Chicago Sports

The two stars for this review of “Elf — The Musical” have almost nothing to do with the script, score or design of this stage musical about a human raised as an elf by Santa.

They are instead allotted to the Drury Lane Theatre cast’s valiant delivery of material that is unoriginal, underwhelming and a cheap, platitudinous attempt to cash in on holiday cliches, all while purporting to gin up the true spirit of Christmas.

Inspired by the 2003 movie written by David Berenbaum, “Elf — The Musical,” helmed by director/choreographer Lynne Kurdziel-Formato, follows the adventures of Buddy the titular elf (Ben Dow). Raised at the North Pole, Buddy figures out he’s human after realizing he’s much taller than his co-workers. He then travels from Santa’s land to New York City (upper Manhattan) to find his real father.

The movie is a 90-minute charmer. The musical (with a generic score by Matthew Skylar, a cheesier-than-a-pizzeria dumpster of a book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, and lazy, banal lyrics by Chad Beguelin) is a bloated, two-and-a-half-hour slog that’s all sparkle and no substance.

At least, it would be all sparkle had Drury Lane decided to invest in an actual set (Kristen Martino, or more of the costumes (Rachel Boylan), some that appear to be a step above the remnants of a post-holiday, half-off craft store clearance bin.

After leaving Santa (A.D. Weaver) and arriving in New York, Buddy finds his father, the grinchly, Christmas-hating Walter Hobbs (Sean Fortunato) who is busy neglecting his ever-patient wife Emily (Melody Hobbs) and son Michael (Gabriel Solis opening night, Elliott Mayeda at some performances).

It falls to Buddy to teach all he encounters the true meaning of Christmas — which, in the genius lyrics of “Elf” is “Sparklejollytwinklejingley.” (Walter’s anti-sparkle skepticism is balm in a wasteland of glittery treacle.)

Dow’s Buddy is tireless as he plays a 30-year-old with the demeanor of a profoundly sheltered 6-year-old. In the movie, there’s a genuine warmth to that innocence. Here, it just seems contrived no matter how much spritely innocence Dow pours into the role.

There are two solid numbers, thankfully. The first is the Act 2 opener “Nobody Cares About Santa,” