 yards, highlighted by a 13-yard scoring grab.

Pomeroy's 18-yard, second-quarter touchdown catch gave St. Edward a 42-0 halftime lead. McCullough added a 15-yard touchdown reception and junior Blake Busto rumbled 29 yards to the end zone to cap the scoring.

St. Edward welcomes Chicago Christian to Greg True Field Friday in a showdown for first place in the MSC Red.

"We have 4-1 Chicago Christian coming in here in four days so we have to get ready to play on Friday," Mike Rolando said.

 

By Mark Harrington

 

 

 

Covered with dripping
beads of sweat and black granules of turf, Joe Sacco was everywhere on the
football field. Tomorrow, he has big plans.

 

 

 

“Sleep,” he revealed.
“Pretty tired.”

 

 

 

All Sacco did was reach
the end zone for four Elgin St. Edward High School touchdowns. He also set up
another score, running through a hole in the middle to the outside for a 36
yard run, his longest of his 24 carries.  

 

 

 

But it was also a fourth
quarter missed extra point kick by Elmwood Park that allowed the Green Wave to
squeak out a  35-34 Suburban Metro Red victory, its second straight win
placing them atop the conference at 2-0. The Tigers were pre-season favorites
to claim the conference crown.

 

 

 

Sacco, a  5-10, 150-pound
junior running back, busted through holes, dragged defenders with him, and
reversed direction all night, racking up 164 yards with pass receptions of 46
(TD) and 20 yards. He also uses his foot in all three kicking game situations.
His 27-yard kickoff return put his team in Elmwood Park territory, where he
scored later. On defense, there were his five tackles. 

 

 

 

Sacco called it possibly
his best game of his prep career. 

 

 

 

“Moving the ball even
when they (EP) knew where the ball was going,” he said, crediting his offensive
line. “Without the line, I’m not going anywhere.”

 

 

 

St. Edward Head Coach
Mike Rolando admired his  players’ effort and heart in the post-game
huddle.

 

 

 

“I know it took a lot of
everyone of you,” he said. “It took every bit you have. Sacco, I know you’re
hurting, but you had to do it. You’re the workhorse. When we needed to move the
ball, you and the line pounded away. 

 

 

 

“By the end of the day,
they (EP) made some plays, you made a couple more.”

 

 

 

The Tigers had the lead
twice because Sacco’s counterpart was Elmwood Park’s Keon Grimes, who hauled in
four touchdown passes of 35, 5,  and a pair of 11 yarders from quarterback
Michael Stranski, often on a slant play across the middle. Grimes also had an
interception to keep the game close. 

 

 

 

Besides Sacco, Elgin St
Edward kept bouncing back with big plays at right moments. 

 

 

 

Clem McCullough was not
to be overlooked by the Green Wave coaching staff after he screened off a
defender for a two-point conversion pass from Anthony Holte to tie the game at
14.  Later McCoulloug popped the ball loose on a bruising smack on an EP
pass with teammate Anthony Kirkwood recovering. 

 

 

 

“He’s always making plays
like that since last year,” said Kirkwood, who had nine tackles. 

 

 

 

With an onside kick, the
Green Wave’s Alex Walser emerged from the pile with the ball.

 

 

 

“He wasn’t really holding
it on the ground, so I ripped it out,”  Walser said. 

 

 

 

Elgin St. Edward had just
tied the game, but two minutes later scored again when Sacco kept his feet
moving and a burst of new energy put him across the goal line for a 21-14
halftime lead. 

 

 

 

In the fourth quarter,
James Brisco went through a middle hole to the outside 21 yards to set up a
35-28 lead on a Sacco five-yard TD. 

 

 

 

Late in the fourth
quarter, the Green Wave maintained drives to keep the Tigers from overcoming
the one-point lead. Sacco would have two runs for 29 yards total to sustain a
drive as time was winding down. Then came the win sealer, Holte pitching the
ball to Sacco, who fired off a 20 yard pass to Liam Pomeroy with just over two
minutes rema

 

 

The Metro Red welcomes newcomers Westmont and Christ the King and lost Fenton to the Upstate Eight Conference. Defending champ St. Edward returns 18 of 22 starters from a team that went 5-0 in the Red. Several all-conference players return including quarterback Anthony Holte, receiver Zeke Rolando (coach Mike Rolando's son), and Luke Breier, one of five returning offensive linemen. The Green Wave won the division for the first time since 2014; usually it comes down to Ridgewood and Elmwood Park. In fact, despite St. Edward's experience Ridgewood first-year head coach Matt Walsh -- who returns the Metro Red's reigning defensive player of the year in linebacker Jesus Velasco -- believes "it's Elmwood Park's to win" considering the Tigers field three-year starting quarterback Mike Stranski and solid numbers overall. Westmont went 5-4 as an independent last season.

Metro Suburban Red Conference as projected by Edgy Tim

+St. Edward

*Chicago Christian

*Elmwood Park

Ridgewood

Guerin Prep

Westmont

Christ The King

+denotes predicted 2019 conference champion

*denotes IHSA state playoff projected qualifier

 

By Mark Harrington

When 18 players return for another high school football season, the dream of going deeper into the state playoffs looms large despite not having played a game yet.

But that is exactly where defending unbeaten Metro Suburban Red Conference champions Elgin St. Edward finds itself for the August 30th home opener against Bremen (Midlothian, IL). After that, the Green Wave will be tested with four playoff teams from last year.

Valuable experience was gained on the football field a year ago as 11 sophomores started and learned how to sustain injuries and then resurging after losing its first three games to win five of the next six. The learning curve is smaller this time around.

“Last year we were just happy to be in the fight,” said head coach Mike Rolando, “and play close games early on. This year the expectation is a little different; we want to come into those first couple games and look at them as playoff type games. We’ve got to look like a mid-season football team.”

But the question is how will the Green Wave achieve those goals.

“We’ve got to hit the ground running, a lot of returning starters that know the system and know our terminology. We want to look crisp. We practiced all summer and used our 25 days; we’ve been doing a lot of seven on sevens. I think we are ahead of last year.”

The 14-year head coach said that “ahead of last year” translates into player knowledge of the playbook and terminology, knowing the routes and kids knowing each other.

“Last year, being so young, they hadn’t played together,” said Rolando. “They got a chance to make the playoffs and see what that was like.”

Despite a lack of size and sheer numbers, St. Ed compensates.

“We’re going to be undersized all the time,” said Rolando, adding the compensation relies on toughness. “Physically...mentally tough. What they lack in size, they make up for in heart and desire to not let each other down. They put the work in. They work hard. They never give up.”

As for those tougher teams on the schedule, Rolando knows his team’s fight.

“Whether a team outmanned us physically, they know they’re going to get our best effort every time. They know they’ve played a football game.”

Last autumn, Rolando admits that the Green Wave snuck up people last year.

“We were fortunate to get away with wins at Elmwood Park and Chicago Christian. Those were teams on paper that were physically probably better than us. We managed to get out in front of them and they couldn’t quite take the lead at the end,” reflected Rolando.

On Chicago Christian, Elmwood Park and Ridgewood this season:

“I don’t think we are going to be overlooked by any team,” he said. “ It’s always a challenge to repeat. Every game we’ll get the opposition’s best game until someone dethrones us.”

But the strength of the offense and defense has encouraged Rolando.

“Every O lineman is a returning starter. Andy Cielak, Luke Sauceda, Aidan Pomeroy, Luke Breier, and Owen Gill all return, and there are others competing for those spots and time on the line as well. We’ve got competition there, a little more depth and experience on the line. On defense, probably our athleticism, we’ve got enough athletes to where we can rotate kids in and get them off the field (for a rest). As long as we keep everyone healthy.”

Quarterback Anthony Holte returns, who likes to hook up with Zeke Rolando. Joe Sacco, Anthony Kirkwood, James Brisco, and Luke Breier are back after gaining valuable playing time a year ago. Kirkwood is moving from defensive back to outside linebacker, and on offense being a slot receiver or fullback combo. Both Brier and him play bigger than their size. Sacco, Briscoe and Kirkwood will form the running game.

“This year we’ll be able to distribute the ball all around, use several different weapons, running the ball and throwing the ball,” said Rolando. “We should have a really well balanced football team that is hard to defend.”

More than a football team, X’s and O’s, and wins or losses, the players talk about this year’s squad, when asked about one word to describe this season and group.

Zeke Rolando: family, bonding, putting the work in for each other.

Anthony Holte: heart.

Luke Brier: brotherhood. We’re a family here and will do whatever it takes to win this year.

Anthony Kirkwood: to describe the team, hitters. We’ve all improved and we want to prove ourselves again. Just get out there and be the strongest and toughest team out there.

Zeke Rolando says his game has improved in quickness, working the routes and catching. “It’s all about reps. A lot of teams are going to be bigger than us and faster than us, so we have to mentally strong.”

Kirkwood has benefited from practicing in his route running abilities and not just concentrating on his defense. But he prides himself in physicality and strength.

Holte has focused on footwork in the off-season and has seen improvements in his three-step drop while also working out every day in the weight room. The QB said he is
not afraid of scrambling and throwing passes out of the pocket.

Brier’s game is on the upswing. “Definitely better on my footwork, overall strength and speed increase.”

Spacing on the line will be filled in by 6-foot-5, 260 pound Tristan Merlin. That line is where SE Head Coach Rolando sees as a plus, hinting that much of the O line should be over 200 pounds each. “For a small school like us, that’s pretty good size.”

Holte favors the line for protection.

“A lot better than last year” said Holte. “I think we have more seniors, so they want it more. They’re giving it their all.”

Last season, St. Edward won the Metro Suburban Red Conference going undefeated (5-0), losing to Urban Prep Bronzeville in the Class 4A playoffs first round by just 10 points. Off to a 16-0 deficit, St. Ed’s outpointed Urban Prep-B 14-8 in the next three quarters.

That makes this team hungry. So what can fans expect this year?

“Competitive, hard-nosed football,” Rolando believes. “Our kids are going to give everything they have every week to come out and play as a team and do their best to win each game. Classy, respectful football, an old school brand of football.”

During the pre-season leading up to the first battle, Rolando discussed the importance of timing and synchronization with all 11 players on the field.

“The handoffs, the footwork, the play action passes,” he said. “The quarterback and the receivers. We’ve got a returning quarterback in Anthony Holte and several good receivers back that have upped their game over the summer. Liam Pomeroy, Joe Sacco, and Clem McCullough, have all improved and will be go-to guys. Those guys timing up their pass routes is critical.”

On the nine-game schedule, only five contests in the Metro Red Conference claims the title. The Green Wave also meets three-time defending state champions Immaculate Conception, which has a 40-1 record the last three years, in week seven. Rolando expects a closer game this time around.

In those nine games beside IC, the Green Wave will battle playoff qualifiers Chicago Christian and Elmwood Park, both went two games into the 2A playoffs, and Wheaton Academy.
Ridgewood missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons in 2018.

“We just need to work on getting better each week and taking one week at a time,” Coach Rolando said. “Never looking past an opponent. It’s a long season. I think this team has to one-up those goals from last year (conference title and playoff appearance) and set their goals a little higher.”

Rolando enters this season as the winningest coach in school history at 60-74. Only twice has the Green Wave advanced into the second round (2010 & 2014) in the school record books.

 

With a healthy run game at its disposal, the intent this year for the St. Edward football team isn't to throw the ball 40-plus times as it did last year.

And after a huge 44-26 nonconference win over Class 5A power Metamora at Greg True Field in Elgin Friday, the Green Wave, with a roster of 23, discovered they won't need to throw it 40 times; they can run up as much passing yards with just a fraction of the throws.

Returning All-State quarterback Dylan Mlinarich, who broke every passing record there is at St. Edward last year, threw just a minuscule 16 times against the No. 7 ranked team in 5A and still nearly totaled 400 yards.

The senior connected with 4 different receivers for 396 yards and 5 touchdowns, including 3 to receiver Saveon Smith who totaled 160 yards on 6 grabs, as Mlinarich's first 2 passes of the game went for scores.

"It was just the balance that we didn't have last year," said Mlinarich, who saw 37 running plays called. "I was throwing forty, sixty times last year and they were dropping eight guys in coverage. And it was tough but now this year with Angel Garcia, who's such a great running back and our offensive line, proves to us and the other teams that we are stronger and run or pass the ball anytime we want and we are going to be successful on it."

A healthy Garcia ran 20 times for 99 yards as the run game added 179 to the Green Wave's 575 total yards compared to Metamora's 306, but Smith and Tyler Holte provided all the highlights.

Holte helped St. Edward (1-0) to a quick 7-0 lead when he caught a pass at the Redbirds' 25 on the second Wave offensive play and turned on the jets for a 40-yard score.

On the Wave's next series, it took 5 plays until Smith beat his defender over the top and hauled in a 56-yard touchdown grab to make it 14-0 St. Edward with 5:25 left in the first quarter.

Smith would strike again with 8:13 left in the second quarter, when Mlinarich avoided a tackle in the pocket, stepped outside and connected with Smith on 4th and 5 with a 28-yard touchdown grab for a 21-0 lead.

"That was like a Christmas present," Smith said of the big lead at that point. "It felt real good for the team and it hyped us up a lot. Coach (Marc Rusinko) said be the hunter or the hunted and we were the hunters."

The Wave hunted down 2 more scores, even after the Redbirds (0-1) closed within 28-19 in the third quarter. Holte, who made 3 grabs for 180 yards along with 2 touchdowns, made a one-handed grab with his left hand down the left sideline to start the Wave's second third quarter drive that went for 65-yards, setting up Garcia's 11-yard run a player later for a 35-19 lead.

Holte's pick with 17.6 left in the third on his own 38 that he returned to the Redbird 30 resulted in a 31-yard field from David Madden with 9:28 left in the fourth and for good measure Smith scored over the top from 33-yards out to make it 44-19. The Green Wave picked up 3 turnovers in total, allowed just 2 touchdowns to Bryton McDonald (9 catches, 84 yards) and picked off Metamora QB Thomas Hall (15-for-27, 169 yards) twice.

"We're pretty happy with the turnovers but there's some things we have to clean up," Holte said. "But it's awesome. We've got the bread and butter with the passing game. the running game is coming along. the O-line is looking great so it's awesome."

And what about coach Mike Rolando's take?

"We didn't know we if we could compete at that level (against Metamora) and now that we know we can, it gives us the confidence the rest of the season," he said.

Jerry Fitzpatrick

The injury report and game results intertwined as St. Edward's 2016 season unraveled.

The Green Wave opened with 4 straight wins, but an already modest roster was diminished almost weekly by a rash of injuries to key players, many season-ending.

By the time the Wave limped into the Metro Suburban Blue opener in Week 5 against eventual Class 3A state champion IC Catholic Prep, coach Mike Rolando's team was a shell of the version that broke camp. Only 18 players dressed for a 53-50 loss at Fenton in Week 6 and 17 suited up for a 42-21 loss at Glenbard South a week later.

Larger schools can absorb multiple injuries and remain competitive due to their depth, but that's a taller order for a Class 4A program like St. Edward, which has averaged 26 players since Rolando took over 13 years ago.

With electric performers like safety/wideout Saveon Smith and running back/linebacker Angel Garcia out of last year's lineup due to injury, the Green Wave didn't possess the depth to remain competitive for four quarters.

Fast forward a year and the now healthy Green Wave return starters at 20 of 22 positions, a statistic that includes multiple two-way performers. That listed is headed by returning all-state quarterback Dylan Mlinarich. He broke every program passing record last season, mainly because the offense had no choice but to throw the ball after Garcia was lost to a broken ankle in Week 4.

Mlinarich attempted 376 passes, breaking the previous record of 219 set by Ben Lehman in 2009. He completed 214 passes, eclipsing Joe Mullen's 107 in 2014. The left-hander's 2,812 passing yards dwarfed Lehman's old record of 1,799 and his 33 touchdowns topped Mullen's 28.

Tyler Holte (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) was one beneficiary of the Wave's penchant for passing. He set new program records in receptions (57) and yardage (677) and scored 7 touchdowns. Before his ankle injury, Smith caught 26 balls for 446 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Rounding out the talented group of returning receivers are Ryan Pomeroy (40 rec., 556 yards, 5 TD) and David Madden (37 rec., 521 yards, 6 TD).

However, St. Edward doesn't intend to throw the ball 40-plus times per game like last year with a healthy Garcia back in the fold. Before his injury, Garcia rushed 61 times for 391 yards (6.1 avg) and 4 touchdowns.

He'll run behind an offensive line Rolando calls "the biggest and strongest we've had." The group includes returning starters Brett Kruska (6-3, 260) at right tackle, guard Chase Migut (6-2, 265), center James Estes (5-11, 245) and left tackle Matt Pettey (6-1, 260).

"Dylan looks great and he's a senior who has been there and done that," Rolando said of a quarterback who has passed for 3,845 yards and 41 touchdowns in two varsity seasons. "If we can put a running game around him, he has a chance to be very efficient and effective. He doesn't have to go 26 of 50. He can go 13 of 18 and capitalize when we need him to."

The defense is led by Smith, who in three varsity seasons has 72 tackles, 4 interceptions and 45 pass breakups. He's joined by linebacker Ben Harrington, who led the 2016 team with 76 tackles. He plays alongside linebackers Garcia and David Madden (38 tackles, 10 pass breakups).

Jimmy Harkins (32 tackles, 3 ints.) will play defensive and Jordan West (25 tackles, 2 sacks) anchors the defensive line.

"We have some experienced playmakers," Rolando said. "We have a lot of athleticism on the defensive side of the ball. I think this will be a lot of fun. We've just got to stay healthy."

 

Junior quarterback Dylan Mlinarich knew what was on the line Friday night for St. Edward.

A win would make the Green Wave playoff-eligible, and Mlinarich led St. Edward to a one-point lead that lasted until late in the second quarter against host Wheaton Academy.

 

"We were just trying to go and go and go," Mlinarich said. "We were trying to make plays, do whatever we could to get into the end zone and just get us a lead. It was just tough. We lost the momentum."

As has been the case throughout the Metro Suburban Blue season, the Green Wave ran out of gas as Wheaton Academy stormed back for a 44-30 victory.

 

The combination of injuries, only four seniors on the roster and playing bigger programs eventually caught up to St. Edward (4-5, 0-5), erasing a 4-0 start and ending a three-year playoff run.

Prior to Friday's loss, the Green Wave's three previous games were against schools with enrollments at least three times as large.

"They gave it all they had," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "The fact that we can hang with these schools with mostly juniors and sophomores on the field bodes well for the future. We're right there with these big schools until the third quarter. The future is bright."

Early on, St. Edward was focused on the present and getting its four seniors into the postseason again. Mlinarich opened the scoring with 2:20 left in the first quarter on a 17-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Jake Frey.

 

After Wheaton Academy (6-3, 2-3) took a 13-7 lead, Mlinarich found junior receiver Saveon Smith for a 27-yard TD catch, giving the Green Wave a 14-13 lead that stood until 21 seconds left in the half.

Wheaton Academy scored then, and added two TDs in the first two minutes of the second half to put the game away.

St. Edward didn't fold, however. Down by 30 points, Mlinarich hit junior receiver David Madden for a 12-yard TD in the fourth quarter, and the seniors took over for the final scoring drive.

Senior lineman Sam Reedy bruised his way to 19 yards on two carries. Senior tight end Dominick Hartke rushed for a 15-yard TD and senior lineman Nolan Theriault pounded in the 2-point conversion.

Senior receiver Jimmy Harkins also caught four passes for 45 yards.

"It was a lot of fun watching Reedy break tackles," Mlinarich said. "Then watching Dominick score and Nolan with the 2-point conversion, it was a lot of fun. It was a good little moment there at the end."

 

Paul Johnson is a freelance writer for The Courier-News. Gene Chamberlain contributed.

 

St. Edward senior Jimmy Harkins and seven other Green Wave players never left the field Friday.

It wasn't their last stand, but now there are only two more chances for the coveted fifth win.

Injury-plagued St. Edward could only hold out for so long at home against bigger, deeper Glenbard South and power runner Sean Cooke in a 42-21 Metro Suburban Blue defeat.

"We have 17 guys, so we can't afford to come off the field," said Harkins, a wide receiver/defensive back. "When we run out of energy, we run out of energy.

"Really, there's nothing we can do about it."

St. Edward lost its third straight during a devastating rash of injuries. In much of the first half, it seemed the passing of left-handed quarterback Dylan Mlinarich to Harkins, David Madden, Tyler Holte and Ryan Pomeroy would be enough to get the fifth win.

St. Edward (4-3, 0-3) had a 21-6 lead in the second quarter after a 2-yard touchdown flip from Mlinarich to tight end Dominic Hartke. Behind Cooke, Glenbard South (5-2, 3-0) dominated from then on with 36 straight points.

"They just kind of wore on us," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "Our guys are warriors. They played awesome. I'm very proud of their effort.

"There are guys playing every down and on special teams. They proved they can play with a team like this."

Without a ground game due to running back injuries, Mlinarich completed 34 of 61 passes for 393 yards with three TDs and three interceptions. Harkins had 10 catches for 106 yards and Madden added seven catches for 123 yards.

"In practice, we always work the same routes and look at the same zones over and over again, and so Dylan knew where we'd be and found us in the open spots," Madden said.

Mlinarich threw a 13-yard TD pass to Harkins as St. Edward went up 7-6. Then Madden caught an 18-yard TD down the sidelines with 1:22 left in the first quarter.

When Hartke scored, St. Edward appeared to be in control. But Cooke started mashing away for 188 yards on 29 carries, including four TDs.

"He's a big boy and to tackle him you've just got to try to go low," Madden said. "It was the only way."

Cooke's third TD run, a 2-yarder with 28 seconds left in the first half, gave Glenbard South a 27-21 edge.

Once ahead, Glenbard South ditched the blitz and went to a three-player pass rush with zone coverage. It paid off when St. Edward was driving for the go-ahead points late in the third quarter.

Mlinarich was picked off at the 2-yard line by Justin Goetz.

"I misread the play," Mlinarich said. "I thought it was an out-and-up, but it was just a regular up. My fault entirely."

Glenbard South quarterback Jack Crouch followed by throwing a 38-yard TD pass to Bryan Maroney. The Raiders added added Cooke's 34-yard clinching TD run and a safety.

"Its just about being real disciplined and we didn't play disciplined football the first half," Glenbard South coach Ryan Crissey said. "But you've got to give it to coach Rolando and the Green Wave, those kids just fight their butts off.

"We knew we were going to be in a dogfight defensively with the way they pass the ball."

gchamberlain@tribpub.com

Twitter @genechamberlai2

IC Catholic Prep (4-0, 0-0) at St. Edward (4-0, 0-0) Metro Suburban Blue

Game time: 7 p.m. Friday.

Last week: IC Catholic 72, Chicago Christian 0; St. Edward 50, Guerin 0.

Last year: IC Catholic 41, St. Edward 6.

Outlook (from the IC Catholic perspective): Since 2009 these teams have split 3-3 dating to their Suburban Christian Conference days. They're the MSC Blue's top two teams both in scoring and scoring defense, with IC averaging 56 points and St. Edward allowing 10.5. IC's Northern Illinois-bound Jordan Rowell has already run for 691 yards and 14 touchdowns, though the Knights' up-tempo offense is predicated by how quarterback Luke Ricobene reads the defense. Senior safety Matt Sutton makes the calls on defense, which will bring the heat with physical linemen Jimmy Kenneally, Robert Vitek, Dylan Packer and Ricky Mysliwiec. St. Edward's 6-foot-2 quarterback Dylan Mlinarich has thrown for 1,176 yards and 20 touchdowns, gutting Walther Christian and Lindblom for 7 TD passes apiece. Saveon Smith has caught 6 touchdown passes and averages 27 yards per catch. However, IC's staff includes former NFL safety and current ESPN analyst Matt Bowen, a big advantage.

Outlook (From the St. Edward perspective): This Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division opener is among the most important games on the schedule for each of these longtime rivals. A Class 3A semifinalist in 2015, IC is 3A's top-ranked team. Led by all-state tailback and cornerback Jordan Rowell (6-foot-2, 195 pounds), committed to Northern Illinois, and junior quarterback Luc Ricobene, the Knights have scored 225 points. That total includes 61 points against a St. Laurence team that has beaten Benet, St. Rita and defending 3A champ Bishop McNamara. Rowell has rushed for 691 yards and 14 touchdowns on 55 carries. Ricobene has completed 45 of 73 passes for 617 yards and 5 touchdowns and been intercepted three times. Ricobene also has rushed 19 times for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns, which has St. Edward coach Mike Rolando's attention. "Rowell is outstanding and you have to account for him, but what scares us most is (Ricobene)," Rolando said. "Even if you do everything well on a play, he can scramble and make a play because he's so multidimensional." IC gave up 49 points to St. Laurence in a Week 2 win. Otherwise, the Knights shut out Bishop McNamara, Elmwood Park and Chicago Christian. IC defensive end Jimmy Kenneally (6-1, 235) was an honorable mention all-state pick in 2015. Last year, he terrorized St. Edward quarterback Dylan Mlinarich throughout IC'S 41-6 victory. Mlinarich comes in hot. The left-handed junior has thrown for 1,179 yards and 20 touchdowns on 66-of-115 passing (57.4 percent).

Next week: Riverside-Brookfield at IC Catholic; St. Edward at Fenton.

 

 

 

 

The St. Edward football team's two-week trend of decimating lesser secondaries seems likely to continue on homecoming this Friday.

The Green Wave return to Greg True Field with a 3-0 record for the second time in three seasons, thanks largely to a passing attack responsible for 754 of their 1,052 total yards in wins over Lindblom (50-14) and Walther Lutheran (63-8), both winless.

In his last 2 games, junior quarterback Dylan Mlinarich has completed 45 of 72 passes for 754 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The left-handed Mlinarich is spreading the opportunities among his receivers. Junior Saveon Smith, who this week announced on social media he will visit Illinois this weekend, paced the group in Weeks 2 and 3 with 10 receptions for 233 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Smith leads a talented group that includes senior Jimmy Harkins (9 rec., 188 yards, 2 TD) and juniors David Madden (8-156-2), Ryan Pomeroy (5-141-2) and Tyler Holte (9-87-2).

St. Edward should face little resistance for a third straight game when Guerin (0-3) visits at 7 p.m. The Crusaders have been outscored 105-0.

Guerin began the season with 20 players on its published roster, but attrition has taken a toll. The Crusaders trailed Fenton 26-0 at halftime of last week's game, but the second half was played with a running clock because Guerin was down to the minimum of 11 available players.

For perspective, Fenton entered that matchup 0-2 after losing its first 2 games by a combined score of 73-0.

While lopsided games are good for morale and can help a team find its rhythm, it's questionable whether such blowouts are good preparation for a high-level opponent like the one St. Edward faces next week in old rival IC Catholic Prep. The Knights (3-0) are the top-ranked team in Class 3A.

St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said winning noncompetitive games by such lopsided margins may not be the optimal way to prepare for a team like IC, but the light schedule leading into what could be their most physical game of the season should benefit his players from a health standpoint.

The Green Wave entered the season with 22 players on the roster, but they are down to 21 and can't afford more injuries. Sophomore Nick Wright broke his arm in two places during the Lindblom game two weeks ago when he was stepped on. Five junior varsity players suit up with the varsity on Saturdays.

"We're very thin, so we need to keep our guys healthy," Rolando said. "While you want to be battle tested, at the same time, if we lose two guys, we become a totally different football team. When Nick goes down we have to bring up a sophomore to play linebacker and we're just not quite as strong. "We're not going to get any more or less physical in the next two weeks. These kids have been playing football for a long time. When we get to IC it's going to be a physical battle and the kids know that. From year to year, kids from both schools look forward to it. It's a tough game. That's why (Saturday) you saw a lot of jerseys coming on and coming of the field so we could get out of there healthy, and that's a good thing."

 

If sevens are lucky, St. Edward quarterback Dylan Mlinarich was the luckiest man in Melrose Park Saturday.

The St. Edward junior quarterback threw 7 touchdown passes for the second game in a row as the Green Wave improved to 3-0 by trouncing winless Walther Christian 63-8 at Fran Fanelli, Jr. Memorial Football Field.

The 6-foot-2, 189-pound left-hander saw open receivers everywhere he looked as St. Edward scored 7 touchdowns in the first half alone.

"I'm very surprised but I look forward to doing this. I work for this all off-season," Mlinarich said of 16 touchdown passes in 3 games. "The O-line did an amazing job, the wide receivers ran great routes and coach Ro (Mike Rolando), amazing play calling."

Junior Saveon Smith hauled in 4 receptions, including touchdowns of 6, 52 and 55 yards.

"I'm excited. I'm happy we're 3-0," said Smith, who said he'll be fine after he reached for his left hamstring at the end of a 55-yard touchdown catch-and-run. "In the off-season we work real hard with each other, run routes, all that, practice hard. I'm proud of my team and the accomplishments that we're doing right now."

Mlinarich completed 15 of 26 passes for 358 yards without an interception or sack. Like Smith, all his top targets were fellow juniors: David Madden (5 rec., 117 yards, TD), Tyler Holte (3 rec., 49 yards, TD) and Ryan Pomeroy, whose 53-yard scoring catch just before halftime made it 49-0.

Tailback Angel Garcia contributed 90 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns in 13 attempts to help the Green Wave amass 487 total yards.

Garcia, a Melrose Park native who lived five minutes from Fanelli Field until his family moved to Elgin when he was a sixth-grader, was also key on defense, rotating at middle linebacker with sophomore Sidney Muhammad. He was part of a Green Wave defense that limited the Broncos to 42 total yards.

In fact, Walther Christian's offense was in negative yardage until it mounted a 58-yard touchdown drive in the final minutes against St. Edward reserves.

"They came out and did what we asked them to do: play hard from the get go, whoever we had in there," Rolando said of his players. "We had some freshmen and sophomores in there the whole second half and they all played hard. I thought our intensity was good in the first half. We don't want the kids to come down and play at another level because of who we're playing."

 

St. Edward junior quarterback Dylan Mlinarch and Vernon Hills senior linebacker Chick Smith have earned Daily Herald MVP honors for their efforts in Week 2 of the high school football season.

OFFENSE

Dylan Mlinarch, St. Edward: This 6-foot-2, 189-pound junior enjoyed the kind of game quarterbacks dream about in a 50-14 home win vs. Lindblom. The second-year varsity signalcaller completed 30 of 49 pass attempts to nine different receivers for 495 yards and 7 touchdowns to help the Green Wave improve to 2-0.

Darreontae Jackson, St. Viator: The senior running back keyed a bounce-back win for the Lions in the biggest of ways. He rushed for 262 yards on just 14 carries, with scoring runs of 92 and 55 yards as St. Viator rolled past St. Francis 39-7.

Aidan O'Connell, Stevenson: The senior quarterback made his team's long bus ride to Michigan worthwhile. He threw for a school-record 447 yards and 4 touchdowns on 36-of-51 passing, helping the Patriots edge Muskegon 38-35 for their first win of the season.

Jordan Rowell, IC Catholic Prep: The Northern Illinois recruit scored 5 touchdowns, and the Knights needed them in a 63-49 win over St. Laurence. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound running back ran for 260 yards, 4 touchdowns; he caught 5 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. The senior's long plays were a 67-yard run and a 63-yard reception.

For good reason, St. Edward's passing game received plenty of preseason notoriety.

But when the regular season began Friday in Orlando, Fla. for the Green Wave, it was running back Angel Garcia who stepped up in the clutch against Christ's Church Academy.

Garcia, a sophomore, rushed for 119 yards and scored two second-half touchdowns to give St. Edward a 30-20 victory over the school from Jacksonville, Fla., at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

"We expected the passing game to lead and the running game kicked in," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "Angel had a great game and our line did a fantastic job of opening things up."

It's not that the passing game was forgotten.

St. Edward quarterback Dylan Mlinarich threw a 34-yard TD pass to Jimmy Harkins, who had five catches for 105 yards. Saveon Smith caught a 62-yard TD pass from Mlinarich, and the teams were tied 14-14 at halftime.

Garcia's TDs were from 1 and 2 yards after he carried the load on the drives, and St. Edward (1-0) also counted a second-half safety from the defense.

"They were trying to go up-tempo, I think, to wear us out in the second half," Rolando said. "They were a good team, with significantly bigger kids than we had, but we kind of turned it the other way and proved our guys were really better conditioned in the second half."

• 

     St. Edward's Saveon Smith is one of many talented receivers the Green Wave return this season.
  Brian Hill | Staff Photographer

Jetting to Florida for the season opener won't be the last time the St. Edward football team takes flight.

St. Edward under 12th-year coach Mike Rolando has traditionally been a running team. In fact, last season the Green Wave made its third straight playoff appearance and fifth in seven seasons by rushing the ball for 2,233 yards compared to 1,181 yards via the air.

But times change, as do rosters. Graduated is record-breaking running back Dwayne Allen (St. Cloud State) and most of the line that blocked for him.

What St. Edward does return is second-year varsity quarterback Dylan Mlarnich and his top four receivers from a year ago: Saveon Smith, Tyler Holte, Jimmy Harkins and David Madden.

As a sophomore, Mlarnich showed promise by completing 50.6 percent of his passes (80 of 158) for 1,033 yards. He threw more touchdowns (8) than interceptions (7).

Smith was his top target with 15 receptions for 356 yards and 2 touchdowns. Holte caught 16 passes for 188 yards and a score. Madden had 3 touchdowns among his 14 catches, and Harkins contributed 13 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown. Juniors Ryan Pomeroy and Jake Frey are expected to join that experienced group.

In their season opener against Christ's Church Academy of Jacksonville, Fla. at the Disney Resort in Orlando on Aug. 26, look for the Green Wave to attempt to control the clock by completing hitches and short routes in lieu of their traditional 32 dive.

"We'll have a different style," Rolando said. "We've always tried to be a run-first team, but it may be a new look for St. Ed's as far as not having that power-running game. It's the best passing entity that we've had collectively since I've been here."

The three players expected to rotate at running back in the four-wide scheme also play linebacker on defense. Junior Ben Harrington and sophomores Angel Garcia and Nick Wright all came up through the Crusaders program.

The four returning wide receivers will also start in the secondary: Smith and Holte at cornerback and Madden and Harkins at safety.

The defensive line is fortified by senior Sam Reedy (5-foot-10, 255 pounds) and junior Brett Kruska (6-2, 240), who earned a spot as a sophomore. Phil Welch (5-10, 265) and Brandon Broetjes (6-1, 185) play ends.

The roster of 29 features only four seniors: returning offensive linemen Nolan Theriault and Dominic Hartke, Reedy and Harkins.

"We're very young but not inexperienced," Rolando said. "Juniors like Madden, Holte, Mlinarich, Saveon, they all got significant time on the varsity level last year and that helps big time."

 

Our Next Game Will Be Played Here...  2016 Season Opener!

St. Edward (4-2, 2-0) at Ridgewood (4-2, 2-0)

Metro Suburban (East)

Game time: 7:15 p.m. Friday

Last week: St. Edward 41, Walther Christian 0; Ridgewood 52, Chicago Christian 19

Last year: St. Edward 38, Ridgewood 0

Outlook: The winner of this showdown between first-place teams gains the inside track to the Metro Suburban East title. Neither faces an opponent with a winning record in the final two weeks. Both squads walloped lesser teams last Friday. St. Edward won its homecoming game 41-0 in a contest played at Northern Illinois University. Coach Mike Rolando hopes his team enters this key division game with the same intensity as the Rebels, who will play before a homecoming crowd. "Coming off NIU and all that excitement my biggest fear is coming out flat against a team fighting for their playoff lives," Rolando said. "Our job is to pump them up and make them realize the importance of this key conference game. It could be the difference between a home playoff game or an away game. It's an important game. I hope the boys realize it and play like it." The Green Wave enter as healthy as they've been since the season opener. Linebacker/running back Patrick Brown returned to action in earnest last week and defensive end Joey Murray returns from a shoulder injury. Running back Dwayne Allen has missed two games and halves of two others, but last week returned to form with 12 rushes for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Dylan Mlinarich threw 3 touchdown passes against Walther Christian. He has completed 34 of 60 attempts for 474 yards and 4 scores.

Next week: St. Edward at Chicago Christian (1-5); Ridgewood at Guerin (2-4)

 

St. Edward rushing records have fallen to Dwayne Allen Jr., and more are about to fall.

Yet, the senior running back has a feeling so much more is possible. Part of the reason is he and Saveon Smith are back together again.

"He helps me out a lot with his speed and agility, to be a threat to go all the way like me," Allen said. "If I'm not having a good night, to have him come in and explode the way he does — whether running or a kick return or whatever — it's good to have that aspect in our game."

Allen needs 178 yards to break the school rushing record of 3,095 yards held by Devontae Elam as St. Edward (4-2, 2-0) takes to the road in a key 7 p.m. Friday Metro Suburban East game against Ridgewood (4-2, 2-0).

Realizing before the season he had inexperienced sophomore quarterback Dylan Mlinarich to bring along, St. Edward coach Mike Rolando had to come up with a counterpunch to Allen.

Considering Smith's accomplishments as a receiver and in the return game, and that he and Allen are threats to take back interceptions all the way as cornerbacks, the read-option as a quarterback in the Wildcat formation seemed one more way to unleash that speed.

"We really hadn't done a lot of it before — maybe seriously the last time was Moises Quiroga (2008)," Rolando said. "We did it a little with Mikey Castoro, but not much.

"Then last year we had an experienced quarterback with Joe Mullen, who was more of a passer like Bob French and Ben Lehman had been for us."

When they tried it the first time, Allen and Smith combined for 399 rushing yards in the season-opening win over Aurora Central Catholic.

"It's not something I ever did before," Smith said. "You've got to read the ends first, get a glimpse really fast, and see where you have to make a move and where you might go to."

And if he delays?

"They're going to come up and just smack you, which you want to try to avoid," Smith said.

Just when it seemed bringing Smith in occasionally as the Wildcat quarterback to combine with Mlinarich's passing would work wonders, the Green Wave lost that punch.

Smith missed a loss to Riverside-Brookfield due to a death in his family and Allen played only half the game when he sprained his ankle. The injury kept Allen from contributing full-time for almost eight quarters.

"When we weren't together we had our only two losses," Allen said. "When we're together, we bring out the best in each other."

Last week at homecoming they reunited for an entire game for the first time since Week 2, but it wasn't really needed as Mlinarich worked the passing attack and found three sophomore receivers for touchdown catches in a 41-0 victory over Walther Christian.

Against Ridgewood, it's more likely to require the full playbook.

"Norridge runs kind of the same offense as us, so we're going to have to be aggressive on offense ourselves and land the first punch," Allen said. "This will be like a conference title game. They're big and aggressive. It's going to take everything we have against them."

Allen broke the school record for rushing TDs in the win with 36, but paid little attention.

"One of the coaches told me 'you broke the record' and I didn't really know what he was talking about," Allen said. "My dad told me about a record or something but I didn't pay much attention.

"I just want to go out and try to enjoy some football, my last few games of my senior year now."

With Smith back to restore offensive balance, the enjoyment could come more easily — along with the all-time record.

gchamberlain@tribpub.com

Twitter: @genechamberlai2

FIVE GAMES TO WATCH

Larkin at St. Charles East

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Scouting report: Larkin (0-6, 0-3), behind the passing combo of quarterback David Hibbler to A.J Hunter, led Batavia and St. Charles North. Now the trick is finishing as the Royals seek their first win since 2013. With two touchdowns and 125 yards last week, has freshman Justin Jett arrived for St. Charles East (2-4, 2-2)?

St. Edward at Ridgewood

When: 7 p.m. Friday.

Scouting report: St. Edward (4-2, 2-0) is getting healthy now with linebackers Patrick Brown and Shane Budish and defensive end Joey Murray back and lineman AJ Salvador on the way. Running back Alex Rice is a threat for Ridgewood (4-2, 2-0), but Green Wave played a much tougher schedule so far.

Can't make it to Ridgewood on Friday... catch the game LIVE on the Cube with Butch and Nick Harrington broadcasting.
http://thecube.com/event/550138

 

DeKALB -- After its 41-0 win over Walther Christian at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb Friday, it's obvious that no school in the state of Illinois knows how to throw a homecoming party quite like St. Edward, which made the most of its Division I campus rental.

But despite all the lights and facilities of Northern Illinois University, an underlying theme among some of the players showed: there's still no place like home.

"It'll be a good memory but there's nothing like playing at home at (Greg True Field)," Green Wave safety David Madden said. "But NIU, a Divison I school, it's going to be a good memory."

And Madden and company can reflect on a lot, as the Green Wave (4-2, 2-0) jumped out to a 27-0 first quarter lead, let alone a 41-point advantage at the half with about just every phase of the game mastered.

Running back Dwayne Allen secured 188 yards on the ground on 12 carries, 2 of which went for touchdowns.

Quarterback Dylan Mlinarich completed 10 of 15 passes for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Seveon Smith hauled in an 83-yard touchdown pass while Tyler Holte secured a 20-yard grab.

Madden, however, caught 3 passes, 2 for picks, including a 23-yard touchdown pass. Along with defensive linemen Will Stevens' 2 fumble recoveries, hopefully the Wave can find a way to play at NIU one more time in 2015.

"We came out and we were like, ‘whoa.' We are not used to this," Madden said. "(NIU) was a big change and we all loved it. We felt very confident."

"I'm proud of the way the boys came out and played hard," Wave coach Mike Rolando said. "It is a distraction -- obviously you want to be home for your fans at homecoming -- but the support was awesome. This is probably the biggest crowd we had at any field."

The crowd had everything to cheer about from the get-go, as Allen, who had a 54-yard touchdown called back on the game's first play from scrimmage, redeemed himself with a 24-yard run at the end of the 5-play, 54 yard drive for a quick 6-0 lead.

Two plays later, Stevens recovered a Bronco (1-5, 1-1) fumble on the Walther Christian 28, which setup Madden's 23-yard scoring catch. A subsequent 3-and-out by the Broncos led to Allen's 75-yard run to help the Wave grab a 20-0 lead with 6:45 left in the first.

"Each game we want to come in with a whole bunch of energy," Allen said. "We knew what we had to do to get a W."

Madden's first pick led to Smith's 83-yard TD run and his second led to Allen's third TD from the Bronco 48. Holte's catch with 6:37 left in the second quarter gave the Wave a running clock.

"The execution in the first half across the board … passing game, running game, o-line, defense, I think is a prelude of things to come," Rolando said."

The Wave outgained the Broncos 425-38 in the first half and finished with a 463-60 edge, along with 5 turnovers -- a Nick Wright INT in the fourth. Walther Christian rushed for 20 yards, achieved only 6 first downs and crossed the 50 once with 6:10 left in the third as Malik Whittier was 8-for-24 for 40 yards and 3 interceptions.

"We want to get interceptions, fumbles, anything we can to help each other. Be afraid to let each other down is our motto," Stevens said.

On a Friday night with many happy returns for St. Edward, Jake French may have made the biggest.

The senior defensive lineman returned to his old position at linebacker due to injuries and made a critical third-quarter, game-changing interception and 43-yard return. That set up the go-ahead touchdown as the Green Wave started Metro Suburban East play with a 36-19 comeback victory over Guerin.

"That kind of stuff is fantastic," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "It's just good to see the defense playing that well and not giving up when they give up a big play or get down there with their backs against the wall."

Dwayne Allen Jr. returned from missing a game with an ankle injury to gain 102 of his 119 yards rushing in the second half, including the go-ahead, 1-yard TD run in the third quarter after French's interception. And both Saveon Smith and Caleb Elam broke kickoff returns for 83-yard TDs in the first half.

Without French's interception, though, none of the other returns would have let St. Edward (3-2, 1-0) get back into the win column after two straight defeats.

"Unfortunately, we had a couple injuries the past couple weeks and I used to be a linebacker, so they decided to move me from nose guard back and let some other guys get in who they knew could play nose guard," French said. "I'm just glad I could make a play and help my team win."

In a game played at Geneva High School's field due to dead turf at St. Edward, Guerin (2-3, 0-1) overcame a 15-2 deficit in the first half to lead 19-15 and was driving.

That's when French leaped in the open field, tipped the ball to himself, and raced the pick back to Guerin's 19. Allen then took a direct snap and scored with a 1-yard run on third down for a 22-19 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter.

"I ran the ball once or twice the first half, but the second half I knew I had built confidence, and I told my line to pick it up a little bit and they showed up for me," Allen said.

Quarterback Richie Zacharias, who went 16-for-33 for 329 yards, found John Szczygiel on the next series for a 40-yard gain to St. Edward's 16. But Elam, who also had an interception, came up from behind and stole the football.

"I was just thinking about stopping him from scoring," Elam said. "He had the ball out there, so I just went for it."

St. Edward converted it to clinching points when Smith went 55 yards off the right side on a read-option to make it 29-19.

The Green Wave added Dylan Mlinarich's late 20-yard TD pass to David Madden, but their quarterback's bigger pass was an overhand backward lateral across half the field that Smith caught on the opening kickoff and took back for an 83-yard Music City Miracle-style TD.

"Just some things we noticed on film that we thought they were kind of being overaggressive on," Rolando said. "They wouldn't kick it to Saveon, so we thought we could get him the ball that way."

After Elam's 83-yard TD return, however, Guerin scored on a 42-yard pass from Zacharias to Szczygiel. Then Zacharias had a 5-yard TD run to gain the lead.

"We played through the adversity and got it done," Rolando said.

gchamberlain@tribpub.com

 

According to St. Edward wideout Saveon Smith, it could be Geneva's Burgess Field, a parking lot or even a desert, the Green Wave really don't care where they play their home games the rest of the season.

As long as they get to do the things that gave them a 36-19 Metro Suburban East win over Guerin in Geneva Friday, winning takes care of it all.

In fact, on the game's opening kickoff, St. Ed looked as if they had some home cooking going on.

Smith took a lateral on a designed play before the game from quarterback Dylan Mlinarich on the opening kickoff 82 yards down the right sideline, and it wasn't the last time the special teams or big-play ability came through for the Wave to end a 2-game skid.

Caleb Elam, who grabbed an interception and forced a fumble, housed an 82-yard kickoff return of his own later in the first half, while Smith and Dwayne Allen each scored touchdowns in the second half to distance themselves from Guerin, which rattled off 14 points bridging the second and third quarters to take 19-15 lead.

"Coming from (last week's 41-6 loss to IC Catholic) we've been determined in practice," Smith said. "Hard work, no joking around. None of that. We came out strong ready to fight."

Although the Wave (3-2, 1-0) were edged by the Gators (2-3, 0-1) 381-288 in total yards, fight St. Edward did better.

Once the Wave lost the lead on Richie Zacharias' 5-yard run with 9:30 left in the third, senior nose guard Jake French, who moved to linebacker because of all the injuries, snagged a pick over the middle and returned it 41 yards to the Gator 19. That set up Allen's 1-yard run to end a 5-play drive and David Madden's extra point to give St. Edward the lead for good at 22-19 with 2:23 in the third.

Allen, who carried the ball twice in the first half, bounced back from a sprained ankle with 17 carries for 105 yards, with 15 runs coming in the second half.

"I just stuck it out the whole game," Allen said. "If (the injury) went down to 80 or 90 percent then I'd stop running. If it stays neutral or goes up then I'd keep on running and nothing happened to me so I kept running the ball."

It was also a good thing Elam kept running. He chased down wideout John Szczygiel, who caught the ball near the Wave 35, stripped and scooped up the loose ball at the Wave 16. That led to Smith's 55-yard scoring run for a 29-19 lead with 10:04 in the fourth.

"(The turnovers) could have not come at better times," said French. "They swung the momentum entirely in our favor and it was great to have them happen when they did."

Wave coach Mike Rolando echoed that sentiment.

"I thought the defense was outstanding tonight. We had the goal line stands down there. Bend but not break," Rolando said. "It's good to see the defense playing that well and not giving up when they give up a big play or when they have their backs against the wall."

Overall, the Wave bottled 3 turnovers and Smith finished with 54 yards rushing on 7 carries and 2 receptions for 44 yards. Elam rushed for 53 yards on 9 carries and Mlinarich added a 21-yard touchdown pass to Madden with 50 seconds remaining to finish 4 of 8 for 84 yards passing. Lost in it all was Zacharias' 306-yard day in the air on 16 of 34 passes. The Gator run was stopped to just 75 yards but Szczygiel caught 9 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown.

 

St. Edward has a place to play this week, and now the Green Wave need players who will take that field.

Athletic director P.J. White said Geneva High School's artificial turf field had been secured for a 7:30 p.m. Friday home game with Guerin to open Metro Suburban East play. St. Edward's Greg True Field remains unplayable after a maintenance company accidentally destroyed much of the grass, so future home sites will be determined on a week-by-week basis.

"The outpouring of support we received has been tremendous, and we have to thank (Geneva athletic director) Jim Kafer for helping out," White said, pointing out Kafer's ties to St. Edward as the school's former athletic director.

Coming off a 41-6 loss at IC Catholic last week, the most pressing issue facing St. Edward (2-2) against Guerin (2-2) is manpower.

Coach Mike Rolando hopes running back Dwayne Allen Jr. returns from an ankle injury. The injury list in the backfield runs even deeper because backup Patrick Brown also missed the last game with a concussion he suffered against Riverside-Brookfield.

"When you've only got 22 guys out, and you take away several of them, then you're really in need of someone to step up," Rolando said.

Allen will be a game-time decision again this week, and Brown is out. Brown normally anchors the defense at linebacker.

Last week, junior running back Caleb Elam stepped in and rushed for 113 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. Elam wasn't even on the roster when practice started this year, and it was the first game he was eligible.

"He had a fantastic game against IC, about our only high point," Rolando said. "He wasn't in our offseason program and didn't come out until late August when we had a few others come out late.

"It was good to see another quality running back."

Losing Allen also removed the team's most experienced cornerback, but sophomore Tyler Holte filled in a week after he played corner on the other side when starter Saveon Smith was away due to a death in his family.

The St. Edward secondary expects to be tested this week by Guerin quarterback Richie Zacharias throwing to 6-foot-4 receiver Keith Franklin and speedy slotback Felix King.

"We'll have our hands full, for sure," Rolando said. "They lost to Aurora Central Catholic (37-28). We did beat ACC (41-0), but we were a different team then. We're missing important parts now."

No comment: Rolando did not want to weigh in on the ongoing dispute between Guerin coach Glen Kozlowski, the former Chicago Bear, and ACC coach John Belskis.

In a Chicago Tribune article, Belskis accused Kozlowski of threatening to fight him, targeting his son — quarterback Johnny Belskis — with late hits and said Guerin players had thrown rocks at the team bus.

"We just got beat 41-6, and we've got enough of our own worries with injuries and other things, so we can't be concerned with sideline antics and beefs coaches have," Rolando said. "Guerin has a good football team. We got down to them 13-0 last year when we were an undefeated team, so we'll worry about ourselves."

Click the link below to watch the 9/25 Guerin Game LIVE.

http://thecube.com/event/542641

 

http://football.dailyherald.com/article/20150904/sports/150909243/

 

Dwayne Allen rushed for 224 yards and 4 touchdowns. And that was just in the first half.

For an encore, St. Edward's junior tailback returned the second-half kickoff for his fifth touchdown, and set up another score with a 50-yard run before taking the fourth quarter off.

Allen finished with 274 yards on just 14 carries, leading the Green Wave past Chicago Clark, 50-0, in nonconference action at Greg True Field Friday night.

"We came out in a little drought in the first couple minutes," said Allen. "The line picked it up a lot and they opened some holes for me. The quarterback Saveon (Smith) did a lot of good things, running downfield with me."

Allen scored on runs of 2, 43, 12, and 10 yards. Smith scored on a 2-yard run, and Benjamin Harrington scored the Wave's final touchdown on a 39-yard scamper.

Although the Wave (2-0) had much to celebrate, coach Mike Rolando was concerned about recurring mistakes, particularly penalties. The Wave was flagged 9 times for 84 yards.

"Really all that's on my mind right now is the mistakes offensively -- a lot of penalties," Rolando said. "There's a lot of things we wanted to clean up. We'll focus on that and we'll clean it up."

Rolando couldn't find much wrong with the defense.

"I'm really proud of the defensive effort again," he said. "We've got some good athletes. I thought we were there every step of the way on the pass plays, stepping up and making plays on the run games. I think our line on both sides of the ball did well, and if we can win that line battle, I think we win a lot of football games."

The Wave defense pitched its second straight shutout to open the season. St. Edward held the Eagles to 41 net yards and 6 first downs. Smith and James Harkins posted interceptions and Anthony Salvadore had a pair of sacks against two Clark quarterbacks.

Allen set the tone for the evening on the Wave's first offensive play, racing 49 yards around right end. He was finally dragged down at the 2-yard line, but finished the drive on the next play. Later in the first quarter, Allen accounted for a 43-yard, 1-play drive with his second TD run.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/sports/ct-ecn-football-aurora-central-catholic-st-edward-st-0830-20150829-story.html

St. Edward coach Mike Rolando made it clear to sophomore receiver/cornerback Saveon Smith what would be expected of him this season.

 

"Coach 'Ro' called me before the preseason, talking about running the Wildcat," Smith said. "Coach 'Ro' said people are going to key on (reigning Metro Suburban Offensive Player of the Year Dwayne Allen) when I do the fakes, and I can come out and surprise and just do my job.

 

Smith and Allen proved to be too difficult a combination for Aurora Central Catholic to handle in Friday's season opener. They combined to rush for six touchdowns in a dominant 41-0 win.

Allen rushed for three TDs in the first half to stake the Green Wave to a 21-0 lead and added a fourth in the second half. He rushed for 221 yards on 22 carries. Meanwhile, in his new position as Wildcat quarterback, Smith didn't attempt a pass but he rushed for 167 yards on 13 carries with two TDs.

Last year, St. Edward won a school-record 10 games, but the star quarterback of that team, Joe Mullen, is now playing at Tiffin University in Ohio. As a result, Rolando plans to rely on the ground game this season.

"They're both special athletes," Rolando said of Smith and Allen. "Last year, we ran Dwayne well and threw well. This year, our counter to Dwayne is another running back. You have to account for them both, and we can also throw out of it, too."

Throwing wasn't necessary in the first half.

St. Edward sophomore quarterback Dylan Milnarich finished 6-for-9 for 46 yards with an interception, but only attempted two passes in the first half. It didn't matter, however, with Allen scoring on runs of 1 and 12 yards in the first quarter. ACC still felt in the game at that point, however.

An interception from Ben Ariano set up the Chargers at St. Edward's 22. They were unable to punch it in on fourth-and-goal from the 4, however, and Allen added to the lead with a 30-yard TD run with 1:37 left in the half.

"When they scored the one before the half, it kind of distanced things a little bit and took the wind out of our sails," Aurora Central Catholic coach John Belskis said.

It was Belskis' head coaching debut at ACC and his first appearance as a head coach since retiring from Downers Grove South in 2012.

"We got outhit," he said. "I don't care what you're doing scheme-wise, if you're getting outhit, you don't have a chance to win. I hope it was a learning lesson. That's all you can take away from it."

Belskis had the pleasure of coaching his son, Johnny Belskis, a junior who started at quarterback for ACC. He was 9-for-20 for 37 yards.

"During the game, he's just another player," John Belskis said. "I'm fortunate to be in this position. You see how fast they grow. In two years, he'll be off to college, so I'm cherishing every moment I have."

St. Edward knows it didn't play a perfect game. The Green Wave committed 10 penalties. For people who wondered if they could duplicate last season's success, however, 41-0 spoke loudly.

"It was a very good start, but we can do a lot more to improve," Smith said. "We can't play like this Week 10, come the playoffs."

http://football.dailyherald.com/article/20150825/sports/150829173/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Jerry Fitzpatrick

Depth was St. Edward's ally last season.

Playing against unfamiliar opponents in the newly formed Metro Suburban Conference's East Division, the Green Wave rolled to an undefeated title and a 10-1 record, thanks to a talented roster that went two-deep at several positions.

Such depth is no longer a luxury. The program graduated 17 seniors, one of its largest classes in years.

That group is "replaced" by an incoming junior class of only five football players. It would have been four juniors had lineman AJ Salvadore not transferred from Prospect.

The sophomore and freshman classes boast healthy numbers, thus, the program should be fine in the long run. However, the situation leaves the defending champs a bit short-handed for the next two seasons. Several players will go both ways.

"Our depth is definitely in question, but our kids are in shape and they don't want to come off the field anyway," 11th-year St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "Luckily, some fringe and role players have stepped up, so we should be able to get some guys off the field now and then.

"Still, I think it's a very talented group and I think we can be very good this year. We just have to find ways to get our talent the ball."

What the Green Wave lack in depth they make up for in high-caliber talent. Unanimous MSC-East offensive player of the year Dwayne Allen returns at running back and unanimous MSC-East defensive player of the year Jake French is back at nose guard, where he made 77 tackles and sacked the quarterback 12 times.

A Class 4A All-State honorable mention selection, Allen carried 201 times for 1,573 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also made 6 catches for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

"All he needs is a crease," Rolando said. "Some of his touchdowns last year were not on blocked plays. He created them. If we block, he can do well. If not, he can still make something out of nothing. He's a special runner with great vision and he's added a little beef since last year, so there's a little more of a power component to his game."

Sophomores replace graduated all-area quarterback Joe Mullen, now at Division-II Tiffin University in Ohio. Dylan Mlinarich (6-foot-1, 175 pounds) is a promising passer, Rolando said, and Saveon Smith will be under center in certain packages. Smith last year played in the secondary and defended 16 passes, 9 more than any of his teammates. He'll again start in the secondary and carry the ball occasionally.

Senior Patrick Brown (5-11, 165) lines up in the slot or in the backfield. Sophomore David Madden (5-11, 150) is the other slot receiver. Juniors Jimmy Harkins (5-11, 145) and Nolan Theriault (6-0, 180) are the wide receivers.

One starter returns along the offensive line: senior right tackle Haydn Hilton (6-3, 235). Salvadore will play center, seniors Will Stevens (6-1, 205) and Ruben Montiel (5-10, 202) can both play right guard and senior Michael Montes (6-2, 200) starts at left tackle. Though they didn't start last year, Stevens, Montiel and Montes saw regular playing time in the second half due to the lopsided nature of St. Edward's victories.

Joining the offensive line at left guard is French, who was able to play defense only in 2014. French plays nose in a five-man front and drops to linebacker in a four-man front.

A rare position with depth is defensive tackle, where Salvadore and Stevens will start and rotate with Montiel, Montes, junior Sam Reedy (5-11, 240) and senior Josh McFadden (6-1, 195).

Defensive ends Hilton and senior Joey Murray (5-5, 145) gained experience at that position a year ago.

Brown is the team's second-leading returning tackler. As a junior linebacker he contributed 52 tackles, a sack, 2 forced fumbles and a recovery.

Smith and Allen form one of the better pass-defending cornerback combinations in the area, giving defensive coordinator Marc Rusinko the flexibility to play man-to-man defense.

Keeping injuries to a minimum will be important with a 23-man roster.

"I love the kids that we have," Rolando said. "We have several tough, hard-nosed, coachable kids that have bought into the program and they expect to compete."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/sports/ct-ecn-football-st-edward-preview-0824-20150822-story.html

 

http://football.dailyherald.com/article/20150824/sports/150829336/

 

In 2014, St. Edward was the only team from the nascent six-school Metro Suburban Conference East Division to qualify for the state playoffs.

A year later, the defending division champion Green Wave will encounter teams that feel they've taken another step in the right direction.

Norridge-based Ridgewood, which finished second to St. Edward last year with a 4-1 East Division mark but was one of 22 teams with 5-4 records left on the 2014 playoff sidelines, returns 7 of 11 defensive starters from a year ago, including East defensive player of the year runner-up Seth Krueger (inside linebacker), along with a pair of returning all-conference defensive backs in Mike Ortiz and Eric Mangal, as well as an all-conference defensive tackle in Vinny Scaletta. Also back is linebacker Max Kalynuk and defensive end Anthony Giovanelli.

"If our defense can pick up where it left off last year we should be in every game," Ridgewood coach Chris Zack noted.

On the other side of the ball, the Rebels return playmakers at running back (Alex Rice, who also plays wide receiver) and receivers Ortiz and Jake Karkoska.

Key newcomers include Marco Vitale (RB-WR) and Vince Santore (WR).

"We are looking forward to the season," Zack said. "We had a very good and competitive off-season and summer. The coaches and I as well as the players feel we can be highly competitive this season and compete for the MSC East title."

Defending East champion St. Edward (10-1) returns some keys players, most notably league offensive player of the year, Dwayne Allen, Jr., and league defensive player of the year, Jake French.

Staying healthy will be a priority for the Green Wave. The junior class is a small one from a football perspective with only five players, leaving the varsity with a roster of 23. Several will be asked to go both ways, including Allen in the secondary and French along the offensive line.

"Coming off a good year last year, we expect to compete in all our games," veteran St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "We caught a couple of those schools like Ridgewood and Elmwood Park by surprise last year. Those are good opponents. Plus, Guerin has a couple of Division-1 caliber players, Chicago Christian has a new coach and Walther always has good athletes.

"The rosters in our league are such that the powers can change from year to year. I think you'll see a changing of the guard from year to year and teams can move up or down. We expect to compete. In a small conference a couple of impact players can really change the outcome of games."

River Grove-based Guerin College Prep, coached by former NFL player Glen Kozlowski, won a pair of conference games last year and is looking for even more improvement this fall.

The Gators return 8 starters on offense and 9 starters on defense. Top returners include senior all-conference defensive end Vinnie Caeti (6-3, 197) and senior all-conference linebacker Jarvis Davis (5-11, 219). Caeti registered 24 sacks last year, while Davis, the team MVP as a junior, led the team with 89 total tackles. Caeti was the team defensive MVP.

Senior wide receiver Keith Franklin (6-4, 214) earned all-conference accolades after hauling in 12 touchdown passes and averaging 21.7 yards per catch.

Key newcomers include junior quarterback Richie Zacharias (6-4, 184), sophomore running back Jaylen White (5-10, 189) and junior defensive back Felix King (5-10, 173).

"Our defense will be improved from last year," said Kozlowski. "All of our returners have improved. We believe we have an opportunity to compete for the conference title and should be a solid playoff contender if we stay healthy."

Kozlowski welcomed Hall of Fame coach Alan Marks (former coach at Ridgewood) to the staff as the new offensive coordinator.

Chicago Christian, under the direction of new coach Nick Cook, is coming off a 2014 season where it went 4-5 and 3-2 in East play.

The Knights return 5 starters on offense and 5 on defense. Key returners include seniors Luke Rattler (5-10, 210, RB-LB), Steve Gallagher (5-9, 160, RB-LB), Nathan Krygsheld (6-0, 160, WR-DB-LS) and Rich Gricus (5-11, 190, OL-DL), along with juniors Jessie Geaschel (5-10, 210, OL-DL), Josh Hill (6-1, 190, WR-LB), Jake Iwema (6-4, 185, OL-DL) and Cyril Nikolovski (5-11, 210, OL-DL).

Newcomers include seniors Tom Hassel (6-3, 190, TE-DL-K), Kevin Gallagher (5-9, 160, TE-LB) and Sam Gabral (5-7, 190, OL-DL), as well as junior Parris Williams (5-6, 140, RB-DB).

"We have strong leadership at key positions," said Cook. "We're utilizing a system that we hope our opponents will find to be complex and difficult to defend. On defense we have a presentation of multiple fronts we hope will put our best athletes in a position to make as many plays as possible."

Cook added the team has been focusing on three primary goals since he took over. "Becoming more Christ-like men, setting and meeting offseason goals and setting and meeting game-night goals," he stated. "Our outlook goes as far as those three areas and trusting that as we worship God by giving a winning effort in those areas that we will accomplish all we are supposed to accomplish as we focus on those things."

Elmwood Park is coming off a 2014 campaign where it went 2-7 and 1-4 in the league, while Walther Christian did not win a game (0-9, 0-5).

Guerin's Kozlowski sees St. Edward and Ridgewood as the top two teams in the division heading into Friday night's 2015 season kickoff. "All of us are trying to compete against them," said Kozlowski, who added all teams in the division are "well-coached."

St. Edward and Ridgewood square off in Norridge in Week 7 (Friday, Oct. 9). Guerin Prep visits Greg True Field in Elgin in Week 5 (Friday, Sept. 25).

St. Edward football coach Mike Rolando was recently honored as the Athletico Phyiscal Therapy Coach of the Year, an award he received on Dec. 6 during the Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Athletico Coach of the Year Award recognizes coaches for all they do to serve their local communities, including sportsmanship, coaching success and classroom involvement.

Nominated by multiple individuals within St. Edward and within the community, Rolando has shown high levels of excellence within his role. The Green Wave finished the 2014 season with a 10-1 record with a second round appearance in the Class 4A playoffs. Finishing his 10th season as the head coach, the turnaround of the football program that Rolando has led has been remarkable. Winless in his first two years at the helm, the Green Wave have now reached the playoffs four of the past six seasons, and will be poised to continue to break new ground in the fall of 2015.

In addition to his success on the field, Rolando's focus on community involvement led to his selection. Rolando has organized volunteer events for his team throughout the school year and summer. These opportunities have helped the program extend their influence beyond the football field.

"I want to thank Athletico and their athletic trainer at St. Edward, Chris Hurckes, for this award." Rolando said. "The fact that nominations came from people that know our program well, and that the award takes into consideration efforts made off the field in the community and in the classroom, really makes us proud to be recognized. The off-field developmental opportunities for these young men, and their academic focus, are the real ‘wins' for our program. Whether we win 10 games or zero games, we will always have that focus."

The coach of the year award was open to any junior high or high school level coach within the states of Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin. Nominations were open to the public and submitted via an online entry form. Nominators were required to explain why their coach deserved recognition. A selection committee within Athletico reviewed the nominations before selecting Rolando as the winner.

by Jerry Fitzpatrick

Dwayne Allen, Jr. St. Edward This junior running back's cutback ability and breakaway speed led to Class 4A All-State honorable mention recognition. The Metro Suburban East Offensive Player of the Year rushed for 1,573 yards and 19 touchdowns in 201 attempts (7.8 avg.). He also made 6 receptions for 104 yards and 2 more scores. "He was just magic with the ball in his hands," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "He was a unanimous pick for conference offensive player of the year. The other coaches said there wasn't even a need for a discussion. And he's humble about it. He deflects all the credit to his teammates."

Jake French St. Edward Opponents regularly double-teamed or even triple-teamed this determined junior nose guard, mostly to no avail. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior unanimously was named defensive player of the year in the Metro Suburban East after registering 77 tackles and 12 sacks. French also forced 4 fumbles and recovered 4 fumbles. "He wreaked havoc in the backfield of our opponents," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "For a 160-pound nose guard to have that kind of an impact, it just shows how tough a kid he is."

Chris Kelly St. Edward A two-way starter for two seasons, this academic all-state selection helped the Green Wave to a conference championship and program-record 10 wins with his all-Metro Suburban East play at linebacker and center. Defensively, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound senior finished the season with 64 tackles and 2 sacks, 2 passes defended and a fumble recovery. Offensively, he centered an offense that averaged 380 yards and 39.5 points per game. "He improved his speed so he could cover sideline to sideline, and he's so smart it was like having another coach on the field," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said.

Joe Mullen St. Edward This 6-foot-3, 175 pound quarterback completed 54 percent of his passes (107 of 198) for 1,781 yards. An all-Metro Suburban East selection, the senior threw 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for the 10-1 Green Wave. "He's a quarterback who really grasped what we were doing and why we were doing it," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "He's always had a strong arm but the mental toughness he developed this year became a key strength."

Honorable Mention St. Edward -- Nick Duffy (Sr., WR), Jack Tierney (Sr., OL/LB), Josh Von Rohr (Sr., DE)

 

Gene Chamberlain

Aptly nicknamed the Coalers, Coal City’s football team relentlessly pounded, dug and chiseled away at St. Edward’s defense all game Saturday until the Green Wave finally caved in during Saturday’s Class 4A playoffs at Elgin’s Greg True Field.

With Jack Dibble rushing 40 times for 304 yards and four touchdowns, Coal City scored a 25-20 victory to end St. Edward’s season at 10-1 and advance to the quarterfinals against conference rival Manteno.

“They were just too big for us — they were big dudes,” St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. “Our kids tried their hardest, played great, but (Coal City) just brought a little too much.”

St. Edward overcame deficits of 7-0 and 19-14 to lead 20-19 starting the fourth quarter behind the passing of quarterback Joe Mullen, who connected on nine straight passes during a second-half stretch and finished 15-of-28 for 194 yards with two touchdowns. But Coal City’s Dibble rushed for 223 of his yards in the second half to lead the Coalers (9-2) back from 14-7 and 20-19 deficits.

“It’s that way some games,” Dibble said. “We come and we try get things going. They know we’re going to run, but as the game goes on we continue to beat on people, we continue to run hard, we continue to block hard.

“And teams just get tired out.”

After Mullen hit Trevor Loewen for a 21-yard touchdown pass for a 20-19 St. Edward lead, the Coalers went back to work pounding the ball behind 285-pound Matt Long, 275-pound Andrew Mathena and 265-pound T.J. Lightner. They drove 65 yards on nine runs to score on Dibble’s 17-yard burst for a 25-20 lead with 8:36 left.

“He’s a great runner,” St. Edward linebacker Chris Kelly said. “We would go and take on the lead blocker, we’d leave him no hole to go through. He’s not small but he could hit those small holes and slither through there.”

St. Edward had good field position at its 44 to try to regain the lead, but Mullen lost the ball on a fumble after a blind-side blitz by Kevin Myers. When he got the ball back and drove St. Edward to midfield with 5:12 left, Corey Jurzak picked off a long pass at the 18-yard line. The Coalers never gave it back with a drive to the St. Edward 2-yard line as time expired.

“We didn’t want to give them the ball with a minute-anything left because they were very dangerous and could make some plays,” Coal City coach Len Onsen said. “We were trying to eat clock, eat clock and get the heck out of Dodge.”

Dibble scored on a 2-yard run after a Brad Littleton interception had given the Coalers the ball at St. Edward’s 36 with three minutes left in the half, but the Green Wave countered with Dwayne Allen’s 3-yard TD run to end a 71-yard two-minute drill and trailed 7-6 following a blocked conversion.

Allen, who rushed for more than 1,500 yards, was limited to 23 yards on 21 carries, so Mullen went to the air and 6-foot-4 Nick Duffy six times total for 110 yards.

“He’s been my receiver since we were sophomores,” Mullen said. “I felt like when it came to that time, it was time to go to Nick.”

Duffy stole a 23-yard completion from Jurzak to set up Mullen’s 1-yard QB sneak, but that started four TDs in the last 5:01 of the third quarter.

Dibble broke a 28-yard TD, and, after a St. Edward punt, he got loose for a 33-yard TD run and a 19-14 Coaler lead.

A Saveon Smith 63-yard kick return set up Loewen’s TD catch, and Joe French’s point-after kick for a 20-19 St. Edward lead with 28 seconds left in the third quarter. But Coal City kept pounding away.

“There were a lot of big collisions, a lot of big hits,” Kelly said. “We did a good job of just getting after their back. It definitely was the most physical game I’ve ever played.”

by Jerry Fitzpatrick

The weight of playing in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs for only the second time in school history didn't get to the St. Edward football team.

The weight of Coal City's offensive line did.

Giving away 100 pounds a man at some line positions, the St. Edward defense played the Coalers to a standstill for a half. But Coal City running back Jack Dibble and his mammoth offensive line capitalized on a 4-1 turnover advantage by gaining 364 rushing yards on 53 carries in a 25-20 victory at Greg True Field in Elgin Saturday.

Dibble, a senior who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in one knee as a sophomore and tore the other as a junior, carried the ball 40 times for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns. He rushed for 226 of those yards in the second half, including the 17-yard touchdown run that staked his team to a 25-20 lead with 8:51 left in the ballgame.

"That's just our game: tire them out and keep trying to run the football," Dibble said.

"He could hit those holes, just slither through there," St. Edward linebacker Chris Kelly said. "It was crazy. The kid was fast. He's a great, hard runner."

St. Edward's final 2 possessions ended in turnovers. One play after Dibble put his team ahead, Coal City's Kevin Myers blindsided Green Wave quarterback Joe Mullen, whose fumble was recovered by Brad Churnovic at the St. Edward 33-yard line.

However, the St. Edward defense forced a turnover on downs to give the offense another chance with 6:14 to play.

An 11-yard pass from Mullen to Petey deWindt followed by a pass interference call against the Coalers put the ball at the Coal City 36-yard line. Two plays later, Corey Jurzak intercepted a Mullen pass at his own 18 and returned it 22 yards.

Dibble then ran out the remaining 5:12 by carrying for 3 first downs behind huge linemen Matt Long (6-foot-5, 285 pounds), Andrew Mathena (6-5, 275) and L.J. Lightner (6-4, 260).

Already playing without defensive end Josh Von Rohr (concussion), the St. Edward defense was further diminished when senior free safety Danny Favela left the game in the second half due to injury. Twice in the first half Favela had tackled Dibble on fourth down to halt Coal City drives in St. Edward territory.

"They were too big for us," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "They were big dudes. Our guys tried their hardest. They just brought a little too much. But I'm proud of them. They fought hard."

Rolando wasn't the only coach to leave the field impressed.

"That was a darn good football team," Coal City coach Lenny Onsen said of the Green Wave. "They played extremely hard. People can say what they want about their schedule and this and that, but those kids had a lot of heart out there playing. I know when they lost (Favela), that took a lot of wind out of their sail because he was a heck of a defensive player."

St. Edward's vaunted ground game was shut down by the Coalers. Junior tailback Dwayne Allen, Jr., who ran for 294 yards and 3 scores in a first-round win over Rock Island Alleman, was held to 20 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He also lost a first-half fumble.

St. Edward gained 194 of its 250 total yards through the air. Mullen completed 14 of 28 attempts. He threw for a touchdown and ran for another but was picked twice.

Coal City took a 7-0 lead with 2:04 left in the first quarter when Dibble parlayed Brad Littleton's interception near midfield into a 2-yard scoring run 3 plays later.

St. Edward answered with 16.6 seconds left in the first half on a 3-yard run by Allen. His touchdown was set up by a 37-yard catch from Nick Duffy, who ripped the ball out of the arms of the defender. Duffy finished with 5 catches for 102 yards. Parker Czaja blocked Joe French's extra point kick to preserve Coal City's 7-6 lead at the half.

St. Edward defensive lineman Jake French recovered a Dibble fumble midway through the third quarter. The Wave then drove 57 yards in 6 plays, including a 12-yard grab by deWindt, a 15-yard reception by Trevor Loewen and a 23-yard catch by Duffy to the Coal City 7.

Mullen scored on a 1-yard sneak on third-and-goal, then he threw to Duffy in the corner of the end zone for a successful 2-point conversion, giving St. Edward a 14-7 lead.

Littleton responded by returning the kickoff 48 yards to the St. Edward 28. Dibble ran for a touchdown on the next play to draw his team within 14-13. A high snap on the point-after attempt forced an incomplete pass, leaving St. Edward ahead by a point.

After the Green Wave offense went three-and-out, the Coalers traversed 72 yards in 4 plays. Jurzak's 24-yard tote set up Dibble's 33-yard scoring run, which gave Coal City a 19-14 lead with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

Unfazed, St. Edward quickly regained the lead. Freshman Saveon Smith returned the ensuing kickoff up the right sideline 51 yards to the Coal City 23. Two plays later, Mullen found Loewen inside the front right pylon with a 21-yard touchdown pass, which gave St. Edward its last lead, 20-19 with 27.9 seconds left in the third quarter. The conversion pass didn't connect.

The defeat ended the best season in 71 years of St. Edward football. The Green Wave eclipsed the previous school record of 8 wins, became the first team from the Elgin school to finish 9-0 in the regular season, won the Metro Suburban East title and earned the program its second playoff victory.

"If you look back, we did something that's never been done before in history. That's great," Kelly said. "Even more than that we just bonded together as a team and tried to pave the ground for even more success at St. Ed's. That was the big thing, trying to leave the place better than we found it."

Rolando embraced his seniors individually after the game, thanking them for a memorable ride.

"Great year," the 10th-year coach said. "Great group of kids that learned how to buy into a team concept and how to overachieve. Together they can really achieve great things, and individually we're all nothing. They learned that lesson, and they learned to do what they were told and play for someone else. They're going to take those lessons on for the rest of their life and be successful because of it."

CLASS 4A

Coal City (8-2) at St. Edward (10-0), 2 p.m. Saturday

Last week: St. Edward 31, Alleman 12. Coal City 40, Mendota 14.

Next up for winner: Manteno (9-1) or Dixon (8-2).

Key players: Coal City — Matt Long OL-DL, Andrew Mathena OL-DL, Jack Dibble RB, Nick Micetich QB. St. Edward — Joe Mullen QB, Dwayne Allen Jr. RB, Kasey Cooke OL-DT, Dan Favela S.

Outlook: St. Edward faces another lineup of larger players, but the Coalers lack the breakaway speed that Allen provides the Green Wave. Dibble is a downhill runner, who can make the one cut and get off the edge and has nearly run for 2,000 yards. But Micetich rarely throws. He had one pass in the opening round and threw only 62 on the year. The Green Wave offense has to deal with a Coal City defense that gives solid pursuit out of a three- or four-man line. Long and Mathena both weigh in more than 270 pounds and rotate in on the defensive line, in addition to playing full-time on offense. Mullen has completed 91-of-168 for 1,593 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and often goes to Trevor Loewen and Santos Gomez for big plays, Nick Duffy in the red zone, and Petey DeWindt to move the chains. The 21st century Green Wave passing attack is complemented by Allen, who is a big play waiting to happen with 1,547 rushing yards and 18 TD runs. St. Edward’s defense hasn’t received much notoriety, but 56 sacks shows the Green Wave can bring the heat. Much depends on if the St. Edward linemen can use their quickness to beat bigger blockers and tacklers at the point of attack.

It’s one feel-good story pitted against another when St. Edward tries to reach the state quarterfinals for the first time in history Saturday with a Class 4A second-round game against Coal City.

“I think we just need to go in with a chip on our shoulder again,” said St. Edward offensive and defensive lineman Kasey Cooke.

The Green Wave last week overcame the perception they played an easy schedule in a new, supposedly softer conference to go 10-0 for the first time in history, and did it by beating an established, physical, larger Alleman team.

In Saturday’s 2 p.m. home game, St. Edward again faces a team with a good size advantage from a small-school power conference, but also with a running back whose story tugs at heart strings.

Coal City senior running back Jack Dibble rushed for 1,926 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns after he overcame a torn anterior cruciate suffered in the fourth game his sophomore year and one in the other leg suffered starting his junior year.

“With a lot of kids, you never know how they’ll handle that, but he has worked his tail off to get back,” Coal City coach Len Onsen said.

Dibble benefits by running behind a line that includes 6-5, 285-pound Division 1 prospect Matt Long, 6-5, 275-pound Andrew Mathena and 6-4, 260-pound L.J. Lightner.

“Their back is tough,” St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. “He’s a real deal. He reminds us of some of the tough north-and-south running backs we’ve had in the past like (Jim) Mathisen and Moises Quiroga.

“The difference from Alleman is they run a lot out of different formations like we do, which is less predictable.”

St. Edward players feel they proved last week they can be plenty tough enough to stop power-style teams. The senior-dominated team traces this back to cutting their teeth in the Suburban Christian Conference.

“Definitely for us switching conferences this year a lot of people questioned our toughness,” St. Edward center/linebacker Chris Kelly said. “Our old conference was a physical conference.

“We’re a little bit of a smaller school and got beat up a bit in there, but we’re still a physical team. We can’t control the schedule we played against this year, but we beat teams we needed to beat. Riverside-Brookfield was a playoff team and we handled them pretty well. And then last week.”

St. Edward’s offense looks flashy and well-balanced with speedy junior Dwayne Allen running for 1,547 yards and quarterback Joe Mullen throwing for 1,593 yards.

Allen’s cutting, breakaway style may have made it easier for linemen to battle larger opponents.

“Dwayne is a great runner who reads it whichever way you go with a block,” Kelly said. “A lot of the plays we’re just trying to put a body on a body. We’re definitely not big enough where we can manhandle the kid we’re blocking. But we’re just trying to get angles and get out there quickly.

“He can hit that hole. We can then get on our horse and go try to block downfield on those really long runs where he cuts back.”

St. Edward has thrown 172 times and Coal City (8-2) just 62 times.

“Our passing game has been efficient, and sufficient,” Onsen said.

Rolando said the passing game against Alleman left room for improvement beyond a huge 27-yard TD pass sophomore receiver Trevor Loewen caught. St. Edward had just 87 passing yards.

“I don’t think we executed the way we normally do,” Rolando said. “They put a little extra pressure on us.

“We can play better offensively, so I would hope to see that.”

 

They seem to come at opposing defenses in waves.

 

Jerry Fitzpatrick

In a season of firsts for the St. Edward football team, this was the most important one yet.

This year's record-breaking squad was the first in program history to open a season with 6 straight wins, the first to finish a regular season undefeated and the first to win a title in the new Metro Suburban Conference.

Noteworthy achievements all, but they pale in comparison to Saturday's accomplishment at Greg True Field in Elgin, where the 2014 Green Wave became the first team in program history to win a home playoff game with a 31-12 victory over Rock Island Alleman.

The postseason win was the second for St. Edward since the IHSA initiated the state playoff system in 1974.

"We've been making history all year long," said defensive lineman Augustus Nottolini, a 5-foot-8, 178-pound defensive lineman who registered a sack and a tackle for loss. "It's just fantastic. It's the greatest feeling in the world."

The win means another first for the Wave: a second home playoff game in the same season. No. 2 St. Edward (10-0) will host No. 7 Coal City (8-2) next weekend, time to be determined. Coal City defeated Mendota 40-14 on Friday.

The victory meant vindication in a way for St. Edward, which played with a chip on its shoulder after facing only one playoff team during the season: Riverside-Brookfield.

"Everybody tells you your schedule is soft," coach Mike Rolando said. "We always thought our kids were good, but you never know how good. When we looked at (Alleman's) roster -- and their average lineman was 243 (pounds) and they range from 230 to 280 and their linebackers are 230 -- I really didn't think we'd be able to control the line of scrimmage. Or survive the line of scrimmage. And we dominated the line of scrimmage."

St. Edward outgained Alleman 369 total yards to 109. Offensively, running back Dwayne Allen, Jr., a 5-foot-8, 166-pound junior, ran for a career-high 288 yards on 24 carries, including touchdown runs of 75, 61 and 50 yards. It was the fourth time this season Allen has rushed for over 200 yards.

"I think they knew that we were going to run the ball a lot," Allen said. "We were ready for it and they were ready for it. We opened up with the passing game and when the passing game started slowing down, that's when we started running."

The impressive outing improved Allen's season totals to 1,541 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns in 181 attempts (8.5 avg.).

"He was one of the best we've seen all year, absolutely," Alleman senior linebacker Kier Murphy said. "He's a stud in the backfield. He can move around a lot. I'm looking forward to seeing what he has to do the rest of the season."

Allen opened the scoring with a 75-yard touchdown run with 4:24 left in the first quarter, but Western Big 6 tri-champion Alleman countered with a 35-yard touchdown pass from junior Kelan Whan to senior running back Kylee Dorsey, who was left uncovered on a blitz. St. Edward maintained a 7-6 lead when the extra point snap was bobbled.

St. Edward's next 2 possessions resulted in a missed a field goal and an interception at the Alleman 8-yard line by Whan.

The Green Wave broke through via a 1-play drive with 55 seconds left in the second quarter. Following a short punt, St. Edward quarterback Joe Mullen threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Loewen, who made the catch at the goal line. Joe French's extra point kick staked the Wave to a 14-6 lead.

Alleman muffed a third-quarter punt that Jake Harrington recovered at the Pioneer 26-yard line, but Zach Sheets intercepted a tipped Mullen pass to keep it an 8-point game.

However, the St. Edward defense held three-and-out, and Allen capitalized. After senior offensive lineman Dan Howell had to leave the field for one play due to blood on his jersey, defensive lineman Kasey Cooke entered at left tackle and Allen bounced a 33 lead to the outside of Cooke for a 61-yard touchdown and a 21-6 lead with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

"I just had to hook my guy and (Allen) bounced it out," Cooke said.

Alleman answered with another touchdown pass from Whan to Kylee Dorsey, this time for 27 yards, to pull the Pioneers within 21-12 with 9:44 left to play.

St. Edward went on to ice the game with 2 more scores. Joe French kicked a 39-yard field goal. Then, after Allen snared an interception on defense, he polished off possibly the most important victory in the history of Greg True Field with a 50-yard run up the right sideline.

Coordinator Marc Rusinko's St. Edward defense, led by linemen Nottolini, Cooke, Jake French and Josh Von Rohr, inside linebackers Chris Kelly and Jack Tierney and defensive back Danny Favela (2 PBU), forced 7 punts and grabbed 2 interceptions. They held the Alleman flexbone triple option to 42 yards rushing and 67 yards passing.

"They refused to let each other down. They wouldn't let us down," Rolando said. "They just focused on what their job was and they executed flawlessly on defense all day."

 

Gene Chamberlain

 

By Daniel Makarewicz, danmak@qconline.com | Updated 2 days ago

ELGIN -- Reflecting on a painful end to a game that offered so much promise, Alleman senior linebacker Kier Murphy pointed to five plays as the difference.

Elgin St. Edward capitalized on each of them.

"Those were daggers," Murphy said. "Those killed us."

Gaining 258 of their 368 yards on those five plays, the second-seeded Green Wave were able to frustrate an Alleman defense that was getting consistent stops. St. Edward scored on four of those plays and had the other set up a field goal, moments that eventually handed the 15th-seeded Pioneers a 31-12 loss in a Class 4A first-round playoff game at Greg True Field.

"Those five plays," Alleman senior defensive end Luke Saskowski said, "just killed our momentum and really made us suffer."

Before reaching that conclusion, Saskowski praised the Pioneers' overall defensive performance and pass coverage. Take away those five big plays, St. Edward (10-0) averaged 2.4 yards on its 46 snaps.

"A few broken plays made the difference," Saskowski said.

Dwayne Allen Jr. made the first one hurt, taking a delay handoff up the middle for a 75-yard touchdown with four minutes left in the first quarter. That was the first play of the St. Edward drive.

Alleman (5-5) offered its response early in the second quarter when Kylee Dorsey's caught a fourth-down, wheel-route pass from Kelan Whan and scored from 35 yards out. A bad snap on the extra point resulted in the holder being tackled, but the Pioneers were within 7-6.

The score remained the same as St. Edward started a drive at the Alleman 27 with 62 seconds left in the first half. Despite facing heavy defensive pressure, Joseph Mullen lofted a pass to his left that was caught in the end zone by Trevor Loewen. After the extra point, the Wave took a 14-6 lead into halftime.

"We wanted to finish hard," Allen said.

In the second half, St. Edward made sure the Pioneers were finished.

On the Wave's second possession, Allen took a first-down carry 61 yards for a touchdown and a 21-6 lead. After the Pioneers got within 21-12 on Dorsey's 27-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth, Allen's 45-yard run set up Joseph French's 37-yard field goal with 2:44 left and a 24-12 advantage.

Allen capped his 284-yard performance with a 50-yard touchdown run late in the contest. Take away his four attempts of 45 yards or more, Allen had 53 yards on 17 carries.

"My vision gets me most of my touchdowns," Allen said. "I know (the defense) flows to where I'm going, so the cutback is good. That's how I did it."

Alleman had Allen corralled on three of his long runs, but he changed direction, found a hole and bursted through it.

"He was one of the best (backs) we've seen all year," Murphy said. "He's a stud."

Despite the final score, the Pioneers did enough to stay in this contest. The problem was their offense could not sustain anything. St. Edward put 10 defenders in the box, including both safeties, to suffocate the Pioneers' rushing attack.

In 50 plays, Alleman had 106 yards. Sixty-two came on two pass plays to Dorsey.

"It seemed like every time we ran the ball, all 11 of them were at us," said Saskowski, who had 41 yards on 13 carries. "We ran it inside and outside, and they were there every time. You've got to give them props for that.

"It's like they knew our playbook."

Other than five plays, the Pioneers did the same to the St. Edward playbook.

"It hurts to play well," Murphy said, "but give up big plays and lose like that."

 

CLASS 4A

Rock Island Alleman (5-4) at St. Edward (9-0), 1 p.m. Saturday

Next up for winner: Mendota (6-3) or Coal City (7-2).

Key players: Rock Island Alleman — FB/DE Luke Saskowski, RB Kylee Dorsey; St. Edward — DL/LB Jake French, RB/CB Dwayne Allen.

Outlook: An intriguing, classic matchup. St. Edward is the passing team with a wide-open offense, undefeated but having faced only one playoff team. Alleman played a torturous schedule, has plenty of past playoff success, and relies on its defense and running game. Much for St. Edward will depend on whether defensive players like French (11 sacks), DT Dan Howell, LB Chris Kelly and DL Augie Nottolini can stand up to a bigger offensive line and Alleman’s wing-T attack, and whether the Green Wave offensive line can generate holes for Allen while keeping QB Joe Mullen clean against a 3-2/4-2 defensive alignment. A victory would be St. Edward’s first at home in the playoffs.

Another milestone?

St. Edward (9-0) wants to follow up its first perfect regular season and first Metro Suburban East title with the first home field playoff victory in school history Saturday against Alleman (5-4).

“They’ve been playing so far this year not to lose and to maintain that undefeated record and go 9-0,” coach Mike Rolando said. “That’s nice. But your season’s not over if you lose because 8-1 ain’t that bad.

“But if we lose now, the season’s over. The kids need to know they have to come out and play like they haven’t yet this year, and be at an added level of intensity and physicality because that’s what the playoffs take.”

The Green Wave’s other homefield playoff game still stings Rolando. In 2010, they were a 28-yard Mark Olenek field goal from the win.

St. Edward senior quarterback Joe Mullen and coach Mike Rolando seem to have found that ideal place all coaches and their signal callers seek to attain.

The goal is for the quarterback to know the offense so well that the two seem to read each other’s mind.

Mullen’s 25 touchdown passes to three interceptions over his last eight games testify to his talent level and mastery of Rolando’s offense, as the Green Wave (9-0) head into Saturday’s Class 4A home playoff game (1 p.m.) against perennial state power Rock Island Alleman (5-4).

“It’s like having my eyes out there on the field,” Rolando said. “He knows why I called a certain play, why we ran a certain motion, which route might be a dummy route to run some guys off and which one we’re trying to hit, and which defensive guy we’re trying to fool. All of those things Joe and I have been on the same page with.

“We went into the season opener and we were able to run our entire offense out of no-huddle if we wanted to. For us, that’s definitely a first. That’s rare, but Joe’s talent level is very rare.”

The 6-2, 190-pound Mullen has played with the varsity since his sophomore year, but became first-team quarterback last year after an early-season battle with Bryan O’Neill. He completed 58-of-120 for 957 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions then.

After a torrid finish to this regular season — 18 TD passes and one interception the last five games — Mullen is 83-off-148 for 1,526 yards with 25 TD passes and six interceptions. Thanks to this, and running back Dwayne Allen’s 1,253 rushing yards, St. Edward averages 42.7 points per game.

“The whole thing about this offense is it’s so well-balanced that we can run it to open up the pass or pass to open up the run,” Mullen said.

Mullen has a lot to do with the balance. He favors no one receiver.

Four Green Wave receivers have between 13 and 22 catches. Nick Duffy, at 6-4, has emerged the top possession receiver with 22 catches and 299 yards, but Petey DeWindt has 18 catches and 248 yards. Santos Gomez (13-280) and Trevor Loewen (16-432) are the big-play guys.

“It’s all just pre-snap reads (of the defense) which one of them I want to go to; if I want to go to Nick and use his height, or Trevor’s speed,” Mullen said. “Coach Ro is good at making the offense adjust to what the defense is showing us.”

Rolando recalled his own quarterback experience at Larkin under former coach Bob Krieger, and the advantage once his own understanding of the offense became a strength.

“We only had one year together and I was very inefficient at first, but about the middle of the year we started getting on the same page and he had me audible many different calls by the playoffs,” Rolando said. “When you can be a quarterback and you’re able to look at the defense and say I’m going to something else that will work better, that’s a pretty powerful thing.

“Most of the time high school defenses are probably not going to change out of what they’ve called.”

Whether St. Edward can operate this way and beat an Alleman team that defeated four teams with enrollments of 1,353 or more is the question.

“I think we have a monumental task in facing Alleman,” Rolando said. “That’s a seasoned team that’s been to state.

“We know we have our work cut out for us, but we think we’re a pretty good football team, too.”

Class 4A
1. Rockford Lutheran (10) (9-0) 135 1
2. Phillips (2) (8-1) 115 3
3. Rochester (2) (7-2)  111 2
4. Greenville (9-0)  94  4
5. St. Edward  (9-0) 55  8
6. Carterville  (9-0) 46  9
(tie) Manteno  (8-1) 46  5
8. Bishop McNamara  (6-3) 45  10
9. Herrin  (8-1) 42  7
10. Quincy Notre Dame (7-2) 39  6

Others receiving votes: Columbia 26, Johnsburg 5, Althoff 5, Canton 3, Dixon 2, Alleman 1.

Big play Wave

St. Edward’s passing attack has featured numerous receivers catching passes from Joseph Mullen, but the player who has emerged as a threat after being an unknown early is sophomore Trevor Loewen.

“He’s a big-play guy,” coach Mike Rolando said. “Nick Duffy and Petey DeWindt have been more the possession guys, but Trevor and Santos (Gomez) have been big-play types. Trevor’s playing time really increased when we lost Danny (Favela) to injury for a while or he would have been rotating in.

“He’s really blossomed and he’s still a young player.”

Loewen finished the regular season averaging 27.0 yards per catch. He had 16 receptions, half of which went for touchdowns, and 432 yards. Gomez had 13 catches for 280 yards and four TDs.

The Green Wave (9-0) host Rock Island Alleman (5-4) at 1 p.m. Satuday at Greg True Field in the 4A playoffs.

Saturday's announcement of the IHSA football playoff pairings left four area teams elated, two dejected.

Everyone wearing St. Edward green and gold sported a broad smile at Danny's on Douglas, a pizzeria in downtown Elgin where approximately 100 members of the St. Edward football community gathered in front of a big screen to find out which opponent the Green Wave would draw in the wake of a 9-0 regular season.

The crowd erupted in cheers when St. Edward was named the No. 2 seed of the 16 teams in the northern half the of Class 4A bracket. The Green Wave will square off against No. 15 Rock Island Alleman, a 5-4 team that finished in a three-way tie for the Western Big 6 Conference title with Galesburg and Quincy.

Alleman, which owns five state runner-up trophies, reached a 4A semifinal last season before bowing out to eventual state champion Rochester, 46-21. The Pioneers are 32-19 all-time in the postseason.

"I think it's going to be a really good football game. They've got a great history," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "They've been in the playoffs the last four years. We've made the playoffs four of the last six years, but we're still relatively new to it. I think we have a good football team and we have a lot of weapons. We're excited to have a home game and play in front of our crowd."

The second home playoff game in St. Edward history will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Rolando said winning at least one playoff game is the primary goal. That may seem like a low bar for a 9-0 team, but St. Edward's all-time postseason record is 1-4.

"We don't want to look too far ahead, just take one game at a time," St. Edward senior wide receiver Nick Duffy said. "We'll just focus on Rock Island."

St. Edward was ousted in the first round last year after a 40-22 loss on a wet field in Harvard.

"Obviously, we want to go as far as we can, definitely farther than last year," St. Edward sack leader Josh Von Rohr said. "We'll try our best. There are some tough teams out there."

Elsewhere, the area's other undefeated team, Cary-Grove, earned the No. 1 seed of 16 teams in the northern bracket of Class 7A. The Trojans will host No. 16 Niles North (5-4). That's bad news for the Vikings since Cary-Grove has won a first-round playoff game every year since 2004.

The winner moves on to play the winner of No. 9 St. Charles North (7-2) at No. 8 Rolling Meadows (7-2). If Cary-Grove makes a deep playoff run as expected, the Trojans potentially could face No. 4 Geneva in a quarterfinal and No. 2 Highland Park (9-0) or No. 3 Addison Trail (8-1) in a semifinal, if seeds hold.

In Class 8A, Huntley (8-1) returns to the playoffs for the second time in three years under coach John Hart. Seeded No. 7 of the 16 teams in the northern half of the bracket, the Red Raiders will host No. 10 Palatine (7-2).

The winner of that game gets the winner of No. 15 Fremd (6-3) vs. No. 2 Glenbard West (9-0). Coach Chad Hetlet's Hilltoppers reached a Class 7A semifinal last season. They won Class 7A in 2012.

In Class 5A, Burlington Central (6-3) earned the No. 7 seed of 16 schools in the top half of the bracket, which means the Rockets get a first-round home game despite only 6 wins. It will be the school's first playoff game on Rocket Hill since 2006.

Central, making its 16th playoff appearance and first since 2011, is matched up against No. 10 Sterling (6-3). The Golden Warriors, making their 27th postseason appearance, are 16-26 all-time in the postseason.

Not every team was left smiling Saturday. Statewide, four teams with 5-4 records and at least 39 playoff points (combined wins by opponents) were left out of the tournament, including Jacobs.

Another six schools with 5-4 records and 38 playoff points were also left out of the dance. South Elgin was among that group. The threshold last season was 36 points. It was 38 points in 2012.

For Jacobs, not making the playoff means the end of two streaks. The Golden Eagles has reached the postseason four straight years since coach Bill Mitz took over the program.

For Mitz, a hall-of-famer who made the playoffs 21 straight years as the coach at Stevenson, it means the end of a 25-year streak of consecutive playoff appearances.

"That part's not important," Mitz said of the personal streak. "I just feel terrible for our kids. (Friday) night, the bus ride home (after a win at McHenry) was very exciting. The kids were looking at those stupid iPhones and saw that St. Charles East won, Barrington won. With 39 points I thought for sure we were a lock. We looked at it (the IHSA website) in the morning and started thinking about possible matchups. Then we went back and looked at it later and thought, ‘Oh my God, we might not make it.'

"It's tough. It's tough. I feel bad for the kids."

VIDEO RECAP LINK

http://bcove.me/wiv50dzx

 

The St. Edward football family -- players, coaches, parents, administrators and alumni -- lingered so long on Elmwood Park's field celebrating the completion of the first 9-0 regular season in the program's 71-year history that the host school finally turned out the lights.

Earlier, the Green Wave turned out the lights on Elmwood Park with a 54-14 win.

"Our coaches asked us at the beginning of the year on our seven-on-seven trip down to Washington (Ill.), what do you want to do this year, what do you want to accomplish?" said senior Jake French, who notched 2 sacks. "We all said 9-0. They said if you guys work for it, you can do it. And we did it."

With the victory St. Edward (9-0, 5-0) wins the Metro Suburban Conference's East Division outright in its first year in the league.

"It's the greatest feeling on earth," said senior quarterback Joe Mullen, who completed 6 of 10 passes for 129 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Elmwood Park (2-7, 1-4) caught the Green Wave off guard on the first play of the game with a trick play. Quarterback Jason Polito-Carlson threw a lateral pass to Dominic Cadetto. With several Green Wave defenders closing in, Cadetto threw a double pass to wide open receiver Julian Moscatello for a 69-yard completion to the St. Edward 1-yard line. Brandon Romero scored on a 1-yard run 2 plays later to give the Tigers a very short-lived 7-0 lead.

St. Edward lost a fumble on its first possession, but the defense held and the Green Wave responded with 54 unanswered points. St. Edward led 47-7 at halftime.

"It was just a minor setback for 30 seconds and then we came out and played football the way we're supposed to," coach Mike Rolando said.

Mullen directed the attack by throwing touchdown passes to Trevor Loewen (22 yards), Dwayne Allen, Jr. (27 yards), Santos Gomez (48 yards) and Nick Duffy (16 yards).

Allen, who carried the ball 9 times for 77 yards, staked St. Edward to a 15-7 lead with a 13-yard run followed by his 2-point conversion run.

Senior running back Santos Gomez provided the highlight of the night with a zigzagging 39-yard touchdown romp that featured two cutbacks. His big run was part of an attack that outgained the Tigers 316 total yards to 117.

"Luckily, my offense kept blocking," Gomez said. "I couldn't have done it without them."

Finishing a regular season 9-0 is a far cry from Rolando's first two seasons as St. Edward's coach in 2005 and 2006, when his teams did not win a game.

"They've truly embraced the team concept, which has allowed them in my mind to overachieve with undersized guys at a lot of positions," Rolando said. "It's a special time for them. I'm just proud of them."

Friday’s Metro Suburban East game at Elmwood Park marked the possibility of a number of firsts for St. Edward.

A first undefeated regular season in school history, the first conference title since 2010, and a title in the first year of its new conference were all on the line.

“I’m so proud of these kids — they’ve got a good vibe,’’ St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. “They’re playing for each other, unselfish, no matter who it is, they’re out there cheering for them and have overachieved.’’

“We talk about the old days, the guys that came before them, laid the bricks for this program, and this day is for them.’’

The Green Wave owned the day, defeating the Tigers 54-14.

“It hit me and everyone else in the offseason, that we had it,’’ St. Edward quarterback Joseph Mullen said. “It was then I knew and said that we’re going undefeated. To do it, though, is really awesome.’’

Elmwood Park came out strong, throwing a 68-yard double pass on the first play of the game, scoring two plays later, and then promptly recovering a St. Edward turnover.

“We knew they were going to try some trick plays,’’ Rolando said. “We had six guys around the guy who threw the ball but it was just a minor setback.’’

But that’s where the good news ended for Elmwood Park (2-7, 1-4).

St. Edward (9-0, 5-0) forced a three-and-out on the Tigers’ next possession and scored in three plays. The Green Wave then scored on their next seven possessions, each of which started no deeper than the St. Edward 45-yard line. Four started at the Elmwood Park 37 or closer.

Mullen, who would finish with 156 yards on 7-of-11 passing, threw all four of his touchdowns in the first half.

“The line, receivers and Dwayne Allen are what drive this offense,’’ Mullen said. “There’s a reason he’s the rushing leader in the area, and he just makes it that much easier for me to pass.’’

The Green Wave wouldn’t need much of Allen as he rushed only six times for 53 yards and a touchdown. He also had one of Mullen’s four passing TDs.

While the offense gets all of the accolades, the Green Wave defense has been stout. The defense has shut out or kept its opponents in single digits five times this season.

After Elmwood Park’s first drive, the St. Edward defense stiffened and held the Tiger offense to negative 20-yards and no first downs.

Santos Gomez added two TDs, while Brandon Romero’s 1-yard run and a 6-yard pass from Xavier Vega to Jesus Carrillo accounted for the Elmwood Park scoring.

“For something like this to happen, everything had to bounce the right way and for us they did,’’ Rolando said. “We won the games we were supposed to, showed up in the games that were tight and won, and set this up to be a magical season.’’

St. Edward (8-0, 4-0) at Elmwood Park (2-6, 1-3), 7:15 p.m. Friday

Last year: Did not play.

Key players: St. Edward — WR Trevor Loewen, WR/DB Santos Gomez. Elmwood Park — RB/LB Ernest Deangelo, DB Corey Simmons.

Outlook: Coming off 35-14 win over Walther Christian, Elmwood has struggled defensively against run, but has plenty of speed on offense. Look for Green Wave to hand it to area rushing leader Dwayne Allen Jr. early and often, then tune up passing game for playoffs. St. Edward’s defense has turned it around, allowing only six points combined for three teams after giving up 21 to Guerin to open conference.

The Perfect Wave

Metro Suburban East champion St. Edward can complete the first perfect regular season in school history by winning at Elmwood Park, and 10th-year coach Mike Rolando can’t help but think back to where it all started.

The Green Wave went 0-9 his first two years.

“It’s kind of surreal to think of 9-0,” Rolando said. “At the beginning, those first years, people didn’t think we could win any games let alone make the playoffs.”

St. Edward’s depth and secondary gets a boost this week with senior defensive back Dan Favela returning.

“What a tough year he’s had, with appendicitis, then he fractured a toe, had a sprained ankle and then a hand fracture,” Rolando said. “Now he’s healed. It gives us another bigger (6-1) athlete in the secondary and allows us to give Santos Gomez and Dwayne Allen, who also play on offense, some rest.”

With standout freshman running back Dwayne Allen filling up the stat sheet every week opponents are already well aware of St. Edward's ability to run the ball. However, it's easy to fall into the trap of overlooking the Green Wave's passing game.

That passing attack was on full display Friday night at Greg True Field in Elgin. Quarterback Joe Mullen threw for 365 yards and 5 touchdowns to lead the Green Wave to a 45-6 Metro Suburban East win over Chicago Christian. St. Edward (8-0, 4-0) is now just one win away from its first unbeaten regular season. The eight wins ties a school record set in 1978 and 2010. The Green Wave also clinched at least a share of the Metro East title, their first conference title since 1978.

"Every week the pressure builds a little more to keep the undefeated season going," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "But the kids continue to respond and I have been really impressed with the way they keep their focus."

Mullen had touchdown tosses of 27, 64, 63, 68, and 11 yards. He hooked up with Nick Duffy on the Green Wave's first possession for a 27-yard strike to open the scoring. Then he found Santos Gomez deep for 64 yards on the second possession to make it 14-0.

"In getting prepared for the game we thought they would probably be geared up to stop the run," Rolando said. "So we wanted to come out ready to throw. We are a very well-rounded team and Joe is a good passer, so if the passes are there we are not going to hesitate to throw it. Everybody in the passing game did a great job tonight. The line did an excellent job of protecting, and the receivers did a great job of getting open, and Joe was on target."

Mullen completed 15 of 19 attempts.

"It's amazing what having a running back like Dwayne does for the rest of the offense," said Mullen of Allen, who had 93 yards on 17 carries. "Other teams come in planning around stopping him and that just opens up the passing game for us. We were going to take whatever the defense gave us and today they gave us the pass. And the O- line did an amazing job to give us time to throw That's the only way this is able to happen."

Sophomore Trevor Loewen was Mullen's favorite deep target with long bombs of 63 and 68 yards for touchdowns in the first half. St. Edward led 31-6 at the half. Loewen finished with 6 receptions for 194 yards.

"I did a lot of offseason work with Joe," said Loewen. "So we have a good feel for one another. And we have so many other guys on our offense that can make plays it just takes the pressure off and gives everyone a lot of opportunities."

Mullen added an 11 yard touchdown pass to John deWindt on the first possession of the third quarter. Later in the fourth M. Dziurgot ran for a 2-yard touchdown.

On defense the Green Wave held the Knights to just 130 total yards. Josh Von Rohr had a pair of sacks and Saveon Smith had an interception.

St. Edward quarterback Joe Mullen and his receiving corps lit up the Friday night sky in Elgin.

Mullen connected with Nick Duffy and Santos Gomez once and Trevor Loewen twice on touchdown passes before halftime, giving the unbeaten Green Wave control of a game they never relinquished.

St. Edward’s 45-6 win over visiting Chicago Christian maintained the Green Wave’s unbeaten season record and clinched their first Metro Suburban East title.

St. Edward (8-0, 4-0) led 31-6 at halftime, with Mullen racking up more than 250 yards passing. The senior found John deWindt in the second half to finish with five touchdown passes and 360 yards passing on 15-for-19.

Mullen applauded his offensive line and tipped his hat to running back Dwayne Allen Jr., who finished with 91 yards rushing and went into Friday’s game with 1,075 yards and an 8.1 yards-per-carry average.

“Having a back like Dwayne is amazing,” Mullen said. “Teams game plan against him and he’s unselfish. He doesn’t mind not carrying the ball forty times and he opened up the passing game.”

St. Edward led 14-0 after one quarter on a 27-yard TD pass from Mullen to Duffy and a 64-yard TD reception by Santos Gomez.

Chicago Christian (4-4, 2-2) got a 25-yard TD pass from quarterback Christian Bolhuis to Nathan Wigboldy in the second quarter, but Mullen found Loewen on TD passes of 64 and 68 yards to take a 31-6 halftime lead.

“I knew that if I could get by (the Knights’ defense), they wouldn’t be able to catch up with me,” Loewen said. “The line was giving (Mullen) a lot of time and Joe delivered the ball to me in good spots.”

Loewen finished with 186 yards receiving.

“We haven’t faced a good passing team like (St. Edward) this year, and it showed,” Jim Bolhuis said. “We were tough in certain cases but it was spotty.

“Our running back (Colby Rountree) has had some really good games but when teams key on him, we need to have a next step. We got some other people involved, but we couldn’t match that success with the stops we needed.”

St. Edward got a late 11-yard TD run from Mike Dziurgot, but it was the passing attack that owned the night.

“Six of our eight games have been in the rain and Dwayne has been running the ball great,” St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. “But [Friday] Joe was really on and the offensive line was fantastic.”

Chicago Christian (3-4, 2-1) at St. Edward (7-0, 3-0)

When/where: today at 7 p.m. at Greg True Field

Last year: St. Edward 53, Chicago Christian 6

Last week: Chicago Christian 38, Elmwood Park 34; St. Edward 38, Ridgewood 0

Outlook: St. Edward, the No. 8 team in Class 4A according to the latest poll by The Associated Press, seeks to tie a school record while improving its playoff seed. A victory would tie the record of 8 wins in a single season, previously achieved in 1978 (8-1) and 2010 (8-3). A win would also clinch at least a share of the Metro Suburban East title. The Green Wave face a Chicago Christian squad fighting to remain in the playoff hunt. The Knights must defeat St. Edward and Guerin (3-4) to be considered at 5-4. They enter the weekend with 29 playoff points. "They are a strong group with a lot of personal desire to make the playoffs," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said of the Knights. "It's high school sports; teams can play above their ability when they're playing for each other and a common goal like making the playoffs and knocking off a 7-0 team. They have a lot of reasons to play inspired football. We've stressed to our kids we have to match the level of intensity Chicago Christian will bring." It'll be a tall task for the Knights to upset St. Edward based on recent results. Two weeks ago Chicago Christian lost to Ridgewood, 24-14. St. Edward defeated Ridgewood 38-0 last week.

Next week: Chicago Christian at Guerin (3-4); St. Edward at Elmwood Park (1-6)

Chicago Christian (3-4, 2-1) at St. Edward (7-0, 3-0), 7 p.m. Friday

Last year: St. Edward 53, Chicago Christian 6.

Key players: Chicago Christian — QB Christian Bolhuis, RB Colby Roundtree. St. Edward — RB Dwayne Allen Jr., DL Jake French.

Outlook: St. Edward is in pursuit of its first perfect regular season and takes the first Metro Suburban East title with a victory. Chicago Christian comes in off a 38-34 win over Elmwood Park, and has an offense that relies almost solely on the run. Roundtree, who averages 132.3 yards, is the running threat. Bolhuis is a threat running the read option. The Wave defense could be in line for a third straight shutout win because this opponent scored just 14 against the Ridgewood team St. Edward beat 38-0 last Friday.

Title Wave

St. Edward coach Mike Rolando had called his team’s offensive effort in last week’s second half “a little bit sloppy” despite the 38-0 win over Ridgewood.

Cleaning up execution in the passing game will be a goal against Chicago Christian as the Green Wave attempts to clinch the first title in the new Metro Suburban East at home Friday.

The blocking was there all game last week, even if the second-half points weren’t.

“The O-line really impresses me week in and week out,” said Rolando, whose team was ranked eighth in this week’s AP Class 4A poll. “Regardless of who’s getting the ball we’re gaining yards — and we’ve got a little bit of an undersized line but they’re doing a great job.”

Anticipate St. Edward’s defense playing a five-man line against a team that relies greatly on the run.

The Green Wave used an extra defender up front in Week 7 and held Ridgewood to one first down in recording a second straight shutout.

“Depending on the team we’re playing, on what they run, we can go with a five or a four,” Rolando said of the line. “It’s back and forth for us.”

Josh Von Rohr, St. Edward: This 6-foot-1, 185-pound defensive end terrorized Ridgewood's offense throughout a 38-0 homecoming victory. The senior led undefeated St. Edward to its seventh win and second straight shutout with a season-high 9 tackles. Von Rohr registered 3 sacks, increasing his team-best total to 10.

 

Unbeaten St. Edward has piled up some pretty big numbers in its run to the top of the Metro Suburban East, but in Friday night’s 38-0 victory over Ridgewood, the low numbers were more impressive.

Thanks to a speedy front led by linemen Josh Van Rohr and Jake French, St. Edward (7-0, 3-0) met its biggest conference challenge of the season by limiting the Rebels (3-4, 2-1) to one first down and 27 yards of offense while recording a second straight shutout.

“We’re not the biggest team around so we strive at working on speed more than power,” said French, after the Green Wave piled up four sacks and held Ridgewood rushing threat Chris Serna to 38 yards on 10 attempts.

“We’re doing really good with the five-man front,” Van Rohr said. “I think coach did a good job with that, and Jake French can really shoot through those gaps while the other linemen take up some room.”

There was no running room for Rebel backs, and Ridgewood quarterback Chris Jacobsen completed only 3-for21 for zero yards before leaving in the second half following a big hit.

“A lot of what we do is based on our ability to run and kind of open up the passing game, but their D-line was doing a great job and we weren’t able to get that running game going,” Ridgewood coach Chris Zack said.

St. Edward broke out a new set of black and neon yellow uniforms for homecoming, and looked energized early on offense by the wardrobe change, marching to touchdowns on the second, third and fourth possessions behind Dwayne Allen Jr.

The junior running back had 175 yards on 16 carries and rushing TDs of 40 and 62 yards. He also flashed in the passing game by turning a swing pass into a 35-yard TD. His 40-yard twisting run gave St. Edward a 7-0 lead.

The Green Wave also had a 5-yard TD run by linebacker-turned-tailback Jack Tierney in their elephant power package.

“The O-line really impresses me week in and week out,” coach Mike Rolando said. “Regardless of who’s getting the ball, we’re gaining yards. We’ve got a little bit of an undersized line but I thought we responded to a pretty good test, especially early.”

Green Wave quarterback Joe Mullin went 14-for-30 for 152 yards and two TDs. Besides the one to Allen, he threw a 22-yard lob on fourth-and-2 that 6-4 tight end Nick Duffy stole out of defensive back Mike Ortiz’s hands before falling into the end zone 3:19 before halftime. That made it 32-0.

Special teams got in on the effort, as well. Jake French blocked a punt and recovered at the 7 to set up a 23-yard Joe French field goal halfway through the second quarter for a 24-0 lead.

“I honestly think that was just another play that just happened to happen,” Jake French said. “I think I got lucky.”

They got lucky again a minute later when the snap went over the head of Rebels punter Max Kalynyuk, and he took an intentional grounding in the end zone for safety and 26-0 Wave lead.

St. Edward can lock up its first conference football title since 1948 by beating Chicago Christian Friday at home.

“It is fantastic to see our team coming together and getting it done,” Jake French said.

 

As the St. Edward football team gets to rewrite history every week with win after win that inches the Green Wave closer to its 9-0 goal, head coach Mike Rolando learns something new about his team each week.

For the second-straight week of scoreless football and third time this season, the Wave (7-0, 3-0) tossed out possibly is toughest competition to date -- Ridgewood -- 38-0 at Greg True Field Friday in Elgin in Metro Suburban East action.

In this case, a potent run game by Ridgewood (3-4, 2-1) was held to 30 yards while its pass dipped into the negatives (-11 yards) to total just 19 yards of offense with only 1 first down to show. All this by 5-man defensive front headlined by Josh Von Rohr, Jake French, Chris Kelly and Augustus Nottolini that held the Rebels to an 0-for-12 mark on drives, their deepest reaching the Wave 18 in the first half via a kickoff return.

"You never know what you got when your winning games like this, you keep waiting for that test and I thought tonight was a pretty good test and our kids responded real well early," Rolando said. "We were real concerned about their running game. They ran the ball real well in the games we saw on film. We put five guys on the line and I don't think the linebackers had to clean up much. I think the D-line got to all those tackles."

The front 5 made the big plays and dominated the interior consistently as Von Rohr notched a sack for a three-and-out on the game's first drive while Kelly and French pressured Ridgewood quarterback Chris Jacobsen and running back Chris Serna relentlessly. French's blocked punt that he recovered at the Rebels' 5-yard line set up his brother Joe French's 23-yard field goal to put St. Edward up 24-0 with 6 minutes to go in the second quarter. Serna rushed just 11 times for 38 yards and Jacobsen was pulled at half.

"We knew they were pretty athletic on the D-line, we've gone against some pretty big schools so far and been able to handle them pretty well," said Rebels coach Chris Zack. "I think we were a little caught off guard with a little bit of their quickness on the interior D-line."

The Wave's pressure also forced a safety when Ridgewood botched a snap on a punt and threw the ball out of bounds in the end zone.

"Every week we try to improve and we watch film and we see how is this offense different from the last one, how can we adapt to it and we're really doing well with the 5-man front, I think coach did a great job with that," Von Rohr said. "(French) can really shoot through those gaps while other linemen pickup some room."

"I just think that was just another play that happened, I think I got lucky," French said. "I think what really made our defense tonight was everyone coming together, pulling ourselves up and stopping them whatever chance we got to. We're not the biggest team around but we strive on working on speed and more than power. "

Talk about speed. Don't forget about Dwayne Allen, who ran 17 times for 185 yards with touchdown runs of 40 and 70 yards. He also added 2 catches for 48 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown reception where he broke a tackle in the early part of the second quarter. St. Edward moved the ball on offense efficiently in the first half scoring 32 points. That included Jack Tierney's 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead and Nick Duffy's (6 catches, 75 yards) sort-of-miracle catch where he wrestled the pass away from Ridgewood's Mike Ortiz at the goal line to make it 32-0. Joe Mullen went 15-for-32 for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Wave piled up 458 yards of offense.

Ridgewood (3-3, 2-0) at St. Edward (6-0, 2-0), 7 p.m. Friday

Last year: Did not play.

Key players: Ridgewood — LB Seth Krueger, RB Chris Serna. St. Edward — LB Jack Tierney, TE Nick Duffy.

Outlook: It’s a battle for first place in the Metro Suburban East, with the winner a strong favorite to take the title. St. Edward’s defense has to worry about a Ridgewood attack that spreads out teams and runs inside with Serna, who reminds Green Wave coach Mike Rolando of Riverside-Brookfield’s explosive Matt Chapp. Alex Rice is another running threat for Ridgewood, which lost to bigger schools Fenton, Niles West and Glenbard South. St. Edward linebackers Chris Kelly and Jack Tierney will be challenged to control the line against a bigger unit than they’ve been used to facing.

Ridgewood (3-3, 2-0) at St. Edward (6-0, 2-0)

When/where: today at 7 p.m. at Greg True Field

Watch: Streaming broadcast via highschoolcube can be seen at football.dailyherald.com

Last week: Ridgewood 24, Chicago Christian 14; St. Edward 61, Walther Christian 0

Outlook: With a playoff berth secured, St. Edward seeks to improve its postseason seed and put a stranglehold on first place in the Metro Suburban Conference's East Division with a homecoming victory. The Green Wave and the Rebels are tied atop the MSC East standings. "I think they're pretty good," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "I compare them a lot to Riverside-Brookfield. They're a school twice our size and they have some big, tough kids, especially up front. They have a really good running game and some good athletes on defense. It's a guessing game as to what they'll try to take away defensively. Our job is to figure that out and find a way to be successful." The Rebels may load the box to try to take away St. Edward junior running back Dwayne Allen, who has rushed for 891 yards and 12 touchdowns in 115 attempts (7.7 avg.). If so, it could give quarterback Joe Mullen a chance to add to his totals of 845 yards and 14 touchdowns on 47-of-86 passing. Mullen's top targets have been Trevor Loewen (10 rec., 230 yards, 5 TD), Nick Duffy (11 rec., 157 yards, 5 TD) and Santos Gomez (7 rec., 155 yards, 2 TD). Offensively, the Rebels ran the ball successfully last week with senior Chris Serna and sophomore Alex Rice combining to rush for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Next week: Guerin (2-4) at Ridgewood; Chicago Christian (2-4) at St. Edward

Tinkering Wave

St. Edward coach Mike Rolando gave a tip of the cap to defensive coordinator Marc Rusinko for an early tweak after Walther Christian started with a few first downs. The Green Wave (6-0, 2-0) went on to a 61-0 rout.

“He made a slight adjustment with our linebackers when they were able to get a couple things done,” Rolando said. “I think that’s something coach Marc does real well is make adjustments, whether at halftime, in the first quarter or after we see a couple things happening that we weren’t expecting. The ACC game last year comes to mind. We gave up 124 yards the first quarter and negative yards the rest of the game.”

St. Edward plays its biggest game of the year — and its homecoming game — Friday against Ridgewood (3-3, 2-0).

“They’ve got alomst twice as many kids as we do,” Rolando said. “It’s not going to be easy.”

 

In the 71 years that St. Edward has played football, there have been more days the Green Wave tried to forget than there have been days to remember.

Saturday will most certainly go down as one to remember.

The fact the Green Wave rolled to a 61-0 Metro Suburban East win over Walther Christian in Melrose Park was almost secondary to the real accomplishments on a bitterly cold and rainy early October afternoon. Not only did St. Edward secure a playoff bid for the second-straight year and the fourth time in 10 seasons under coach Mike Rolando, but the Green Wave also became the first team in the history of the program to go 6-0.

"I guess its just a culmination of a lot of hard work and a lot of good people," said Rolando, well after his team and the decent number of fans who braved the elements had finished their celebration.

"You think of all the people who put so much into this. It's a great community. It's a football community and that's what makes this program what it is. I'm really happy for the kids right now and I'm happy to hear from all the alumni. They're proud of the way the program's being rebuilt and where it's at right now."

Where the program is right now is poised to win a conference championship possibly for the first time, or at least since 1978 when the Wave went 8-1 in the old West Suburban Catholic. Wins the next two weeks over Ridgewood and Chicago Christian would send St. Edward (6-0, 2-0) to the Class 4A playoffs as a conference representative for the first time. Then, a win over Elmwood Park in Week 9, would cap off the best regular season in school history.

But, wait, says Rolando. Next week is all that matters right now.

"The kids all along have had pretty lofty goals," Rolando said. "They've had a goal of being 9-0 but we slow them down and take them week by week. They know Ridgewood is probably the biggest one they have left. Right now it's the biggest game in school history and the biggest game in their history. It's a homecoming game and we won't have any trouble getting up for this game. They know how huge this one is. You can't get to 8 and 9 if you don't get 7. They'll show up and they'll be excited."

Getting win No. 6 was about as easy as the final score would indicate, as the Green Wave scored the most points in any game records are available for, eclipsing the 60 they put up against Wheaton Academy last year.

St. Edward scored on all eight of its possessions in the first half, rolling up 54 of its points in the first 24 minutes, mercifully evoking the running clock rule in the second half. And after last week's slow start against Guerin, getting out of the gates quickly Saturday was the main focus all week.

"All week Coach Ro had us going through a bunch of drills because we started out flat against Guerin and we didn't want to do that today," said senior quarterback Joe Mullen, who got the second half off after going 8-for-10 for 167 yards and 4 touchdowns in the first half.

"We came out focused and ready. The whole team was ready and we brought our A game today."

Senior Nick Duffy started the scoring when he caught a 29-yard TD pass from Mullen on the third play of the game. Then Mullen hooked up with sophomore Trevor Loewen (3 catches, 65 yards) for a 12-yard scoring pass. Junior Dwayne Allen (4 carries, 99 yards) scored the next 2 TDs, from 19 yards out and 22 yards. and the Green Wave had a 28-0 lead before the hot chocolate could get cold.

"Having a great back like Dwayne helps and we can also open up a lot of stuff in the package," Mullen said.

Senior Jon deWindt caught a 12-yard TD pass from Mullen, Allen ran in from 52 yards away, Loewen caught a 41-yarder for a score and junior Patrick Brown went in from 23 yards out. Senior Joe French made 6 of 8 PAT kicks and it was 54-0 at halftime.

Junior Aaron Jefferson's 5-yard TD run with 7:57 left in the third quarter made it 9 possessions and 9 touchdowns for the Wave, who only had to run 31 offensive plays the entire game. The running clock limited the second half to a total of 32 plays combined.

St. Edward ran for 153 yards on the day and had 313 total yards to 184 for the Broncos (0-6, 0-2). Walther sophomore Jaylen Pugh did have a big game with 147 yards rushing on 24 carries. The St. Edward defense, though, only let Walther into the red zone once -- on the final possession of the game -- and the Broncos only penetrated St. Edward territory three times all day.

And the postgame celebration gave everyone clad in green and gold a great sense of pride and accomplishment.

"To finally be the first team to go 6-0 is just so meaningful," said Mullen. "I just want to thank everybody -- the fans, and the coaching staff for giving us this opportunity It's been a great time. It really has.

"Coach Ro and the coaching staff ... we treat every game like it's the Super Bowl so next week we want to carry it over and go 7-0."

 

St. Edward players shouted and sang the fight song after drubbing Walther Christian on the road 61-0 Saturday to become the first 6-0 team in school history, but the real celebrating occurred several minutes earlier.

That was during the fourth quarter when the Green Wave’s David Groves caused a fumble and teammate Patrick Brown recovered for the fifth forced turnover of the game by St. Edward’s defense. The noise on the sideline hit its highest decibel level at that moment.

“We were all really excited because coach promised us burritos if we got five turnovers,” defensive captain Chris Kelly said. “We all wanted some hot burritos after a nice, cold day out here.”

St. Edward played like a hungry team from the very start, which hadn’t occurred the previous week when the Green Wave (6-0, 2-0) fell behind Guerin 13-0 before winning 38-21.

The Green Wave piled up a 47-0 lead by halftime and had a running clock the entire second half, as quarterback Joe Mullen threw four TD passes to help the Green Wave secure a playoff berth.

“I think we kind of overlooked Guerin,” Kelly said. “We definitely didn’t want to do that again. We learned our leasson without having to lose a game.”

The defense had interceptions by Groves and Christopher Martinez and fumble recoveries by Joe McFadden and Bryan O’Neill in addition to Brown, helping St. Edward stay atop the Metro Suburban East.

Walther Christian (0-6, 0-2) was held to negative yardage until the Green Wave went up 41-0 in the second quarter, and the offense executed flawlessly all day.

“All week coach Ro (Mike Rolando) had us going through a bunch of drills because we started off flat against Guerin, and we didn’t want to do that,” Mullen said. “The whole team was ready to go and we came out and brought our ‘A’ game.”

Mullen found tight end Nick Duffy for a 29-yard TD pass on the first Green Wave possession, and the offense capitalized on great field position provided by the defense and poor Walther Christian punting to get a 12-yard Mullen-to-Trevor Loewen TD pass, a 24-yard Dwayne Allen TD run and a 21-yard Allen TD run all before the first quarter ended. A 13-yard Mullen-to-Petey DeWindt TD pass, a 40-yard TD pass to Loewen, and scoring runs of 19 yards by Brown and 51 yards by Allen followed.

Allen finished with 100 yards rushing and Mullen with 130 yards passing.

By the time it was over, the poor start in that win over Guerin was a distant memory.

“There was a great sense of embarrassment on my part, on the coaches’ part, on the players’ part, with the whole program to be down 13-0 in that,” Rolando said. “Nothing against Guerin because they came out hard and played well and they beat (Elmwood Park) last night so they’re not a real bad football team. But we shouldn’t have been down.

“The talk all week was starting out fast.”

It also was about making history, although a 6-0 start means very little if a team doesn’t go on to win the conference title.

“I’m happy for the kids right now and I’m happy to hear from the alumni like we have been about our good start,” Rolando said. “We had a couple alumni on the sideline with us [Saturday]. They’re proud of us. We may be the first team from here that’s 6-0 but they don’t look at it as getting records broken. They (alumni) look at it as we’re something they’re proud of.”

 

I've been kidding St. Edward coach Mike Rolando for the last couple of years to hurry up and win a state championship so we can write a book already.

Well, partly kidding anyway.

Of all the interesting stories on the Fox Valley prep sports beat over the last decade, none would merit elaboration in book form more than the revival and eventual rise to a state championship of St. Edward football.

That's because everyone loves a good rise-from-the-ashes-against-all-odds tale, a story in which the team everyone writes off rides off into the sunset.

The revival chapters are already written. Heck, they practically wrote themselves.

St. Edward has reached the playoffs three of the last five seasons, and a win this Saturday at Walther Christian would make the Green Wave 6-0 for the first time in their 71-year history.

But that's post-turnaround.

For those too young to remember St. Edward football as anything but highly competitive, here's an outline of the first few chapters of "For Whom the Victory Bell Tolls" (working title):

Chapter 1

It's 2003, late July. The previous St. Edward coach and staff quit without notice weeks before fall practice is scheduled to open. The players don't find out until they show up at the Elgin Sports Complex for practice only to find a note taped to a porta-John that reads "season canceled."

Chapter 2

The Elgin Catholic school turns to a well-known, former local athlete to guide the football program: Rolando, who quarterbacked Larkin to a state quarterfinal in 1990.

At the time he has no experience coaching at the high school level. His experience encompasses seven seasons with various Elgin youth football teams, including the Crusaders, which he led to the eighth-grade Super Bowl title a year earlier.

Several St. Edward upperclassmen give up on the program, advised by others to transfer to public schools. The job of continuing the St. Edward football program falls mainly to underclassmen.

Chapters 3-4-5

Seventeen of Rolando's players from the Super Bowl champion Crusaders join him as freshmen at St. Edward. Due to low varsity numbers after transfers, eight freshmen must start on the varsity right away. It's literally boys against men.

If the book is someday made into a movie, these chapters will be condensed into a video montage of St. Edward freshmen and sophomores getting the snot knocked out of them by upperclassmen from state championship-caliber teams from Montini, Driscoll, Marian Central, etc. St. Edward goes winless in 2005 and 2006.

Chapter 6

Finally, in Week 7 of the 2007 season, Rolando and his players break into the win column, beating St. Francis 28-26 by denying a 2-point conversion that would have tied the game in overtime. Tears are shed. Hugs are exchanged between strangers. The school's 26-game losing streak comes to an end. The victory bell rings for the first time since the 2004 season.

Chapters 7-8

The Green Wave win 4 games in 2008, including a 22-0 win over IC Catholic Prep, which goes on to win a Class 2A state title, and a 20-8 victory over Marmion in Week 9.

Just as importantly, the Green Wave hang tough with the big boys in the final year of the old Suburban Catholic Conference. They lose 21-12 to eventual Class 4A quarterfinalist Driscoll (9-3), they lose 28-12 to eventual 5A state champion St. Francis (13-1) and they drop a 33-27 decision to eventual 5A quarterfinalist Montini (11-1).

They play well, but the Green Wave still lose with one of their better teams. The 2008 season perhaps more than any other shows the need for St. Edward, a school of between 400-420 students depending on the year, to find a less-tilted playing field. But that doesn't happen until 2014.

Chapters 9-10-11

These chapters cover the playoff years. St. Edward reaches the postseason three of the next five seasons, including 2013. However, because of the difference in size and philosophy between St. Edward and the SCC powers, the Green Wave will always face an uphill battle, outmanned in at least 3 games per season by schools more than twice their size. No matter how hard Rolando, his players and his staff work to improve, they will struggle to earn a high seed in Class 4A against a mostly Class 5A schedule.

That's why St. Edward and six of the smaller members of the SCC left and merged this season with the Metro Suburban Conference. St. Edward now finds itself in the conference's East Division with Ridgewood (2-3), Chicago Christian (2-3), Guerin (1-4), Elmwood Park (1-4) and Walther Christian (0-5).

The MSC West includes Glenbard South (3-2), Riverside-Brookfield (3-2), IC Catholic Prep (2-3), Wheaton Academy (4-1), Aurora Central Catholic (4-1) and Fenton (4-1).

It does not mean St. Edward will annually have an easy path to the playoffs. Several MSC schools boast three or four times St. Edward's enrollment and could well develop strong programs that enjoy a string of successful seasons.

However, the level of competition is simply fairer now. In its better seasons, like this one, St. Edward will have the opportunity to win 7, 8, perhaps 9 games. That means a high seed, a first-round home game and a more realistic chance to get past the second round of the playoffs, something this program has yet to achieve.

In fact, several more firsts could be on the way in coming years. More wins tend to beget more players, and more players beget more wins.

"Success breeds success," Rolando said Wednesday. "It's no longer like the old days against the big schools we played where we were a third or half their size, but we're also not playing Class 1A and 2A teams either. We're playing schools that are equivalent or bigger than us. In some cases, much bigger. It's a little different landscape, but now our schedule is filled with teams we could be seeing in the playoffs like Ridgewood. The schedule now sets us up to have more success, but we still have to earn it."

Making the move from the SCC to the MSC not only gives the talented 2014 squad a chance to go 6-0 for the first time in school history, it means Green Wave teams of the future will have the opportunity to reach the playoffs with a high seed if they work as hard as their predecessors who saved the program a decade ago.

It could eventually mean a deep playoff run, maybe even that long-sought state championship.

It means sometime in coming years we might finally get to write that book.

No kidding.

jfitzpatrick@dailyherald.com

The Guerin Prep faithful was in stunned silence after St. Edward spoiled the Crusader homecoming 38-21 Friday evening in River Grove.

After a 13-0 deficit stared the Green Wave (5-0) in the face, St. Edward junior running Dwayne Allen was not ready to bow out early. Allen and St. Edward retaliated from the 13-point hole to post 38 unanswered points on the scoreboard.

For the fourth week in a row Allen registered yardage on the ground over the century mark, and for the second week in a row recorded over 200-yards (205 yards).

"I just have to stay positive," Allen said of the slow start to the game. "I had a feeling I'd break a run. I have the benefit of my offensive line that didn't give up for me. This is the first time in my football career that we've gone five in a row. I'm looking forward to the next game."

And run he did. With Allen's 241 all-purpose yards and one touchdown game, he not only extended St. Edward's undefeated record, but he also had his best performance of the year.

The first two offensive series the Green Wave tossed an interception and coughed up a fumble. This led to consecutive hook ups between Guerin Prep sophomore Richie Zacharias, who connected with junior receiver Keith Franklin for corner of the end zone touchdown (35 yard and 14 yard) throws.

However, the St. Edward defensive unit tightened up its play. After they chased a 13-0 lead, they wouldn't relinquish a score to Guerin Prep until there was a mere 14 seconds left in the entire game.

With the help of St. Edward junior linebacker Jake French (2.5 sacks, onside kick recovery), senior Jack Tierney (one sack for a safety) and freshman cornerback Savion Smith (didn't allow a single catch to Franklin after his first quarter touchdowns), nothing got past the St. Edward defense. St. Edward senior safety Bryan O'Neil also added an interception.

"It's no secret that we had an embarrassing start to the game," French said. "We came back because it's never a one-man show. We listen to what the coaches say, and we perform as a team.

"We have to keep our hearts throughout the entire game. If we got our head on right, we can get the win the right way."

In addition to the offensive showing that Allen displayed, Green Wave senior quarterback Joseph Mullen (11-for-21, 146 yards) threw for 3 touchdowns. Two of the Mullen scores were tossed to senior receiver Santos Gomez (5 catches, 56 yards), while the other from 4 yards out was gripped by senior receiver Nick Duffy.

The final St. Edward score was set up emulating the 1985 Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl where William ‘The Fridge' Perry rushed a ball into the end zone. In this version of the T-formation from the biggest man on the team was Green Wave senior lineman Kasey Cooke taking in a 1-yard run for the touchdown.

Although the St. Edward defense ended up allowing 65 yards in penalties that led to a final Guerin Prep scoring drive, Green Wave coach Mike Rolando was proud of the tenacity that all three phases exhibited in the final three quarters.

St. Edward will try to keep its perfect season alive as the Wave travel to Walther Lutheran next Saturday.

"I'm proud of the boys responding after the beginning," Rolando said. "Joe led the team well at quarterback, and I have a number of freshmen that played well. Dwayne is a phenomenal runner hitting a lot of good holes, and he make good plays out of nothing.

"It is a great way to learn (from the slow start) because you can't look past anyone. We're making history with every win. It's going to take a lot of heart to keep (the undefeated record)."

St. Edward (4-0, 0-0) at Guerin (1-3, 0-0)When/where: today at 7:30 p.m.

Watch: Streaming broadcast via highschoolcube can be seen at football.dailyherald.com

Last meeting (2010): St. Edward 49, Guerin 14

Last week: St. Edward 35, IC Catholic Prep 28; Aurora Central Catholic 48, Guerin 18

Outlook: After passing two major tests in two weeks, the Green Wave find themselves tied for No. 10 in The Associated Press poll of Class 4A teams. It's the first ranking for St. Edwards since 2010, when the program was ranked No. 10 for two weeks but fell out of the poll after losing to IC, which was ranked No. 7 at the time. Coach Mike Rolando said the intention this week is to stay the course in the inaugural Metro Suburban Conference East Division game for both teams. "We've made it through some of the games we thought were among the toughest on our schedule, now we have to play well against our conference opponents," Rolando said. "We can't look past any one week. We have to continue to execute, improve our game and develop our playbook." The Crusaders like to throw the ball around. "They throw it a ton," Rolando added. "They'll go five wide. Whenever you have five receivers running around, there's always the possibility of one of them getting loose for a quick score and it's a touchdown. We have to be leery that we don't give up the big play. After watching film we're focusing on what we need to fix in our kitchen." Junior tailback Dwayne Allen leads the Wave with 570 yards and 8 touchdowns on 93 carries (6.1 avg.). Josh Von Rohr leads the defense with 4 sacks and Jake French has 3 sacks. Linebacker Jack Tierney leads the team with 33 tackles.

Next week: St. Edward at Walther Christian (0-4); Guerin at Elmwood Park (1-3)

Class 4A
1. Rochester (16) (4-0) 169 1
2. Rockford Lutheran (1) (4-0) 143 2
3. Phillips (3-1) 132 3
4. Greenville (4-0) 104 4
5. Bishop McNamara (3-1) 93 6
6. Althoff Catholic (3-1) 90 5
7. Manteno (4-0) 58 7
8. Quincy Notre Dame (3-1) 38 10
9. Columbia (3-1) 36 8
10. Herrin (3-1) 30 9
10. (tie)St. Edward (4-0) 30 NR

Others receiving votes: Carterville 8, Aurora Central Catholic 6, Breese Mater Dei 6, Coal City 4, Richmond-Burton 3, Mt. Zion 2, Freeburg 2, Dixon 1, Alleman 1.

Gene Chamberlain’s football notes:
Historical Wave

St. Edward had just knocked off IC Prep to go 4-0, and coach Mike Rolando wondered aloud if there’d been many 4-0 teams from St. Edward.

They had just done it three years earlier, but this week when they open their first Metro Suburban East schedule with a game at Guerin, a win would make St. Edward 5-0 for the first time in 30 years.

The 1984 team, coached by John Pergi, went 5-0, then collapsed with four straight defeats. St. Edward had an unbeaten team in 1960 under coach Greg True, for whom the field is named, although it wasn’t perfect. The team went 6-0-1.

The best season in terms of total victories came in 1978 under coach Tim McVey at 8-1, but the Green Wave failed to beat IC Prep and make the five-class state playoffs, which started in 1974.

Daily Herald

St. Edward (3-0) at IC Catholic Prep (1-2)When/where: Saturday at 1 p.m. at Jack Lewis Stadium at Plunkett Park

Last year: IC Catholic Prep 21, St. Edward 17

Elgin area football games to watch in Week 4

St. Edward (3-0) at IC Prep (1-2), 1 p.m. Saturday

Last year: Immaculate Conception 21, St. Edward 17.

Key players: St. Edward – QB Joe Mullen, DE Augie Nottolini. IC Prep – OL/DL Michael Perrone, RB Jordan Rowell.

Outlook: St. Edward travels to Elmhurst’s Plunkett Park to face its longtime rival, which is now in the other division, the new Metro Suburban East. Rowell, only a sophomore, is a threat to go all the way with good size and great speed, and the Green Wave defense that refused to break last week will be tested. St. Edward ran for over 400 yards against IC last year but lost due to mistakes. The Wave is anxious to get RB Dwayne Allen loose on the artificial turf.

St. Edward’s Danny Favela made the transition from basketball player to football player this summer, and now he’s made the transition to team leader.

The Green Wave slot back/defensive back quickly assumed a big-play and leadership role like former player Mike Castoro had, and helped lead a 24-20 victory over Genoa-Kingston in the season opener.

“I don’t know if I can be exactly like Mikey was because he played with such heart and I’m also a little taller, but I want to be the guy they look to when things are tough, want to be seen as a leader,” Favela said.

“Most of the guys are younger than me, and I want to set a good example for them.”

Favela did more than set examples Friday. With the Green Wave offense stymied by a Genoa-Kingston defense keyed on running back Dwayne Allen, Favela broke a 79-yard touchdown run. He also produced a 39-yard TD return on a punt, and came up with almost 200 combined yards for the game, including 138 from scrimmage.

On defense, Favela made six tackles, including a sack.

“We’ve got a lot of playmakers but I think we saw Dan break out Friday night similar to last year when Devontae (Elam) did it for us in the opener,” Green Wave coach Mike Rolando said. “He hadn’t had a breakout game before, but had showed signs of greatness with runs and receptions. He did that Friday, and also in the return game and on defense.”

The 6-foot-1 senior had been a sixth man and starter for coach P.J. White’s basketball team.

“Between my sophomore and junior years, that’s when summer basketball and football ran into each other,” Favela said. “I told coach Rolando then that I had to do summer basketball because I want to play it in college.”

Favela was playing travel basketball on a team with football and basketball teammate Nick Duffy, but opted this year to focus on summer 7-on-7 football instead. This included missing a trip with the travel basketball team to Las Vegas.

“You know, coach Rolando told me when I was a sophomore that I was going to end up playing football in college, anyway — the more I thought about it, he’s right,” Favela said.

Favela went to football camps at South Dakota State and Northwestern and visited Hope College in the offseason.

Now he’s fit well into the slot position in St. Edward’s offense, where he uses his versatility.

“It’s a tough position, especially blocking-wise,” he said. “The blocking angles are sometimes tough but I like the position best in the offense because I’m either catching passes or going in motion and getting to run and use my speed.”

Favela also lined up in the tailback spot in the third quarter Friday and broke the 79-yard TD run to give St. Edward breathing room.

“We had Dwayne (Allen) line up as lead blocker and put Brandon Ostrander at tight end and went with Danny as a big back,” Rolando said. “He has the speed to break it if he sees daylight.”

While there were several problems in the win over G-K that St. Edward’s coach said can’t be repeated against Chicago Public League team Clark in Friday’s home opener, Favela’s effort in the slot went exactly as planned.

“It was very much how we used Mikey (Castoro) last year,” Rolando said. “He doesn’t get a lot of carries, but can get around 100 yards with misdirections and sweeps, and Mikey was the leading receiver. Danny, in the slot, will be someone we throw to quite a bit.

“And then there’s the return abilities.”

Also there’s the leadership.

“We can’t make some of the same mistakes we did against Genoa,” Favela said. “We don’t know that much about them (Clark). They may not be as good. They could be even better.”

It's the dawn of a new era for St. Edward football and the outlook has never been brighter.

The Green Wave fought the good fight for decades against larger private schools like Montini, Marian Central, St. Francis, Marmion and now-shuttered Driscoll in the Suburban Catholic Conference and its expanded successor, the Suburban Christian. The odds were usually against the Elgin Catholic school, which has an enrollment of 406 students, according to its website.

St. Edward, seeking a more level playing field for its athletes in general and its football program in particular, was among seven of the smaller SCC schools to leave for the Metro Suburban Conference, which is now a 12-team, two-division league comprised of seven private schools, five public.

The Green Wave finds itself in the MSC East with division games scheduled against Guerin, Walther Christian, Ridgewood, Chicago Christian and Elmwood Park -- respectable opponents, all, but not comparable to the state champion-caliber teams the Wave faced regularly in the SCC with rare success.

"We'd jump up and beat somebody now and then but the stars had to line up," tenth-year St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said of playing in the SCC. "Your kids had to be on, they had to not be intimidated and you had to catch the other guy on an off day maybe.

"Now we look at our schedule and there are 9 games we can compete in. The kids have a great attitude. They're confident and prepared. If the players do what they need to do and we do our job as coaches, there's no reason we can't put together a team that competes in all 9 games."

The veteran coach's optimism has reached the high-water mark, and the reasons go well beyond the new schedule. Ironically, Rolando has a team this season that might have fared as well in the SCC as any under his watch. The roster of 33, the program's largest in 10 seasons, is loaded with talented veterans. St. Edward welcomes back eight full or part-time defensive starters from a team that went 5-5 in its final SCC season and secured the program's third playoff berth in five years.

The defense drips with experience at each level. Senior inside linebacker Jack Tierney returns for his third season as a starter. Tierney last year had 1 interception and made 63 tackles, third on the team and the most of any returnee. Playing alongside him is senior linebacker Chris Kelly, a returning starter who recorded 42 tackles.

Danny Favela is a three-year starter at free safety. Also a basketball player, the 6-foot-3 senior snared 2 of the defense's 9 interceptions and made 44 tackles last year. He is joined again in the secondary by junior returning starter Jake French at cornerback. Seniors Devin Warner (5-11, 165) and Bryan O'Neill (6-0, 173) both saw significant playing time at safety.

"We have some solid defensive players, really good coverage guys," Rolando said. "A lot of teams like to throw now and I feel we've got six or seven defensive backs who are really good. We have several who can go man coverage, which allows us to do other things."

The defensive line is just as experienced. Senior tackle Kasey Cooke (6-0, 285) returns along with ends Brandon Ostrander (6-4, 240) and Josh Von Rohr (6-1, 185). Von Rohr is coming back from a season-ending injury suffered in Week 5. Dan Howell will get the starting nod at tackle after notching 4 sacks off the bench as a junior. Combined, that foursome was responsible for 90 tackles and 12 sacks in 2013.

Senior Joe Mullen emerged from a quarterback competition last fall and started throughout the second half of the season. He completed 58 of 120 pass attempts for 957 yards and 10 touchdowns and threw 7 interceptions. Rolando said Mullen added 17 pounds of muscle in the off-season and returns a more polished, more confident player ready to lead the offense.

Mullen enjoys the luxury of tall, seasoned receivers. Slot man Favela (6-3) made 8 receptions for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns last year, senior Nick Duffy (6-4) had 14 catches for 187 yards and 2 scores and Petey DeWindt had 9 grabs for 82 yards. Mullen gains another tall target with the 6-4 Ostrander at tight end.

Junior tailback Dwayne Allen didn't get many carries last season while biding his time behind record breaking running back DaVontae Elam, who graduated with single-season and career program records in attempts, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Quietly, Allen posted the third-highest average yards per carry in modern St. Edward history with 9.3 per attempt. He gained 475 yards and scored 5 touchdowns on 51 carries and made 6 catches for 101 yards and another score.

The line features multiple two-way players: Kelly, Cooke, Tierney and Von Rohr. Juniors Haydn Hilton, Michael Montes and Ruben Monteil are vying for the open starting job, but all will see playing time in an effort to keep the team's two-way linemen as fresh as possible deep into games.

"I'm optimistic, mostly because of the depth of talent, the wide range of talent," Rolando said. "I like the well-balanced team we have."

St. Edward High School Football
1978, 2010 Conference Champions...
1983, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2013 IHSA State Playoffs...
2014 we enter the Metro Suburban Conference...Let's get to work!

2014 Schedule...

Week 1 @ Genoa
Week 2 Chicago Clark
Week 3 Riverside Brookfield
Week 4 @ IC
Week 5 @ Guerin *(Metro Suburban Conf Game)
Week 6 @ Walther *(Metro Suburban Conf Game)
Week 7 Ridgewood *(Metro Suburban Conf Game) HOMECOMING
Week 8 Chicago Christian *(Metro Suburban Conf Game) SR. NIGHT
Week 9 @ Elmwood Park *(Metro Suburban Conf Game)

Most should be Friday night, but not if they don't have lights.  So IC could be Saturday afternoon, unless they get portable lights... TBD.

Congratulations to Collin Holte on the National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Award and $5,000 Scholarship!  The NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Awards have become one of the most prestigious and competitive high school academic honors in the country.  Criteria for the award include academic achievement, athletic accomplishments and community leadership.  Collin's well-rounded character and dedication on and off the field, at school, and in the community make him a perfect fit for this award and have set the stage for him to be successful in whatever he does in life.  Collin is a great example for young people to follow in holding up the pillars of the football program: Pride, Discipline, Respect, Teamwork, and Academic Excellence. 

Collin will be honored at the Annual Awards Ceremony on Monday, February 17 at Halas Hall.  The Voice of the Chicago Bears Jeff Joniak will be the Master of Ceremonies, members of the Chicago media will be there and current/former NFL and college football players will attend along with many more special guests.

Updated: October 30, 2013 7:10PM

 

One player does not make a football team, but there is no denying the outsized contributions Mikey Castoro provides as St. Edward’s emotional leader.

“Mikey is a very relentless player,” St. Edward senior Davontae Elam said. “He won’t give up, and that fires everyone up to play like him.”

Coach Mike Rolando calls the 5-foot-8, 140-pound Castoro the Green Wave’s heart and soul, so it stands to reason there was major cause for concern when Castoro heard a pop in his right knee during the second quarter of last Friday’s game at St. Francis. Test results Monday confirmed the team’s worst fears that Castoro suffered a torn ACL, and he underwent surgery Tuesday to repair the injury.

Rolando said a depression hung over the team last weekend as it dealt with the prospect of being without a player who lives up to his Twitter handle @The_Workhorse by making key contributions in every phase for St. Edward. The injury has since turned into a source of inspiration for the Green Wave going into Friday’s trip to play undefeated Harvard in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

“There’s such a strong brotherhood and bond between the boys,” Rolando said. “I know they’re sad for Mikey, but they will rally around the situation. They don’t want to let him down, and winning Friday would give him a moment of joy”

Replacing Castoro won’t be easy as he leads St. Edward with 357 receiving yards and is the team’s second-leading rusher behind Elam with 485 yards on 39 carries, which is good for a ridiculous average of 12.4 yards per attempt. He also returns kicks and punts, serves as the holder on field goals and helps lead the defensive secondary with 38 tackles and seven pass deflections.

Staying true to form, Castoro remains determined to make an impact this week. He was at practice Monday offering advice to teammates who will fill his positions, and before scheduling his surgery he made sure the doctor cleared him to be on the sidelines wearing a headset for Friday’s game.

“I’m going to try and help the team as much as possible,” Castoro said. “I’ve been able to play in the games, so I’ll be able to see what’s going on and tell the coaches.”

The silver lining is Castoro should be back in time for baseball season in the spring. His dream of playing college football also appears to still be within reach.

Rolando envisions Castoro making a perfect slot receiver or wing back at the Division III level, and Wisconsin-La Crosse made contact this week to reiterate its interest despite the knee injury.

St. Edward (5-4) has plenty of talent to go around without Castoro, starting with Elam, the area’s leading rusher with 1,382 yards. Sophomore Dwayne Allen has been a solid complementary back all year, and seniors Collin Holte and Zach West are a pair of three-year varsity starters who anchor an offensive line that has paved the way for close to 3,500 total yards this season.

“When these types of injuries happen to a team with 26 kids it hurts, but the 26 we have are solid football players,” Rolando said. “There is depth there. It’s not numbers depth, but it’s quality depth where every guy can play.”

For Rolando, the toughest thing about Castoro’s injury is knowing a player who worked so hard for the chance to take the field in a playoff game won’t get the opportunity.

Castoro can find consolation in knowing he helped St. Edward secure only its fifth trip to the postseason in program history. The Green Wave has just one victory in its previous four playoff appearances, and raising the bar is something this year’s team has had its eye on all along.

“We want to finish as the best team that St. Ed has ever had,” Elam said. “It’s going to be tough this week and I know we’re the underdogs, but I think playing some of the bigger schools in our conference prepared us for this game. So I think we’re ready.”

Castoro concurs.

“Nothing changes and we’re still in the playoffs,” he said. “Our team has fought through adversity before, so they’ll be ready to go. I’m not worried about that.”

Class 4A

No. 15 St. Edward (5-4) at No. 2 Harvard (9-0)

Playoff history: St. Edward is making its fifth playoff appearance overall and third in five seasons. The Green Wave own a 1-4 postseason record. Harvard is making its fourth straight appearance and 16th overall. The Hornets are 11-17 in postseason play.

The skinny: St. Edward believes playing in the rough-and-tumble Suburban Christian Conference against Class 5A state contenders prepares the team for success in the Class 4A playoffs. The Green Wave gets a chance to prove it against the Hittin' Hornets, the undefeated Big Northern East champions, led by retiring football and wrestling coach Tim Haak. The 26-man St. Edward roster may have been diminished by one due to Friday's injury to running back/safety Mike Castoro. The senior's availability will be determined on Monday when he goes for a medical evaluation, according to his coach.

Coach Mike Rolando says: "First and foremost, we're just excited about the opportunity. This is only the fifth team in St. Edward history to make the playoffs and we're excited to be a part of it for the third time in five years. We talk about this for nine months of the year, getting that fifth win and getting to the postseason, so whoever we play it's a blessing. Obviously, Harvard is a solid football team that has learned to play and win close games with a veteran coach. I expect our guys to return to playing the way they did in the middle of the season when our backs were against the wall and we had to win."

Looking ahead: Winner plays either No. 10 Aurora Central Catholic (6-3) or No. 7 King (7-2)

St Edward (5-4) also faces a tough draw after landing a 15th seed in Class 4A. The Green Wave travels to play No. 2 Harvard (9-0) in the first round.

Champions of the Big Northern East, the Hornets are looking to make a deep playoff run in longtime coach Tim Haak’s final year at the helm. St. Edward will have to brace for Harvard’s physical style of play, but the Green Wave is certainly battle tested going into its fifth playoff appearance in program history after playing a grueling Suburban Christian Blue schedule.

“For us it’s a great opportunity to play in Week 10,” St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. “Not a lot of St. Edward teams have been able to do that. We’re here, we’re excited and we look forward to the challenge.”

St. Edward proved it can go from zero to 60 in less than three quarters as it overcame a scoreless first quarter to post a 60-21 victory over Wheaton Academy on Friday. The offensive display marked the highest scoring total for the Green Wave in at least 33 years.

Seniors Mikey Castoro and Davontae Elam and sophomore Dwayne Allen all had at least 145 rushing yards for St. Edward. Castoro led the way with 174 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries to go along with a team-high eight tackles on defense.

The Green Wave became playoff eligible with the lopsided win, which came on the heels of a 53-point scoring output in Week 6 against Chicago Christian. Given the way St. Edward’s offense is clicking right now, it looks like coach Mike Rolando’s team might be poised to make some noise in the Class 4A playoffs.

 

Jacobsen’s Top 5

1. Jacobs (5-2): Mooney’s magic has Golden Eagles on track for first conference title since 1979, but a tough trip to Huntley looms Friday.

2. St. Charles East (5-2): Saints looked a little shaky in win over Streamwood and need to take it up a notch this week at Batavia.

3. St. Edward (5-2): Don’t count out the Wave to pull off a surprise or two in their next two games against Marian Central and St. Francis.

4. Dundee-Crown (5-2): Chargers were able to rebound from their first loss of the year. Can they do it again after ugly 42-0 defeat at Prairie Ridge on Friday?

5. Hampshire (5-2): Whip-Purs steadily picking up wins, confidence on their way to first playoff trip since 2008.

Brian Schaumburg

St. Edward helped its playoff chances and dealt Wheaton Academy a serious blow to its hopes Friday night.

The Green Wave became playoff eligible by beating the Warriors, 60-21, in Suburban Christian crossover action at Greg True Field for their fifth victory.

St. Edward (5-2) likely will have enough playoff points to make its first trip to the postseason since 2010. The Green Wave play at Marian Central and at St. Francis to finish the regular season in hopes of getting a sixth victory, which would guarantee a playoff spot.

Wheaton Academy (3-4) will have to win its final two games — at Chicago Christian and home against Marian Central — to get to five wins.

"We just told our guys it makes the road tougher," Warriors interim coach Brad Thornton said. "We've got to move on. We've got to learn from this."

Despite 81 points being scored Friday, the teams played a scoreless first quarter.

The Green Wave broke the scoreless tie on an 11-yard touchdown run from Mikey Castoro with 8:19 remaining in the second quarter.

Wheaton Academy answered on its next play from scrimmage as David Thrasher connected with Marino Costello for a 72-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.

St. Edward scored the next 22 points, capped by a Danny Favela 85-yard interception return for a score and 2-point conversion run from Castoro with 1:11 remaining in the first half, to take a 29-7 lead.

Castoro finished with 171 yards on just 8 carries, including an 89-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Dwayne Allen had 161 yards and 2 scores on the ground and Davontae Elam added 145 and a touchdown as the Green Wave rushed for 502 yards.

"When Davontae gets his carries, teams are going to start keying on him," Castoro said. "Our line and my backs blocked for me and everything was wide open."

Thrasher threw for 334 yards on 12 of 22 passing. The sophomore's 3 touchdowns all went to Costello, who had 101 yards receiving. Sam Martinez had 3 receptions for 97 yards.

ST. EDWARD 60, WHEATON ACADEMY 21

THE SKINNY

After a scoreless first quarter, St. Edward exploded for a its highest point total in more than 30 years in a 60-21 win over Wheaton Academy. The Green Wave improved to 5-2 and all but secured a third playoff berth in the past five years.

TURNING POINT

St. Edward broke a 7-7 tie with 6:07 left in the second quarter on a 47-yard touchdown pass from Joe Mullen to Danny Favela. The Green Wave tacked on two more touchdowns before the half, including an 84-yard interception return by Favela to lead 29-7 at halftime.

THE STAR

St. Edward senior Mikey Castoro rushed for 180 yards on eight carries and scored three touchdowns on runs of 11, 67 and 89 yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

Standout running back Davontae Elam was held to just 11 yards on six carries in the first quarter, but recovered to finish with 145 yards on 23 attempts. Castoro and Dwayne Allen, who rushed for 166 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns, helped carry the load.

QUOTABLE

“Words can’t describe the feeling right now. Since my freshman year we have wanted to get back to the playoffs. It’s an exhilirating feeling.” – Castoro

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com September 4, 2013 9:35PM

 

  

Fully healthy for a change, Davontae Elam is looking to put an exclamation point on his four-year varsity football career.

The St. Edward senior running back got off to a good start in Saturday’s win against Genoa-Kingston when he racked up 214 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns, including one on an acrobatic 79-yard reception for what was his only catch of the game.

It wasn’t a bad day of work considering Elam touched the ball only 14 times as the Green Wave blew things open in the second half, leaving him rested and ready for his next performance.

“Seeing the way Davontae ran the ball Saturday night is really what we expect out of him, and to tell you the truth we probably expect more because he only had 13 carries,” St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. “He’s a big back, he’s a strong back and he’s a guy we expect to give the ball to 30 times and carry the load.”

At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, Elam gives St. Edward the best of both worlds as a powerful north-south runner who can also make people miss with nifty moves.

The key for Elam this season will be staying healthy after a nagging toe injury bothered him for much of his junior year and an abdominal injury plagued him as a sophomore.

“It’s frustrating when you can’t help your brothers out 100 percent,” Elam said. “I just tried my hardest and did what I could.”

To Elam’s credit, he still earned All-Suburban Christian Blue honors last fall despite never fully recovering from the toe injury that forced him to sit out St. Edward’s Week 3 game against Marmion. He finished the year with 918 yards and eight touchdowns on 168 carries.

One thing working in Elam’s favor this fall is the Green Wave’s added depth, which means he likely won’t have to contribute at defensive back as much as he did in past seasons.

“We don’t really talk much about injuries and we try to keep that stuff close to the vest during the season,” Rolando said. “Even when (Elam) was hurting he was still a really good back, and I’m excited to see what he can do with a full season if we can keep him healthy.”

Elam said his goals this year include topping 1,000 yards rushing and helping the Green Wave reach the playoffs, which is something the program hasn’t accomplished since Elam was a freshman in 2010.

Also a key member of St. Edward’s basketball team, Elam’s future figures to be on the gridiron. Rolando said the standout has generated a good deal of interest among college football coaches, most of whom are waiting to see film from Elam’s senior year before making an offer.

While Elam’s skills and big performances are certain to attract attention, there are less noticeable areas where he’ll have a big impact for the Green Wave. This year his younger brother Desean is a freshman up with St. Edward’s varsity team, giving Davontae one more teammate to mold.

“I’ve improved my attitude and become a better leader these four years,” Elam said. “I can help the younger guys out with tips and small things to make their game better. I just try to be a role model for them.”

Adds Rolando: “It would be easy for a four-year running back to have a chip on his shoulder and not be likable on a team, but Davontae is just the opposite. He’s well-liked in the school, he’s well-liked by his classmates and he’s well-liked on the team because of the way he carries himself.”

St. Edward football coach Mike Rolando knows what playoff teams look like. After all, he's coached two of them since he revived the program in 2005.

The Green Wave finished 6-4 in 2009 and 8-3 in 2010 and reached the playoffs both years, but Rolando said this team might be the best he has ever coached at the Elgin school.

Fortified by a roster of 30-plus players — a healthy total for a team that began last season with 24 — the Green Wave is preparing for one last tour of the Suburban Christian Conference. St. Edward is among seven members of the current SCC set to merge with the Metro Suburban Conference next fall.

Rolando's optimism centers on a defense that returns nine players, a deep junior class responsible for more position battles than normal and a talented, four-year varsity running back in Davontae Elam.

Elam showed flashes of brilliance as a junior when healthy, but staying on the field was a challenge for him in 2012. Despite missing multiple games he managed to rush for 918 yards and 8 touchdowns on 168 carries (5.5 avg.).He has gained the interest of Northern Illinois along with several Division-I programs who intend to track his progress as a senior, according to his coach.

"He's a four-year varsity guy," Rolando said. "He's going to be playing like a man this year. We've seen some great running backs in this area. I'm hoping Davontae has a healthy season so we can mention him in the same breath as some of the great ones."

Complementing Elam's power-rushing style will be speed backs Mikey Castoro (77 carries, 494 yards), who played quarterback last season out of necessity, and sophomore Dwayne Allen, who gained a bit of varsity experience late last season. Also returning are seniors Will Bothwell (57 carries, 240 yards) and multisport athlete Danny Favela (28-161-1 TD). Also in the mix is Davontae Elam's freshman brother, Deshawn Elam (5-8, 145).

Rolando said he is equally happy with junior quarterbacks Joe Mullen (6-2, 162) and Brian O'Neill (6-1, 165), who battled for the starting position deep into fall camp. Both got their feet wet at the varsity level last season. O'Neill saw more action, completing 13 of 30 attempts for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. They will both rely on senior wide receiver Austin Murray (6-0, 150) and 6-4 junior tight end Nick Duffy (2 rec., 53 yards, 1 TD).

The offensive line is a strong point, anchored by three-year starters Collin Holte (5-10, 235) and Zach West (6-2, 255). Starting middle linebacker Jack Tierney (6-0, 195) will play guard in addition to his defensive duties. They are joined by Chris Kelly (5-10, 205), who played center and middle linebacker last year on the sophomore level, and senior Matt Colasuono (6-1, 195), who recovered from a preseason injury to play late last season.

"We're pretty excited about our O-line," Rolando said. "Our smallest player is around 195 (pounds) and a couple of them are around 250-260. Those are pretty good-sized kids for our level of football."

The veteran defense is led by a stout front line, featuring Holte, West, junior Kasey Cooke (5-11, 260) and multisport athlete Tighe Koehring (6-2, 200) at defensive end. Junior Brandon Ostrander (6-3, 220) and sophomore end Josh Von Rohr (6-0, 180) will also see playing time at end.

Linebacker Bothwell (82 tackles, Int.) was the team's second-leading tackler last season. He returns alongside Tierney (45 tackles) and Colasuono (15 tackles).

Rolando said St. Edward's veteran, athletic secondary "goes two-deep at every position." Davontae Elam and Murray return at cornerback while the 6-foot-3 Favela and speedy Castoro play safety.

Junior kicker Joe French made 3 of 5 field goals and 10 extra points last season.

St. Edward opens with nonconference games against Genoa-Kingston and at West Hancock Hamilton, a pair of must wins if the Wave expects playoff eligibility.

"At this point we're expecting to compete with everybody," Rolando said. If a 5A or 6A (school) overlooks us, I think we can beat just about anybody. A lot of things still have to develop and take place, but the confidence level is there. I think we have a lot of talent at a lot of different positions."

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com July 27, 2013 2:59AM

Updated: July 27, 2013 7:52PM

Camaraderie and good-natured competition were on full display Friday night when Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin and Streamwood gathered at St. Edward’s Greg True Field for a 7-on-7 tournament and lineman challenge.

The event came just over a month before the start of the 2013 season, and the countdown to kickoff will likely create more than a little anxiety for new Maroons coach Kyle Rohde, new Storm coach Pat Pistorio and new Sabres coach Mark Orszula.

“It’s all a blur,” Pistorio said of the past few weeks. “I haven’t had much sleep. My list of things to do seems to grow and grow every day.”

Pistorio at least had some familiarity with this players given his status as a social studies teacher at South Elgin. He also helped out for two weeks at the start of the Storm’s summer camp prior to being hired as the head coach.

“I feel like I’ve been able to carve out a lot of quality time with the kids,” Pistorio said. “They’re really picking up the system and meeting our expectations.”

Rohde didn’t need any introduction when he began his first summer camp as Elgin’s head coach after spending the past three years as the varsity team’s defensive coordinator under former coach Dave Bierman.

Nonetheless, the past few months have been a time of transition for the Maroons as they switch gears under the guidance of Rohde, a 2002 Elgin graduate who is charged with helping the program rebound from back-to-back 1-8 seasons.

“The kids are working hard and doing what I ask of them,” Rohde said. “Coach Bierman and I are different personalities, so it’s a different dynamic. With me being a little younger it changes the interaction between the players and coach.”

Of the three new U-46 football coaches, Orszula is the only one coming in from out of the school district. He is also the only one with previous head coaching experience having led Westmont the past five years.

“The good thing about football in the summer is you get to spend a lot of time together,” Orszula said. “The kids have kind of learned my expectations and how I want things to be done. I feel like they’ve responded well.”

Storm sweeps 7-on-7 competition

South Elgin capped a perfect 4-0 night in 7-on-7 action by defeating Larkin in its final matchup of the round-robin tournament. The Royals finished second with a 3-1 record while St. Edward took third with a 2-2 mark.

Senior quarterback Rob Cuda is back to guide the Storm’s new-look offense after throwing for 1,711 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior.

“It’s good to show what we’ve done the past couple weeks of camp with a new coach,” Cuda said. “(Pistorio) has really worked with us well and gotten us into a new offense. It’s a change, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

Cuda arrived late Friday after attending a football camp at the University of Chicago earlier in the day, allowing a chance for junior quarterback Hayden Nelson to show off his strong arm.

Green Wave wins lineman challenge

St. Edward’s big boys continued to impress by taking first place in the lineman challenge with a total of 29 points. Larkin was second with 19 points followed by Streamwood (15) and South Elgin (9).

Among the events that made up the challenge were a bench-press competition, a tire-flip contest, a relay race and a tug of war. The Green Wave’s victory comes on the heels of a first-place showing out of 26 schools at a lineman challenge in downstate Washington the previous weekend.

“We gain confidence when we win these lineman challenges, but we have to know that winning a lineman challenge isn’t like playing a football game,” St. Edward senior guard/tackle Collin Holte said. “Going ahead we have to work on getting our line scheme down. We still need some fine tuning, but everything is looking pretty good right now.”

Royals getting ready to rumble

Friday marked the end of a productive summer camp for Larkin.

Royals coach Mike Scianna said more than 70 players regularly attended the team’s workouts across all levels, which marks the biggest turnout during his four years at the helm.

Larkin’s varsity team is loaded with talent at the skill positions with senior quarterback Kemmerin Blalark and senior running back Damion Clemons back in the fold. Seniors Donte Bonds and Jarelle Shipp are two other big-time playmakers who made headlines this spring by helping the Royals track team advance to the state finals in the 400-meter relay.

There were some key losses on the offensive and defensive lines for Larkin, but senior Quentyn Jackson will help serve as an anchor up front. The 6-foot-2, 300-pound offensive tackle and defensive end knows his main priority is creating a little space for the team’s speedsters.

“I think we’ve got some of the best talent skill-player wise in the conference,” Jackson said. “Once doubles come we’ve got to keep on progressing, but I feel like we’re a lot more of a team than in the past. I’ve got high hopes.”

                                                           

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com July 24, 2013 5:28PM

 

Updated: July 25, 2013 2:24AM

With a productive summer program soon drawing to a close, St. Edward’s football team is ready to show off its progress for the community at large.

The Green Wave’s annual 7-on-7 tournament and lineman challenge will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night at Greg True Field. This year there is more local interest than ever as Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin and Streamwood round out the five-team field.

The strong showing only added to coach Mike Rolando’s contention that this group could go down as one of the deepest and most talented teams he has led during his nine years at St. Edward.

“We are pretty optimistic, and what’s leading us to the optimism is the kids’ work ethic this summer,” Rolando said. “We’ve added some conditioning and weight room days that we didn’t have in prior summers because the kids came to us and said they wanted more since they felt those sessions were beneficial. So we’ve got 20 to 30 kids showing up to those strength and conditioning nights two or three times a week.”

St. Edward’s 7-on-7 tournament features a round-robin format where each school plays four games. The games will last 30 minutes with a running clock, and in between games there will be a 10-15 minute break when various events that make up the lineman challenge will take place on the field.

“These kids all know each other from youth football and they like to compete against each other,” Rolando said. “It’s a neat opportunity for the city of Elgin and the surrounding area to see pretty much all of the local talent on one stage.

“If you’re a St. Eds fan, it doesn’t mean you’re not interested in how Elgin and Larkin are doing. This provides a chance for people in the area to see all the local teams and put a face with the names when they read about these teams in the paper.”

St. Edward is looking to improve on last year’s 2-7 finish this fall, but as usual it will face an uphill climb in the ultra-competitive Suburban Christian Conference. The Green Wave’s hope is that competing against bigger schools during summer events like this will make it better prepared for the challenges ahead.

Senior running back Davontae Elam headlines St. Edward’s big group of returning players after running for 918 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior. Senior Mikey Castoro is another key returning playmaker who will move into a running back/receiver role after chipping in at quarterback last season.

Collin Holte and Zach West are two of the big men to watch on the offensive line while Will Bothwell and Matt Colasuono are among the defensive leaders. Juniors Bryan O’Neill and Joe Mullen are competing for the quarterback job.

“It’s a very talented group and we have probably the most depth we’ve had since I’ve been at the school,” Rolando said. “We have about 31 kids on our varsity roster, which for us is a lot and much more than the 18 or 19 we had at times last year. When you have some depth it obviously makes things better, and we’ve got competition at virtually every spot.”

 

St. Edward Football would like to reduce the risk of injury to our players for the 2013 season.

Click here to see more information.

WE'VE MET OUR GOAL OF $3,000!  EVERY PLAYER WILL BE EQUIPPED WITH A GUARDIAN CAP FOR THE 2013 SEASON!

Thank you

Coach Ro

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com Nov 29, 2010 05:01PM

 

 

In six years, St. Edward’s football program went from doormat to conference champion.

In that same six-year span, Green Wave coach Mike Rolando and his staff went from trying to figure out how to get a first down to trying to figure out how to make a deep run in the Class 4A state playoffs.

The 2010 season represented a watershed moment for St. Edward’s up-and-coming program. The Green Wave won its first-ever playoff game, tied a single-season school record for wins by finishing 8-3 and claimed the team’s first league title since 1979 by capturing the outright Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division championship.

At the center of that success is Rolando, a 1991 Larkin graduate and a natural leader who took on the thankless task of rebuilding St. Edward’s football program in 2005. Six years later he is the 2010 Courier-News Coach of the Year.

“I consider this a Coaches of the Year award,” Rolando said. “I’ve got a great coaching staff, and several of the guys have been with me since the first year.

“To tell you the truth, what we consider ourselves good at is motivation. We are honest with the players, help them set realistic goals and then motivate them to reach those goals. In terms of X’s and O’s, there’s probably a lot of coaches out there that are better than us. But as far as motivating the players, I think we do a really good job.”

Starting from scratch

To understand how far St. Edward has come under Rolando, it is important to understand where he started.

Rolando took over as the Green Wave’s coach in July 2005, one month before the start of the season. The program was in disarray after the abrupt resignation of former coach Rich Sanders only days before Rolando’s hiring.

Rolando had been the sophomore coach on Sanders’ staff, and he brought with him additional experience from his days coaching the Crusaders youth football team. He also brought to his staff Marc Rusinko, a friend and fellow Crusaders coach who to this day remains a right-hand man to Rolando as the Wave’s defensive coordinator.

Eloy Diaz and Gordon Tourtellott arrived to pick up their sons from some of those first practices under Rolando and noticed the thin coaching ranks. They offered to help, and six years later Diaz still coaches receivers and defensive backs for St. Edward while Tourtellott guides the program’s sophomore team.

When Sanders bolted the program, so did a large number of players expected to contribute on the varsity level. That left Rolando with a squad made up predominantly of underclassmen who were unprepared for the challenges that awaited in what was then the highly competitive Suburban Catholic Conference.

The results weren’t pretty in 2005 as the Wave finished 0-9 and was outscored 404-74.

In year two, Scot Brockner and Mike Childers joined the coaching staff, but the Wave endured another 0-9 season. Nonetheless, the foundation of the coaching staff was in place, as evidenced by the fact that Brockner and Childers remain in the fold as St. Edward’s offensive line coach and special teams coach, respectively.

The Green Wave finally notched its first victory under Rolando in Week 7 of the 2007 season, snapping a 27-game losing streak that extended to the Sanders era. Then came a 4-5 finish in 2008 and finally a breakthrough in 2009 as St. Edward went 6-4 and reached the playoffs for only the third time in school history.

Not until this season had the Wave made two consecutive playoff appearances. St. Edward came within three points of advancing to the state quarterfinals this fall and also boasted the area’s best defense, which limited opponents to 11.7 points per game. Despite those gains, the sweat poured early on is not forgotten.

“We would probably look at some of our better coaching accomplishments coming in years one, two and three,” Rolando said. “In our minds that’s probably where we did some substantial work getting kids to buy in to a program that was 0-27.

“Now we’ve got athletes that know how to play football and kids that have won football games at all levels. It’s a little easier to sell this to them than it was to those kids in those first couple years.”

Like a big family

Despite those lean years, St. Edward began attracting more and more players to the program by stressing hard work in the offseason and an overall positive environment.

All of that fit into Rolando’s goal of building a consistent winner.

“If we didn’t think there was a light at the end of the tunnel, I don’t think we could have gotten up every morning and continued to work so hard,” Rolando said of his staff. “We believed that if we did it the right way and focused on academics, discipline and respect that people would want their kids to be a part of a program like that.”

Rolando wanted to make sure that everyone involved in the program felt like a stakeholder. In return he got strong support from St. Edward’s administration, faculty, parents and boosters.

That all-together environment is now a main attraction for the Green Wave.

“Everyone is basically like a big family,” St. Edward senior Sam Pozezinski said. “The coaches are basically father figures to all the kids and it’s just a great atmosphere.”

As the years went on St. Edward’s family grew to include Steve McShane as the team’s defensive line coach, Joe Guistino as the strength and conditioning coach, Chet Arciuch as a general assistant, Dave DeWitt as assistant offensive coordinator and Ryan Lasota, Chris Reynolds, Vince Castoro and Mike West as lower level coaches.

Beyond his group of coaches, Rolando says he wouldn’t be where he is without the support of his wife Teresa Rolando, their children Veronica, Jillian, Ezekiel and Luciano and his mother Dee Rolando.

“I couldn’t ask for a better coaches’ wife,” Mike Rolando said. “She’s one of the loudest fans and she’s always asking me questions about the game. With all the time we have to put in and spend away from our family, I couldn’t do it without her support at home.”

A love of coaching

Rolando has always had a fiery persona on the sidelines, but these days he isn’t as inclined to go easy on his players when they make mistakes. Simply put, he has become more demanding.

Nonetheless, St. Edward’s players respect Rolando’s dedication and coaching style.

“Coach Ro is definitely a motivator,” Pozezinski said. “He’s always willing to put forth the effort and he’s always working hard and balancing his family, job and football. He does it all.”

Added senior Jon Keokanlaya: “Coach Rolando definitely demands a lot, but I think it’s good that he expects a lot out of us because then we perform better and play to the best of our abilities.”

Rolando also earned softball Coach of the Year honors in 2008. He has since stepped down from his head softball coaching post, but he is only the third person to be recognized as C-N Coach of the Year in two separate sports.

Those leadership qualities have been with Rolando throughout his life, including when was the starting quarterback at Larkin and guided the Royals to the 1990 state quarterfinals.

Rolando carried those leadership skills to Valparaiso — where he was mostly a backup quarterback during his college football playing days — and into his professional career in the human resources field.

In many ways, it seems as if Rolando was born to coach.

“There’s always the stress behind the scenes, but I think this was my calling,” Rolando said. “My ability to communicate and motivate kids is what I guess I would say I’m good at. I guess it’s a gift to be able to do that and to get people to buy into what you’re delivering.”

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com Nov 2, 2010 07:06PM

St. Edward’s current group of football players is well informed when it comes to program history.

Granted, it’s not exactly a storied history for the Green Wave, which prior to this year had only 14 winning seasons since 1944, only three appearances in the state playoffs and no postseason victories.

Nonetheless, the 2010 St. Edward squad is in tune with the hard work that came before, particularly since coach Mike Rolando took over a decimated program shortly before the start of the 2005 season.

The reminders of the past were there for the Wave before its Class 4A first-round playoff game against Chicago Uplift on Saturday at Lane Stadium.

There was the presence in the stands of Matt Ardiente, a hard-working 2008 graduate who endured a 1-26 record on the varsity level during Rolando’s first three years at the helm. There was the letter of encouragement from Shane Finnane, a 2010 graduate who was in the trenches with many of the current team members last season and now suits up for Army’s football team.

It was with all the former Green Wave players in mind that St. Edward claimed its first playoff victory in program history. In some ways, it was as if the Wave was making up for decades of frustration by trouncing the Titans 44-8 on a sun-splashed afternoon.

“All the blood, sweat and tears these guys put in before us, this is all for them,” St. Edward junior Luke Duffy said after the win. “This is awesome.”

It might be a bit early to tag this St. Edward team as the finest in program history. The squad that went 6-0-1 in 1960 or the team that finished 8-1 in 1978 might still have a claim to such a title.

But this much is for sure: This year’s Green Wave claimed the outright Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division title, the program’s first league championship since 1978. This team also tied the 1978 squad’s record for single-season victories, became the first to win a playoff game, will host the school’s first postseason game this week and became the first team in school history to return to the postseason in consecutive seasons.

That’s a pretty good list of accomplishments so far.

“These guys respect all the teams that have come before us, and they play for them,” Rolando said. “But the first playoff win and the second team to win eight games (in a single season), that’s a lot of history. They’re a darn good team.”

St. Edward will try to continue its dream season when it takes on Mendota this week with a trip to the state quarterfinals on the line. Adding even more incentive for the Wave is the fact that its season ended in a 27-13 defeat against the Trojans in the first round of the playoffs last year.

The playoff rematch will offer an idea of just how far St. Edward has come in the past 12 months. Mendota (6-4) may have graduated a few players from the squad that reached the quarterfinals last year, but the North Central Illinois Conference champions will still be a formidable opponent. That much was evident during its resounding 39-15 win against previously unbeaten Rockford Christian on Friday night.

“Just like last year they run the ball hard and they are a great team,” Rolando said of Mendota. “They were great hosts to us and we hope to return the favor and be a great host to them. We also hope to return the favor and send them home with a loss.

“If our kids do what they know how to do and play disciplined football, they can play with anybody. They just need to rise to the occasion. This is a huge, huge game for us. We couldn’t be more excited to have another crack at Mendota at home.”

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com Oct 30, 2010 09:38PM

CHICAGO — St. Edward is starting to run out of major milestones to accomplish.

The Green Wave crossed another landmark achievement off the list Saturday, notching its first postseason victory in program history by pounding Chicago Uplift 44-8 in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs at Lane Stadium.

It was a dominating effort from start to finish for St. Edward (8-2), which tied the 1978 team’s program record for most victories in a single season. The eighth-seeded Titans didn’t record a first down until the game’s final series, and the ninth-seeded Wave enjoyed a running clock throughout the fourth quarter.

The triumph sets up St. Edward’s first home playoff game in school history next week at Greg True Field against Mendota. The Wave lost to Mendota in the first round of the playoffs last year.

“Every year the team has taken it a step further,” said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando, who is in his sixth year at the helm. “As a coach that’s an ideal situation, but eventually that’s got to end because you can only go so far. For six years in a row we’ve gotten better and better and I’m just proud of these guys for accepting that challenge and taking it to the next level.

“They laid out their goals early in the season. They wanted to win the conference, they wanted to win a playoff game, they wanted to play a home playoff game and they wanted to improve on last year’s team. In one fell swoop here today they took care of the home playoff game and a playoff victory. It’s just an awesome day.”

St. Edward wasted no time taking command, marching 47 yards in four plays for a touchdown on the game’s opening possession. Luke Duffy scored on an 8-yard run and then ran in the two-point conversion, giving the Wave an 8-0 advantage 1:13 into the contest.

The rout was on shortly thereafter as junior Ryan Johnson intercepted a pass from Uplift quarterback Jameel Carter on the third play of Uplift’s ensuing drive, setting up sophomore Mo Jackson’s 4-yard touchdown run. St. Edward then recovered an onside kick, and Duffy made it 22-0 when he scored on a 1-yard run with 1:20 left in the first quarter.

While the offense started with a burst, the story of the day was without a doubt the Wave’s defense. Uplift (7-3) had negative-32 yards in the first half and finished with 69 total yards. St. Edward’s defense even got in on the scoring act when Carter recovered two fumbles on the same play but was dropped in the end zone for a 28-yard loss and a safety in the second quarter.

The Titans’ only points came on the final play of the game against St. Edward’s second-string defense when Carter connected with Marcus Sanders for a 21-yard touchdown strike on a pass that was tipped by a Wave defender near the goal line. Carter then hooked up with Sanders again for the two-point conversion.

“We don’t want to give the other team anything,” said Duffy, who in addition to his running back duties also starts at linebacker. “We’re looking for a shutout every game. That’s our mentality.”

In another sign of the lopsided nature of the game, St. Edward started 10 of its 12 drives in Uplift territory. The Wave’s worst field position came when it started at its own 43-yard line on its only possession of the fourth quarter.

A string of dropped passes and a pair of interceptions thrown by St. Edward quarterback Ben Lehman in the second quarter were the only things that kept the Wave from adding on to its scoring total.

Jackson tacked on two more touchdown runs in the third quarter and finished with a game-high 80 rushing yards on six carries. Lehman racked up 121 passing yards, connecting with Sam Pozezinski for his lone touchdown in the second quarter.

“We knew what we had to do, we had to take it to them,” Duffy said. “We took it to them, but I think we might have relaxed a little bit. It came back to bite us (in the second quarter), but we finished and we’re going on. We definitely can’t do that next week.”

Carter tallied 67 of his 71 passing yards on the final drive of the game for Uplift, which was making its first playoff appearance.

The outcome provided plenty of satisfaction for the big and boisterous group of St. Edward fans that traveled to Chicago for the afternoon affair.

“They are just the best fans anywhere,” Rolando said. “I can only imagine what Greg True Field is going to be like next week.”

Added Pozezinski: “It’s an amazing feeling right now. I’m glad about how the team came together and played well. I’m looking forward to playing Mendota again and getting a little rematch with them.”ST. EDWARD 44, CHICAGO UPLIFT 8

St. Edward -22 - 9 - 13 - 0 -- 44

Uplift - 0 - 0 - 0 - 8 -- 8

STED – Duffy 12 run (Olenek kick), 10:47

STED – Jackson 4 run (Olenek kick), 5:25

STED – Duffy 1 run (Olenek kick), 1:20

STED – Safety, 7:06

STED – Pozezinski 12 pass from Lehman (Olenek kick), 5:58

STED – Jackson 37 run (Olenek kick), 4:49

STED – Jackson 19 run (kick failed), 1:35

CU – Sanders 25 pass from Jameel Carter (Sanders pass from Jameel Carter), 0:25

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING:

STED: Jackson 6-80, Duffy 9-47, Elam 5-24, Keokanlaya 6-17, Lehman 1-(-8).

CU: Jamal Carter 6-18, Ogunkoya 4-8, Wilson 4-4, Jameel Carter 11-(-32).

PASSING:

STED: Lehman 12-24-2 121.

CU: Jameel Carter 5-17-1 71.

RECEIVING

STED: Olenek 7-50, Pozezinski 2-35, Brockner 1-22, Duffy 2-14.

CU: Sanders 2-67, Slaughter 2-4, Jamal Carter 1-0.

Folks around St. Edward can't remember a time in the school's history when the football program attained statewide recognition, an amazing accomplishment considering it survived a near-death experience in 2005.

Green Wave football had to be rebuilt from scratch after the previous coach suddenly resigned in mid-July of 2005. Several top athletes abandoned ship for public schools. Only a scant few remained.

Youth football coach Mike Rolando, a former Larkin player under Ray Haley and Bob Krieger, volunteered to take the head coaching position when no one else wanted the job. The Wave went 0-18 in Rolando's first two seasons and 1-8 in 2007, a period during which 14-year old freshmen were asked to play varsity football against seniors twice their size just to keep the program alive.

Those players faced "bloodshed" and several left games with concussions and other injuries, Rolando said, but they kept the program's heart beating when it could have coded.

"I'll never forget the sacrifices players like Matt Ardiente, Jim Waclawik, Ryan Eighenhauser, Moises Quiroga and Shane Finnane made by playing four years of varsity football, and I'll never forget people telling us it was impossible," Rolando said. "That helped drive us. People saying we were crazy, that helped drive us. But we maintained a positive attitude and didn't dwell on the negatives. We took something positive out of every game and we built on that."

The fact St. Edward is now a ranked football team under its sixth-year coach is a testament to perseverance, dedication and determination, not only by the former and current players and Rolando's staff, but the entire St. Edward community.

The reward for the slow, steady rebuilding process is a healthy football program and a varsity squad now recognized well beyond the Elgin city limits. However, the 2010 team is not satisfied with a mere poll ranking. These players have their sites trained directly on earning the Gold Division title in the Suburban Christian Conference and winning the first playoff game in school history.

"We tend to downplay the ranking," Rolando said. "The first week we were ranked we didn't even talk about it until game day. We only brought it up then because the kids had heard it from everyone else. It's nice to be recognized as an up-and-coming team, but it doesn't mean anything on Friday night. "

That's because for all the pride there is in athletics on the corner of Elm and Locust streets in Elgin, there hasn't been a whole lot of success on the football field named for Greg True over the years. Let's face it, 12 winning seasons in 65 years of varsity football and a .333 all-time winning percentage does not qualify one for juggernaut status. Heck, only one time in those 65 years has the program had an unbeaten season, that when the Green Wave went 6-0-1 under True in 1960, long before the IHSA sponsored football playoffs. What some feel was St. Edward's best team ever, the 8-1 Tim McVey bunch of 1978 didn't even make the playoffs because in 1978 there were five classes and you had to be more than just good to get into the postseason.

Neither of the Green Wave's two playoff teams, not John Pergi's in 1983 nor Rich Sanders' 20 years later, won their first-round playoff games.

No, football and St. Edward are not two things commonly confused with equaling success.

But Mike Rolando is leading the charge to change all that.

Now in his fifth season as St. Edward's head coach, the 1991 Larkin graduate has resurrected a program that has not had an above .500 season since Jim Hoffman went 5-4 in 1994, long before the IHSA invited 5-4 teams to the postseason party unless they won a conference championship. Sanders' 2003 team finished 5-5.

Enter the 2009 Green Wave, a solid 6-3 team that will travel to Mendota Saturday afternoon for the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. From 0-9, 0-9, 1-8 and 4-5 to 6-3 and a playoff berth in five years. Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

"It's uncharted territory for us," Rolando said earlier this week. "It's a pretty cool time. The boys are excited for the opportunity to do something special. It's been a great season but now we're excited for the opportunity in front of us. Once we got on the practice field this week it was business as usual. We're going against an unknown. After being on Cloud 9 and getting that sixth win and that being so special, now we've shifted back and we're working hard."

But, boy, that sixth win sure didn't come easy. After a 5-1 start, the Wave needed just one win its final 3 games - all home games -to etch its place in the 256-team playoff field. First up was Aurora Christian. Tough 23-18 loss. Then Marian Central came to town. Ouch, a 48-7 whoopin'.

"Aurora Christian was just a tough game but then we came out flat against Marian and we weren't expecting that," said Rolando, who led the 1990 Larkin team to a state quarterfinal appearance before the Royals lost 49-42 to East St. Louis in one of the best high school football games ever played in Elgin.

"We just didn't show up to play and that was discouraging," Rolando said of the Marian Central loss. "It put our backs against the wall. But the kids knew if they didn't back down we could beat Wheaton Academy."

They had to. With a paltry 30 playoff points heading into Week 9, everyone in Green Wave Nation knew they weren't goin' dancin' at 5-4.

And with a little over 2 minutes to go in that Week 9 game last Friday, they were getting ready to ring the bell. But wait. Wheaton Academy erased a 12-point St. Edward lead quicker than you could yell "Playoffs!!!" and suddenly, with less than 30 seconds to play, the game was tied and St. Edward's postseason was in jeopardy. Then, boom, senior David Hoebbel ran back a kick 79 yards for a touchdown, the final seconds ticked away and the party was on.

"In the huddle before the kickoff we talked about making something happen," Hoebbel said this week. "We knew time was running out and we wanted to make something happen. We got more than we thought. There was relief and it felt good."

Worried? Who was worried?

"I had full confidence we were going to pull it out," said senior lineman Shane Finnane, who has been a varsity player for four years. "We wanted it real bad."

Rolando, who played his college football at Valparaiso, points to two key plays before Hoebbel's TD as being equally as important in the biggest win at Greg True in, well, a long time.

"Luckily our special teams came up big and blocked two extra points," he said. "It was quite the roller coaster game. The kids' backs were against the wall and they responded."

Finnane more than any single player can remember well when things weren't so exciting around St. Edward.

"It's been four tough years," he said. "The 0-9s, getting beat up. But then we stepped it up last year and this year has been amazing. We've never gone to the playoffs. It felt good to be on the field (this week)."

What's behind the evolution of the program is no question to the 6-foot, 240-pound Finnane, who would love to play college football at Indiana or Colorado.

"The first thing is the coaching," he said. "They've been with this senior class since we were in seventh grade. They know us. They've taught us how to be football players and how to be men. The most important thing they've taught us is heart. No matter how you play, just bring the heart."

Rolando, who has also taken the St. Edward softball program to new heights the last two years, has no intention of this being a one-year thing. The Green Wave's sophomore team was 9-0 this season, and the Crusader feeder teams claimed Super Bowl championships at the middleweight and heavyweight levels last weekend.

"This is not just a flash in the pan," Rolando declared. "We played solid football last year, we added a nice junior class this year and we did more offensively. But it's not just one great class. We only brought one sophomore (Evan Finnane) up this year and our sophomores went 9-0. We've got some good freshmen, and the Crusaders won two Super Bowls. We want to sustain this and do it right away."

Rolando is also rightfully proud of the way St. Edward has rebuilt. The program earned the Suburban Christian Gold sportsmanship award this season, something Rolando says tells him that he, his staff and the St. Edward community are doing things the right way.

"We are doing it right and we're doing it with respect," he said. "The other schools and their fans appreciate the way our kids play and the way our fans and student body act. We focus on academics. Our players have mandatory study halls and we give them college exposure. When you build a program that way and sustain it, winning becomes a byproduct and kids want to come play for you."

And win or lose on Saturday or whenever in this postseason, something tells us St. Edward is going to be an easier name to find on the IHSA's football Web site in years to come.

jradtke@dailyherald.com

By piling up big and balanced offensive numbers Friday night, Bartlett, St. Edward and Streamwood all served notice that future opponents will have to pick their poison.

Keep in mind all three teams blasted inferior competition in Week 2, but the high-powered and multi-dimensional offensive attacks displayed by the Hawks, Green Wave and Sabres were eye openers nonetheless.

In the case of Bartlett, senior quarterback AJ Bilyeu and his teammates looked downright unstoppable while doing all of their scoring before halftime in a 42-0 rout of Elgin.

Granted, the Maroons were without injured senior standout Dennis Moore, but it is hard to believe Moore’s presence would have done much to slow a Hawks attack that amassed 149 passing yards and 177 rushing yards for a 292 total in the first half before calling off the dogs after the intermission.

Of Bartlett’s six touchdowns, four came on passes from Bilyeu and two came on running plays. More impressively, all six touchdowns were scored by different players.

“We’re definitely versatile,” Bartlett senior receiver Zach Karys said. “We’ve got players at every position that can get the ball and do something with it.”

Karys, a three-year varsity starter, was the recipient of a 24-yard touchdown strike from Bilyeu in the second quarter, but it was senior tight end Lorenzo Mitchell who stole the show.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Mitchell picked apart what is usually a competent Elgin secondary by catching the first five passes from Bilyeu for 52 yards. In doing so Mitchell showed off his skills by hauling in passes over the middle as well as near the sideline, with his best reception coming on spectacular one-handed grab on a fade pattern in the back left corner of the end zone in the first quarter.

“(Mitchell) looked like a pro receiver there,” Meaney said. “That was an awesome catch, one of the best catches I’ve seen in the end zone.”

While Bartlett was proving it has the weaponry needed to live up to its lofty expectations, Streamwood was busy reassuring any doubters that its resurgence this fall isn’t a fluke.

The Sabres piled up a whopping 523 yards of offense while stomping Dundee-Crown 40-17. The Chargers had hoped to bottle up Streamwood’s star running back Alex Morrow, but that plan backfired when senior quarterback Dalton Lundeen completed 12-of-14 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns.

With the passing game in high gear, Morrow still managed to rack up 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries as the Sabres won consecutive games for the first time since 2003 and improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2002.

If Streamwood can continue to strike the kind of offensive balance it did while amassing 266 passing yards and 257 rushing yards against D-C, expect even more success to follow.

Last but not least, St. Edward got a dose of what the doctor ordered when it went on the road and pounded Iroquois West 55-6.

The Green Wave lost five fumbles in its Week 1 triumph, so cleaning things up on offense was a top priority Friday night. St. Edward accomplished that and then some as senior quarterback Bob French passed for three touchdowns and sophomore running back Davontae Elam ran for three touchdowns.

The 55-point outburst matched St. Edward’s second-highest scoring total during coach Mike Rolando’s seven years at the helm. More importantly, it built confidence in an offensive unit that will need to hold its own to support a stout Green Wave defense as the team rolls into Suburban Christian action starting this week.

By Dan Chamness For Sun-Times Media September 2, 2011 11:54PM

Updated: September 3, 2011 1:47AM

For the St. Edward offense, it was simply the Dovantae Elam show.

While Elam was scoring three touchdowns, the St. Edward defense was busy holding the Iroquois West Raiders to just one touchdown and 59 yards of offense, in the visiting Green Wave’s 55-6 victory.

Elam, who finished with over 200 rushing yards, rushed for the final four yards in a seven-play drive, which took the Green Wave (2-0) only 2:35 to complete. Elam entered the end zone with 40.8 seconds to play in the first quarter to give St. Edward its second touchdown of the contest. Joe French tacked on the extra point for a 14-0 lead.

“I love getting a lot of touches,” said Elam, who had 19 carries on the evening. “The offensive line helped tremendously. There was so much push.

“I learned a lot on how to run from my family. I also watched a little bit of Walter Payton.”

Elam rushed for 26 yards two different times during the drive as St. Edward started the drive from its own 42-yard line. Before the half was over, Elam had a second touchdown, dashing 65 yards and scoring at the 3:18 mark of the second quarter. He scored on a 75-yard touchdown run with 11:42 left to play.

Iroquois West earned its only touchdown by running the option, running Keaton Zirkle up the middle and depending on the speed of Tyler Clay as he dashed to the outside. The quarterback, Jordan Hansen, scored on a 3-yard run, cutting the lead to 14-6.

The Raiders had other drives, but the defense of St. Edward stopped them cold. Early in the third quarter, the Raiders used the option, driving down the field 27 yards, but a fumble recovered by Evan Finnane abruptly ended the drive and set up another St. Edward score as Green Wave QB Bob French found Troy Gudino with a 17-yard strike.

“Everything clicked,” said French. “My wide receivers and my offensive line made me look real good tonight. I had a ton of time. I just looked for the right guy.”

St. Edward held a 28-6 lead at halftime as French hit Matt Brockner with a 15-yard touchdown pass in the final 15 seconds of the first half. In the final play of the first half, Sean Richmond intercepted a pass to give him an interception for the second consecutive week.

“The coaches expect me to intercept passes,” said Richmond. “We were disappointed that they scored. It fired us up a little bit. The coaches had us well prepared. They surprised us on their scoring drive. They hit harder. When they brought Zirkle up the middle, they hit us harder.”

Besides the performance of Elam, French completed 6-of-12 passes for 153 yards. He completed three touchdown passes. Brockner caught two passes for 45 yards. Both were touchdown strikes.

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com Nov 3, 2010 10:22:00PM

St. Edward’s defense provides a lesson in what teamwork is all about.

The Green Wave entered the season lacking size and experience on defense, but that hasn’t stopped the unit from becoming the area’s stingiest squad, statistically speaking.

Going into Saturday’s showdown against Mendota (6-4) in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs, St. Edward (8-2) boasts a defense that is holding opponents to 10.7 points per game. The 107 points allowed by the Wave this season is more than 50 points fewer than the next area team.

Those accomplishments seem even more impressive when it is taken into account that St. Edward’s defense returned only four starters from last season and primarily uses a group of 12 players who average about 180 pounds.

So what is the key to success? Coach Mike Rolando says it is all about the players understanding the team’s system.

“All the guys are very coachable,” Rolando said. “They understand their assignments within the defense and they don’t try to make too much happen. They understand that their job may not be to make tackles, but to contain or to not let receivers behind them.

“The big thing is they understand each other’s roles and they count on each other to get the job done. They’re not selfish and they don’t go outside of their own discipline to try to make plays.”

Rolando admits that the defense was a big question mark coming into the season.

Senior defensive tackle Derek Porto, junior defensive tackle Evan Finnane, senior linebacker Jon Keokanlaya and senior safety Sam Pozezinski were the only returning starters for the unit, meaning there would be several new faces at every level of the defense.

It didn’t hurt that the incoming junior class was fresh off an undefeated sophomore campaign, but questions still remained.

“Any time you make the leap from the sophomore level to the varsity level it’s a huge disparity in the speed and the physicality of the game,” Rolando said. “We were hoping they’d be able to play at this level, but when they make that jump you just never know.”

It didn’t take long for the juniors to assert themselves and take on leading roles.

Junior linebackers Luke Duffy and Mark Sink rank as the team’s top two tacklers with 90 and 79, respectively. Junior defensive end Zack McQueen has a team-high seven sacks while junior cornerback Ryan Johnson and junior safety Sean Richmond are tied for the team lead in interceptions with two apiece.

“We knew that our defense was going to mainly be made up of juniors,” said Sink, the son of Hampshire defensive coordinator Rod Sink. “We knew we had to step up and play big and play for our seniors. We didn’t want to let them down.”

Junior cornerback Matt Brockner (44 tackles) is another key piece to the puzzle along with Finnane, who is the only junior on the team in his second varsity season. Finnane has 54 tackles, six sacks and six forced fumbles.

Given the production of the Class of 2012, it’s safe to say defense won’t be a major concern going into next season.

“Luckily we’re at this point where we’re in November and we’re not thinking about next year yet,” Rolando said. “But in the back of your mind you do catch yourself thinking ‘That (junior-dominated defense) does bode well for the future.’”

Rolando adds that the success of the juniors is in part due to the leadership provided by the team’s seniors, who also play an important role.

Keokanlaya (73 tackles), Porto (4 sacks) and Pozezinski (11 pass deflections) have all stepped up their games this season. Meanwhile, senior defensive end Kevin Danikowski has taken his game to a whole new level.

Danikowski didn’t get much playing time last season, but he doesn’t come off the field this year. In addition to his 64 tackles and five sacks on defense, he also starts at offensive tackle.

Senior linebacker Bobby Waclawik (58 tackles) is yet another important contributor for the Wave, which gets a boost from the scouting and preparation of defensive coordinator Marc Rusinko and the rest of the coaching staff.

“Coach prepares us well,” Porto said. “We always change things up depending on what the offense on the other team does, and we watch a lot of film to get ready.”

St. Edward allowed a season-low 69 yards in last week’s win against Chicago Uplift, which marked the first playoff victory in program history. The Wave hasn’t allowed more than 29 points in a game this season, and in its eight victories it hasn’t given up more than 14 points.

Along the way St. Edward held three opponents scoreless, including back-to-back shutouts in Weeks 2 and 3. Not since 1984 had the program accomplished such a feat, which proved to be a sign of things to come for a Wave team that is setting the bar higher than ever this year.

“We strive to get a shutout every game,” Keokanlaya said. “We want to set an example and play hard-nosed defense every time out.”

By John Radtke

Things were looking good for St. Edward’s black-clad Green Wave Saturday afternoon.

The stands were full and they were two-and-three deep down the sidelines. Mendota’s healthy crowd, the air filled with the aroma of burgers and pork chops cooking on the grills, not a cloud in the sky. An estimated 2,500 fans. Yep, it was set up to be a special day in the history of St. Edward football.

And an improbable 57-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the first half to give the home team a 14-6 lead at the break.

Oh yes, Elgin, a high-school football team from the city was headed to the state quarterfinals for the first time since their coach’s alma mater Larkin had gone that deep in 1999.

Yep, it sure was looking good for coach Mike Rolando’s Green Wave.

But then a 30-second span of the third quarter turned things very cloudy on this bright and splendid November Saturday.

A big runback and a touchdown 6 plays later made it 14-14. A turnover on the ensuing kickoff, a big run and a short run and suddenly the victory bell seemed as far away as the state title game in Champaign.

The fight wasn’t over though. The heart and fortitude that has become Green Wave football in Rolando’s 6 years at the helm took over and the Wave clawed and fought their way back in, scoring late in the third quarter to make it 22-20. An errant 2-point conversion pass prevented the game from being tied but you sensed that maybe the momentum had shifted again. Heck, they now had the whole fourth quarter to win the game.

But Mendota toughened up and the one good chance the Wave had to go ahead didn’t materialize. But St. Edward’s defense held the Trojans at bay and there was one last shot for the home team to send its crowd into a frenzy. But, again, the opportunity didn’t come to fruition when a high snap caused kicker Mark Olenek’s timing to go awry on a 28-yard field goal attempt with 2:49 to play that would have put the Wave back on top.

Mendota ran out the clock on St. Edward’s season and while the Trojans celebrated, St. Edward’s coaching staff implored the Green Wave to keep their heads held high. Rolando proudly congratulated his boys on a great season.

Great? How about super-great. The goals were met win the conference, win a playoff game, and host a playoff game. An 8-3 record? Well, St. Edward has been playing football since 1944 and only one other Green Wave team the 1978 Tim McVey squad managed 8 wins in a season.

“It’s always nice when you have to re-establish goals because that means you’ve achieved the ones you set,” said Rolando after spending several moments hugging his players one by one.

“I’m very proud of what they’ve done. Every year we’ve just wanted to improve and these guys can definitely say they left the program better than they found it.”

Senior quarterback Ben Lehman, who had a stellar day passing, acknowledged there were missed opportunities but preferred to not dwell on the negative.

“There were plenty of missed opportunities but you can’t look at the bad things,” he said. “You have to look at the success we had. We won the conference. After every game there’s been a sense of satisfaction. I’m so proud of what we’ve done this year.”

Junior running back Luke Duffy says this is no flash-in-the-pan type of thing going on on Elm Street.

“Each year coach Ro has been here, every team has gone farther than the last one,” Duffy said. “Our goals were to win the conference, win a playoff game and get a home game in the playoffs. Unfortunately we didn’t come out on top.

“A lot of our defense is coming back and the seniors showed us juniors how do get it done. We’ll definitely carry on their legacy.”

While Rolando chose to emphasize how much this moment was for his seniors ”We’re thinking about the seniors right now and how they played their hearts out,” he said he also spoke to the future.

“It’s up to the junior class to raise the bar again,” Rolando said. “I think these guys learned what it takes to get better. The opportunity to improve on this year will be a 12-month commitment. It won’t be long until these guys are in the weight room and setting their goals for next year.”

One thing that’s pretty clear is this the days of losing football seasons at St. Edward are over.

 

St. Edward's football team is getting a greater measure of respect, and if you don't believe it just check the rankings.

The Green Wave climbed into the 10th spot in the Associated Press Class 4A state poll this week.

"It's nice to be recognized as at least a competitive football team," Wave coach Mike Rolando said. "In years past we were everybody's homecoming, but now at least we've won enough games and played in a tough conference long enough and turned a couple heads.

"(Being ranked) is great, but it really doesn't matter on Friday night. We just need to keep our nose to the grindstone and continue to strive towards our goal of getting better every year."

The Wave is coming off a Week 1 21-13 win against Hampshire in which its defense made several key plays in the second half.

That was an unexpected turn of events in that St. Edward expected a prolific offense to lead the way.

"We've obviously got a lot of work to do," Rolando said. "We were fortunate to get out of Hampshire with a victory last week."

The Green Wave will visit Rockford Lutheran (1-0) on Friday.

By Erik Jacobsen ejacobsen@stmedianetwork.com Oct 27, 2010 01:12AM

Credit St. Edward’s coaching staff for making a good snap decision with regard to Ben Lehman.

After playing outside linebacker and running back during junior high, Lehman got a new assignment upon joining the Green Wave program.

“I came into freshman summer camp and they just said they wanted me to play quarterback,” Lehman said. “There was no rhyme or reason to it. They just didn’t have anyone else to fill the spot and they figured they’d give me a shot.”

Four years later, Lehman is regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in the area as he prepares to lead St. Edward back into the Class 4A state playoffs this Saturday against Chicago Uplift at Lane Stadium in Chicago.

In his second varsity season, Lehman has completed 83 of 165 passes for 1,406 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted only five times and also has 357 rushing yards on 48 attempts.

This weekend Lehman will likely surpass his passing yardage total from last year when he led the area with 1,417 yards through the air. While the totals are almost the same, the skills that make Lehman the player he is have evolved.

A big reason for that progress is Lehman’s ability to accept coaching. He attended no fewer than 20 college camps last summer, picking up countless tricks of the trade in addition to what he already learned from St. Edward coach Mike Rolando, a former quarterback who starred in high school and college while playing at Larkin and Valparaiso.

“Ben is a real a student of the game,” Rolando said. “Sure, he heard me give him some tips and teaching along the way, but he went out and went to 20 camps this summer and he’s heard it from a lot of different coaches. They are all teaching him different ways to fake and improve his footwork.

“He’s just had a lot of different instruction and he brings it all together, and that’s what makes him Ben Lehman. He learns from everyone who has taught him and takes the pieces he can use to kind of mold himself as a quarterback.”

The son of Mike Lehman, the golf operations director in the city of Elgin, Ben Lehman didn’t have much time to hit the links this summer.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound quarterback started his odyssey at an Eastern Illinois camp one day after St. Edward’s school year ended. He then travelled everywhere from Missouri to Massachusetts, displaying his talents along the way.

Lehman felt particularly comfortable in the company of coaches from Valparaiso, Georgetown, Southern Illinois and Indiana State. It comes as no surprise that those four NCAA Division-I Football Championship Series programs rank highest on Lehman’s list of potential destinations following this season.

Lehman is blessed with a talented offense at St. Edward that includes senior receiver Sam Pozezinski. The Wave is averaging 30.1 points per game this season, and a formidable ground attack has helped lighten the pressure on St. Edward’s passing game.

For Lehman, all the offseason work has helped make him feel more sure-handed under center.

“My mechanics have really changed a lot,” Lehman said. “Last year I was just kind of slinging the ball, and over the summer I worked with Jeff Christensen, who has a program and works with a lot of quarterbacks. A lot of it was just reading defenses and learning easy ways to get the ball moved around.”

The Wave certainly hasn’t had much trouble moving the ball this year, and as a result St. Edward claimed the outright Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division title — its first league championship since 1978.

Now Lehman hopes to finish his high school career by leading the Wave to its first-ever playoff win and perhaps even greater spoils during the next few weeks.

“We’ve done a lot of good this year and I think we’re right on track to accomplish our the rest of our goals,” Lehman said.

For St. Edward seniors Shane Finnane and Nathan Gaige, a long varsity football odyssey reaches uncharted territory this weekend.

No two players represent the Green Wave's progression from woebegone program to playoff qualifier more than Finnane and Gaige, who have been through every step of the transition the past four years as varsity starters.

As freshmen, the duo was part of a 2006 team that hardly stood a chance from week to week while finishing 0-9. They helped St. Edward break through and end its 26-game losing streak as sophomores and played a part in leading the Wave toward respectability with a 4-5 finish as juniors.

Now comes the climax of the journey as Finnane and Gaige lead St. Edward into its first postseason game since 2003 on Saturday at Mendota in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

"Going 0-9 my freshman year, then 1-8 and then 4-5, I feel like I've been through the whole progression," Finnane said. "Ending my senior year like this is definitely a great thing to do."

The contributions of Finnane and Gaige have been enormous this season as St. Edward matched its highest win total since 1992 with a 6-3 regular season.

The 6-foot, 240-pound Finnane leads the defense with 91 tackles to go along with two sacks. In addition to his middle linebacker duties, he's also helped the Wave offense rack up 236.9 rushing yards per game with his play at left tackle.

Meanwhile, Gaige is second to Finnane with 87 tackles. The 5-11, 205-pounder is also tied for the team lead with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries in his fourth season at outside linebacker.

"(Gaige) is just a great athlete, his motor is always going and he practices hard," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "(Finnane) is the strongest kid in the program. For a high school boy, he's got a work ethic like no other."

Rolando is the reason Finnane and Gaige decided to attend St. Edward in the first place. He coached the duo to a championship in 2004 when Finnane and Gaige were seventh-graders with the Crusaders youth football team.

The following year Rolando took over at St. Edward. When it came time for Finnane and Gaige to enroll in high school, the opportunity to play for their former coach outweighed the prospect of enduring a rebuilding project with the Green Wave.

"This group of seniors right now, a couple of us played with these coaches since seventh grade," Finnane said. "They've been like another set of parents for us. They brought us up and made us who we are today.

"(Rolando) is the reason we came to St. Ed. We knew he could turn the program around as fast as he did."

Finnane is in his fourth season as a two-way starter, and Gaige started both ways the previous three years before focusing more on his linebacker duties this fall.

While that service is impressive, it's not exactly ideal to have players three and four years younger than most opponents never leave the field.

Yet that's the reality St. Edward faced when Rolando took over a program that was left in shambles following former coach Rich Sanders' abrupt departure a month before the 2005 season.

"I knew when coach Ro needed guys like me and Shane to play on varsity as freshmen that we weren't going to be that good," Gaige said. "But I knew we were just growing as a program."

That growth is evident now as the Green Wave counts only one sophomore as a regular varsity starter. St. Edward could barely field a sophomore team when Finnane and Gaige arrived, but this year the Wave fielded a full sophomore squad that rolled to a 9-0 record.

"Back in Shane and Nathan's day they were two-way starters as freshmen, but those days are kind of over," Rolando said. "We've got a sustained program where juniors and seniors play varsity with maybe an exceptional sophomore here and there. But for the most part we want to have juniors and seniors on the field."

And therein lies what may be the most lasting legacy Finnane and Gaige will leave behind at St. Edward.

While both players have aspirations to play in college -- Finnane is drawing considerable interest from Army while Gaige has been in contact with NAIA Quincy University -- their sacrifices and hard work have helped create an even brighter future for Green Wave football.

"We don't want to look at this good year as a flash in the pan," Rolando said. "We want to sustain this for the long run."

St. Edward's first postseason bid in six seasons

ELGIN – St. Edward's postseason-clinching sixth win of the season bordered on the surreal on Friday night at a muddy Greg True Field.

After seeing a double-digit lead slip through its grasp in the final two and a half minutes, the Green Wave needed a blocked extra point try and 79-yard kickoff return touchdown to finally knock off Wheaton Academy 34-28, securing the sixth win that had been eluding it the last two weeks and giving the school its first playoff berth since 2003.

With 33.1 seconds on the clock and the score knotted at 28, Jack Cholewa blocked Wheaton Academy's ensuing PAT try to keep St. Edward from falling behind. The Warriors kickoff then sailed out of bounds, giving the Green Wave (6-3, 3-2 Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division) the opportunity to take the ball from the 35.

Instead, the coaching staff declined the penalty and had Wheaton Academy (5-4, 3-2) re-kick.

"We saw a lot of clean jerseys on their kickoff team," coach Mike Rolando said. "Worst-case scenario, they onside kick it, we recover it on hopefully a short field or they kick it deep and something good can happen. I asked (special teams) coach (Mike) Childers which way we were going and he said, 'Left. There's a lot of clean jerseys over there.' "

Childers' instincts paid off.

David Hoebbel took the return 79 yards on a criss-crossing run that put the Green Wave ahead 34-28 with 15.7 seconds left.

"We worked so hard," said Hoebbel, who ran for 89 yards on 14 carries. "I had confidence in all of my teammates when we started that play. Coach called a return to the left. I knew as soon as I touched the ball that I was going to score a touchdown."

After a missed extra point try, St. Edward kicked off and three plays later, Nathan Gaige came away with an interception to seal the heart-stopping victory. The turnover was Wheaton Academy's only of the night. St. Edward turned the ball over four times.

"As soon as Nathan caught that ball I went straight into tears," senior lineman Shane Finnane said. "It's been four really, really long years. I've worked hard. Seven in the morning every day in the weight room, just trying to make me and my team better. It finally paid off."

The heavy drama began to unfold just two minutes after Jordan Torres (19 carries, 134 yards) galloped into the end zone to put St. Edward up 28-16. A Wheaton Academy TD reception less than a minute later might have put a little doubt into the final result but a Torres fumble with 1:24 remaining definitely did.

The Warriors completed their miraculous comeback with 33.1 seconds remaining, when Academy's Brian Pell hit Anthony Ritchie for the score to tie the game at 28.

"Anything that could happen on a football field seemed like it was going to happen there," Rolando said. "I think I already forgot the whole first half already. The second half was so stressful. The seniors, the boys, all the players, stepped up and got it done when they had to.

"They never quit. We talked about playing with enthusiasm instead of emotion, because emotion, you can get down when something bad happens. Enthusiasm, you stay up, it's always positive."

With the extra point looming, the Green Wave faithful was in a hysterical panic. But with brutal field conditions crippling both sides' special teams units, the Green Wave kept the score all square at 28. Jack Cholewa became the second St. Edward player of the night to block an extra point.

"It was huge," Rolando said of the block. "(If it's good), then you're in desperation."

What led to the frenzied finish seems pedestrian by comparison. After a Jim Cholewa 35-yard field goal and a 50-yard Torres run, St. Edward led 9-0 with 3:47 left in the first.

A Sam Pozezinski fumble on a punt late in the quarter set up the first of Pell's four touchdown passes, with St. Edward's lead trimmed to 9-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Wheaton Academy capitalized off another St. Edward turnover late in the second, as a Ben Lehman pick led to a Warriors field goal that gave them a 10-9 halftime lead.

St. Edward went ahead 15-10 on its opening drive off the third on a 5-yard Hoebbel run but fell behind again 16-15 with 1:48 left in the quarter.

In what was the biggest play of the game up until that point, the Green Wave went back up with 6:17 left when a newly gloved Zach Von Ahnen made a quick catch up the middle, rambling 69 yards to put St. Edward up 21-16.

"He (went to the sideline and) put his gloves on," Rolando laughed. "I'm like, 'Nothing like giving it away.' We had been pounding the ball. First (Wheaton Academy) is bringing six and then they're bringing eight, then 10. As long as he wasn't getting jammed at the line, we were pretty sure he was going to be open."

Torres' TD run with 2:32 left put the Wave up 28-16, prompting what turned out to be some premature celebrations.

St. Edward was penalized seven times for 55 yards.

ST. EDWARD 34, WHEATON ACADEMY 28

Wheaton Academy       7    3    6    12   --  28

St. Edward                   9    0    6    19   --  34

STED – FG Cholewa 35, 5:11

STED – Torres 50 run (kick failed), 3:47

WA – Libby 30 pass from Pell (Cote kick), 1:07

WA – FG Cote 25, 1:22

STED – Hoebbel 5 run (run failed), 9:14

WA – Johnson 4 pass from Pell (pass failed), 1:48

STED – Von Ahnen 69 pass from Lehman (run failed), 6:17

STED – Torres 15 run (Cholewa kick), 2:32

WA – Ritchie 32 pass from Pell (kick blocked), 1:42

WA – Ritchie 5 pass from Pell (kick blocked), :33

STED – Hoebbel 79 kickoff return (kick failed), :15

Team statistics            WA        STED

First downs                     11            10

Comp.-att-int.              11-25-1     2-5-2

Passing yards                 187            88

Rushing-att-yds.            29-70       39-248

Total yards                     257           336

Fumbles-lost                   0-0           4-2

Penalties-yards               5-43         7-55

Individual statistics

Rushing

WHEATON ACADEMY — Pell 17-34, Libby 10-38, Cote 2-(minus)2.

ST. EDWARD — Torres 19-134, Hoebbel 14-89, Lehman 5-23, Godfrey 1-2.

Passing

WHEATON ACADEMY — Pell 11-25-1 187.

ST. EDWARD — Lehman 2-5-2 88.

Receiving

WHEATON ACADEMY — Ritchie 7-135, Johnson 2-12, Libby 2-40.

ST. EDWARD – Von Ahnen 1-69, Hoebbel 1-19.

St. Edward's David Hoebbel breaks the last Wheaton Academy tackle attempt on his way to a 79-yard kickoff return for the game-winning touchdown Friday night at Greg True Field.   Photo Courtesy of Jim Finnane

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The schools on these lists make up arguably THE toughest conference in the state.  They beat 5A, 6A, 7A, and 8A teams consistently... some right in your own back yard.  AT LEAST one of these teams has won a State Championship in each of the past 8 years, dating back to the year 2000.  If you plan to represent the SCC in the IHSA State Playoffs in 2009, you had better put in the work in the off season and prepare to play the best.  No Excuses... No Room For Error... Just Find A Way To Get It Done!

Scholly to Ferris State: St. Edward senior defensive back/wide receiver Josh Scholly committed to Division II Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. on Feb. 4.

Scholly intends to study chemistry and eventually work in the medical field.

'At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.-Hebrews 12:11'

"The Pain of Discipline, or the Pain of Regret... YOU CHOOSE!"

ELGIN -- St. Edward senior Jimmy Mathisen, like many of his teammates, was overcome with emotion following Friday night's crushing 33-27 home loss to Montini -- ranked No. 2 in the Class 5A state poll.

Tears ran down both sides of Mathisen's face, smearing the phrase "No Regrets" that was written on each side of the eye black under his eyes.

Like so many times before, St. Edward was less than a handful of plays away from shocking not only the Suburban Catholic Conference, but the state with a possible victory over the undefeated Broncos (8-0, 6-0) at Greg True Field.

That didn't make the difficult defeat any easier to digest, but it did prove a point to some degree -- St. Edward, which won one game last season, has sure come a long way in a short time. Still, a postseason berth will not happen this season.

"We knew what we were playing for tonight. If we didn't win there was a very slim chance of getting into the playoffs," Mathisen said. "We told ourselves to leave nothing on the field and play with no regrets.

"Losing never feels good, but everyone should be proud. A couple of years ago the coaches just told us to play as hard as we could against teams like this. This year, we knew we had a chance against them and we came out ready to win tonight."

St. Edward (3-5, 1-5) had Montini backpedaling from the very start. The Broncos didn't take their first lead until early in the second half before pulling ahead by their biggest margin, 26-14, with 5:43 left in the third quarter.

However, this time St. Edward wasn't about to back down, responding with a touchdown on its next drive following a fumble recovery in the end zone by Moises Quiroga. Quiroga (19 rushes, 84 yards) scooped up a loose ball after Cory Diaz had fumbled at the goal line on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line to make the score 26-20.

"We convinced them all week that we could beat this team," Wave coach Mike Rolando said. "They finally came out confident they could win. It was senior night and all the history they've been through, the guys really wanted this one and they played with a lot of heart tonight."

St. Edward then stopped Montini on consecutive drives, but was unable to come away with any points despite starting its possessions inside the Broncos' 40-yard line on both occasions. The Broncos eventually made the Green Wave pay for its inability to seize control -- pulling a rabbit out of the hat to break the hearts of the Green Wave.

Facing third-and-31 from the St. Edward 45-yard line, Broncos quarterback Tom DiCristina (15-of-19 passing, 335 yards, 3 TDs) eluded a near sack and found Grant Goebel behind St. Edward's last line of defense and alone in the back of the end zone for a TD and a 33-20 lead with 2:53 remaining.

"We were one play, one break away from making this happen," Rolando said. "Give Montini credit, they stepped up when they had to and made a big play. We had our fingertips on his jersey, but (DiCristina) was able to scramble around and make something happen."

St. Edward still refused to give up, getting back within 33-27 with 29 seconds left after Mathisen (20 carries, 167 yards, 2 TDs) rumbled in from 9 yards out. However, the onside kick attempt was recovered by Montini to seal the victory for the visitors.

"The only overwhelming feeling I have right now is just how proud I am of these boys," Rolando said. "We are not going to get to play in the postseason and it's just a shame. We are one of the best (Class) 4A teams there is and these kids deserve it."

St. Edward scored on its first possession of the game, marching 69 yards on 14 plays, while chewing up 7:59 off the clock. The drive was finally capped off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cory Diaz (4-of-9 passing, 39 yards) to Zack Von Ahnen.

Montini tied it at 7 early in the second quarter before St. Edward went back on top, 14-7, on a 21-yard touchdown run by Mathisen with 1:32 left in the half. Montini needed just three plays before the end of the half to get back within 14-13 after DiCristina hit Goebel on a 20-yard strike.

Quiroga alternated snaps with Diaz at times throughout the game for the first time this season, completing 5 of 7 passes for 53 yards.

Click for Flyer #2

Thank You to all who made permanent lights possible, from all of the St. Edward HS Football family!

Football Fundraiser @ Colonial Cafe Wednesday, April 9th from 4:30p to
close. Pass the word on to family and friends. The more customers for
Colonial, the more money for the football program. Come have a great
dinner and meet with the other football players/parents!

Green Wave claims victory

ELGIN -- The word heart kept passing through the lips of St. Edward players and echoing across Greg True Field on Friday night.

The Green Wave showed plenty of it with a 28-26 overtime win against St. Francis in Suburban Catholic Conference play.

For St. Edward, it snapped a school-record 26-game losing streak. But more than just ending the victory drought, it validated the efforts of the players that endured almost three winless years.

"It's unbelievable right now," Green Wave senior Matt Ardiente said. "There's no words that can describe it right now. It's just amazing. The team believed, we all believed we could do it. It just feels great to come out on top after three years of struggle. It just feels good."

The last time St. Edward (1-6, 1-4) collected a victory was a 45-14 rout of Aurora Central Catholic on Oct. 8, 2004.

The Green Wave broke into the win column in gutsy fashion.

After overcoming an eight-point halftime deficit to take the game into overtime, St. Edward owned the first possession of the extra period.

Facing fourth down from the 1-yard line, Moises Quiroga rumbled off left tackle into the end zone to put the Green Wave ahead 26-20.

That was when St. Edward coach Mike Rolando elected to make the bold decision to go for the two-point conversion. While that has been a move that's backfired on the Wave this season, Rolando thought it was an easy call.

"I don't think there's a better way to call it," he said. "You have to put the pressure on the other team. They elected to play defense first so they'd know what they had to do. The only way to put the pressure back on them is to get two points."

The Wave did it with quarterback Ryan Gilbert rolling out and tossing a pass to Quiroga in the right side of the end zone.

"To be honest, I was scared and nervous," said Quiroga, who rushed 16 times for a team-high 62 yards. "Coach called for a playmaker, and I was it on that two-point conversion."

St. Francis (2-5, 1-4) used three plays to score in its half of the overtime, but couldn't force a second extra frame when Ryan O'Donnell was stopped short of the goal line by barely more than a foot.

"It's just amazing that we pulled that off," Ardiente said. "I didn't think we were going to pull it off, but my brothers picked me up and we achieved it. We got the 'W.' "

Many in the homecoming crowd might have doubted the Green Wave could pull it off after falling behind 14-0 by the midpoint of the second quarter. O'Donnell broke a 33-yard scoring run in the first and a St. Edward fumble helped set up a scoring toss from Spartans QB Jeff Reckards to Bob Vondehaar.

Vondehaar had his way going against St. Edward cornerback Josh Scholly with the scoring toss and another long pass play in the second quarter, but Scholly would get his revenge on the other side of the ball.

Gilbert capped a 38-yard, second-quarter Wave scoring drive with a 1-yard run. A blocked kick left St. Edward trailing 14-6 at halftime.

The Green Wave quarterback engineered a 15-play, 69-yard drive, finished off by a 13-yard scoring toss to Cory Diaz with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.

For the night, Gilbert connected on 11 of 19 passes for 111 yards.

"Ryan Gilbert played an incredible second half," Rolando said. "He was there in the spotlight, feeling the pressure and making plays."

St. Francis went back ahead when O'Donnell returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a score.

However, St. Edward mounted another long drive -- this time 11 plays and 75 yards.

Quiroga broke a 25 yard run to put the Wave on the Spartan 20-yard line. From there, Gilbert threw a pass to Scholly for the final scoring play of regulation.

Jordan Torres' missed PAT kick made the extra period a necessity, but once in overtime the Wave never wavered.

"It was heart and dedication," said Quiroga, echoing the sentiment shared by his teammates. "We just wanted it. They wanted it too, but in the end only one team can win and we pulled it out."

One play stood between St. Edward and its first victory since Oct. 8, 2004.

St. Francis running back Stan Bobowski had just scored on a 2-yard run in overtime to pull visiting St. Francis within 28-26.

Forced to attempt the 2-point conversion to forge a tie, the Spartans pitched the ball left to running back Mark Kachmer. But the junior was met at the 2-yard line by four Green Wave defenders, led by Moises Quiroga and Nevin Bens, and stopped short of the goal line.

With that tackle three years of frustration evaporated into the muggy autumn night. The entire student section huddled around Greg True Field -- extra large on St. Edward's homecoming night -- stormed the field to celebrate the end of the school's record 26-game losing streak.

Grown men wept. Players were lifted onto fans' shoulders. Everyone got hugged.

The streak was finally dead.

"I will never forget this day my whole life, especially on homecoming" said Green Wave quarterback Ryan Gilbert. "This is just amazing. It's the best feeling. We waited too long for this."

Gilbert was a big reason St. Edward (1-6, 1-4 Suburban Catholic) was able to overcome its 14-6 halftime deficit. He completed a pass to Josh Scholly on fourth down to keep a third-quarter drive alive. Seven plays later he launched a perfect pass to Cory Diaz in the corner of the end zone to pull the Wave within 14-12 with 28 seconds left in the third period.

Gilbert then tied the game with a 2-point bootleg keeper.

But the Spartans (2-5, 1-4) roared back on the next play when junior Ryan O'Donnell returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown.

"We were putting in all the effort we could," O'Donnell said. "It was just great to be in one of these great high school games. It was a fun game, but it's a very, very tough loss. We were all working so hard out there, giving it our hearts."

The Spartans missed the extra-point kick wide to the right, however, leaving the score 20-14.

Two possessions later St. Edward drove 75 yards in 11 plays, a march capped by a great adjustment from Scholly, who reached back to snare an underthrown ball from Gilbert for a 20-yard touchdown with 4:21 remaining in regulation time.

However, St. Edward had its extra point try blocked for the second time on the night, leaving the score knotted 20-20.

St. Edward got the ball first in overtime and scored on Quiroga's 1-yard plunge on fourth-and-goal. But the bigger play came next.

Due to his teams' kicking difficulties, Green Wave coach Mike Rolando elected to fake the kick in favor of a rollout option. Gilbert, the holder, placed the ball down, rolled right, pumped once, then threw an accurate strike on the run to Quiroga to give St. Edward its first lead at 28-20.

"We'd had enough trouble with those today," Rolando said of the failed extra points. "They were coming so aggressively, jumping right over our center. So we figured (the pass) had to be open.

"This win is about Matt Ardiente, Nevin Bens, Ryan Gilbert -- our seniors. It's about getting that monkey off their backs to show everybody how good they really are."

St. Francis could only tip its collective hat.

"I'm very happy for them snapping their streak," St. Francis coach Greg Purnell said. "I feel very bad for our kids. They played better than us, they tackled better, they blocked better. They deserved to win."

Where is St. Edward Football Heading…

After coming off back-to-back 0-9 seasons, we would be foolish to think that people are not questioning the direction and future of the football program at St. Edward High School.  Those that are close to the program understand the situation and can see all of the positive things that have transpired over the past 2 years. However, not everyone is close to the program so I wanted to give our football family an update to ensure the continued positive support you have given us.

I’d like to start by saying that the coaching staff has accomplished more in 2 years than we thought possible when we first started.  We identified the problem of total participation and attrition as a class moved up.  Starting with 25 freshmen and ending with less than 10 as seniors throws up a huge red flag and is impossible to win with.  In the past 2 years, each class has grown in numbers as they moved to the next level.  There is a reason kids did not want to play and I think we have made some positive changes to correct that problem.

We identified a very negative attitude and aura around the football program, from players, parents, faculty, and other students alike.  Our first immediate goal last year was to earn the RESPECT back from our classmates, teachers, administration, and families and make football fun again.  This would not happen over night and would only be successful if the coaching staff and players carried themselves with respect, treated others with respect, and focused on grades.  I can honestly say the boys have made me very proud in this aspect, and they carry themselves in school with that in mind.  We have had a very positive impact on the boys’ grades and keep the parents informed weekly of any grades that are slipping during the season.

The 2008 class started with 17 last year, 5 more came out or transferred back to be part of this program.  The class of 2009 started with 27, 4 more came out during the season, and 4 more have joined or transferred back to be part of this program.  The class of 2010 already has 22 players that have informed us they are playing next year, which is far more that we had at this time last year for incoming freshmen.  I am very confident that number will exceed 35 by August. 

When we told people affiliated with St. Eds that we would have 60 players in the program for 2006, no one thought it was possible.  They said they had never seen that many kids play football at St. Eds.  We ended up with 70.  For 2007, I am confident we WILL have 90-100 players and we WILL win 5 games next year and make the IHSA State Playoffs.  We need the entire Football Program to start believing this and taking action to make it happen.

That is where St. Edward Football is headed and those things are only possible by keeping in tact our core goals and values, which will never change.  Please help the program by continuing to stay positive, speak positively about the program, spread the word, and BELIEVE in the boys.

Thank you for your continued positive support,

Click Here for testing results

click here for order form

Sue Degregorio of the Parent Club called to ask our assistance with some work around the school on Monday and Tuesday, pulling weeds and spreading mulch.  I would like to encourage all our boys to be there.  1:00PM on Monday 6/26 and 1:00PM on Tuesday 6/27.  Please wear white STE Football Tee Shirt or a white tee shirt. 

Strength testing has been changed from 6/24 to 7/1.  Still from Noon til 2:00PM.
Coach Ro

CLICK HERE FOR TESTING RESULTS

CLICK HERE FOR CAMP REGISTRATION FORM

***Everyone had a BLAST!  Hope you can all make it to the next TEAM Building Event***
 
2006 Football Players and Potential Incoming Freshmen,

 

I hope the Holidays are treating you well and you are all enjoying your time off from school.  I am writing this letter to stay in touch with you all in the off season and share some information and thoughts with you.

 

First, we are now entering into 2006, a year with high hopes and expectations for the football program.  All the coaches have been impressed with the gains many of you have made in the weight room already.  I encourage all of you to make yourself stronger.  Football is a physical sport, one in which you need to be able to physically handle your opponent.  To improve that, you must get in the weight room.

 

Second, to start the year off, we are having a TEAM building event at the Vernon Hills Whirlyball Court on SUNDAY, January 8^th from 12:30PM to 2:30PM.  This time should accommodate the high school and feeder basketball teams.  I hope you all can make it.  Those that have not done this before, it is like playing basketball in bumper cars with a wiffleball using a scoop to throw the ball at the goal.  The cost will be $10 per player and you can bring it that day, but PLEASE RSVP by phone or email so I know how many are coming.  We’ll meet at St. Ed’s at 11:00AM and car pool from there.

 

Next, please log on to the web site above and register your email address AND have your parents register their email.  I use the website to stay in touch with everyone and share important dates and times.  Please check it often, AND REGISTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES.

 

Lastly, I know many of you are in other sports, and I encourage you to play as many sports as you are able to and that you enjoy, but PLEASE make time to lift 3 times a week at a minimum.  We will open the weight room ANY TIME YOU WANT, even 6:00AM if you want, but you need to get in there to help your TEAM get better.  Also, the Strength Testing is VERY important and we need to see everyone in there for the testing.  We play in a tough conference and a very tough schedule.  The time is now to start earning that first VICTORY. 

 

And a message to the Juniors… This is your TEAM now.  YOU are the leaders.  YOU have paid the price.  This is YOUR year.  Now take ownership of YOUR TEAM and make what you want of it.  My philosophy will be that every spot belongs to a Senior or Junior, until someone beats them out for it.  Take action NOW to earn and keep your spot.  Come August… The BEST Will Play!

 

Spread the word to any classmates that are considering playing next year, bring them January 8^th.

 

 

Coach Ro

We've seen some GREAT results from everyone who tested on Saturday and Monday so far.  If you haven't tested, get in ASAP. 
Keep up the hard work guys... it will pay off.
Coach Ro

Click Here for Chalk Talk Vol 7

With everything going on with St. Edward Athletics now, I'd like to take a moment to share a positive experience with our football team this year, and one of the biggest victories a coach can have.  Sometimes there is more attention given to negative things than positive ones.  I'd also hope it puts things in perspective and shows that this is an isolated incident with isolated student(s) and that there is a LOT of good things happening at St. Edward High School and a LOT of great students and faculty that are there to help lead young people in the right direction. 

We publish a "Chalk Talk" every week during the season; they are all posted on our web site.  The final one, volume 7, has a Q&A from our seniors.  Please take a look at question #3 and how each of them answered it.  I've attached it for your convenience.

I was more proud of our staff and kids that day than ever, the day I read their responses.

Thanks for your time, and support.
Coach Rolando
Head Football Coach

The Green Wave suited up 16 Freshmen and walked into Driscoll's stadium to take on their 45-50 freshmen Tuesday afternoon.  Driscoll looked confident with almost as many coaches as the Wave had players, but after an opening drive where the Wave pounded the ball right at Driscoll and marched down the field and scored on a plunge up the middle by John Heugh, the Driscoll sideline was quite silent.  Driscoll answered with a drive of their own to go up 7-6, but the Wave took the ball again and ate up the entire 2nd quarter to go up 12-7 on a pop pass from Cory Emerson to Jim Waclawik with only 17 seconds to go in the first half.  The 85 degree heat and humidity started to take its toll on the Wave in the 2nd half, and Driscoll got a receiver out in the open and took the lead 13-12.  The Wave still moved the ball well in the 2nd half but had some untimely mistakes and a couple interceptions in the 4th quarter that allowed Driscoll to take a 20-12 lead in the 4th quarter to secure the win.  The refs and Driscoll coaches praised the Green Wave effort and desire with only 16 kids and 2 coaches.  As the Freshmen Team chanted "Green Wave Future!", everyone that saw them play envisioned the pride and success they are working toward...

The Varsity Green Wave had twice the rushing yards, twice the passing yards, twice the first downs, and twice the time of possession time of RCL on Saturday, but the miscues, penalties, turnovers, and mistakes by players and coaches alike were too much to overcome as the Varsity fell 20-13.  RCL ran back a kick for a TD in the 2nd quarter, but the Green Wave was able to recover from that and tie it up at 13 in the 3rd quarter.  After a great defensive stand at the 9 yard line, a fake field goal caught the Wave off guard to allow RCL to take a 20-13 lead.  The Wave marched down the field as they had all game, and found themselves on the 10 yard line with about 2 minutes left in the game.  Truax lost his footing on a swing pass that may have gotten him into the endzone on 3rd down which left the Wave with one last shot.  They drew up a play during a time out and had Brandon Wolf run a slant corner route.  Brandon got his man to bite on the slant fake and headed to the corner, but Gilbert's pass was just over the outstretched fingertips of Wolf.  Matt Ardiente rushed 28 times for 166 yards and 1 TD, and Ryan Gilbert scored the other TD on a QB sneak after a nice 45 yard bootleg run.  Andrew Truax had 13 carries for 56 yards.  Defensively, Moises Quiroga, Marty Vajgrt, and Gerrit Rogers led the way with 7 tackles each, Ardiente and Wolf each had 5, and we don't want to leave out big Dave Meyers INT.  Great effort again, the boys and coaches all wish we could have that one back.  But we will all learn from our mistakes and get ready for Driscoll.

The Freshmen won their opener against Hampshire Monday night by a score of 6-0.  Cory Emerson found Josh Scholly on a bootleg pass for the games only TD late in the 4th quarter.  The defense held up and forced a fumble with a little over a minute left in the game that Jim Waclawik came up with.  Emerson picked up a first down on a bootleg and the Greenwave was able to down the ball from there for the Victory!  The O line played great, allowing John Heugh to pile up some yardage right up the middle.  The D also played well with Ryan Eigenhauser and Steve Jones having great games.
Mo dislocated his thumb on the first offensive play.  He went to the ER and got it popped back in.  He is fine and will need a couple days rest, but he'll be 100% in a few days.
Great game guys!
Coach Ro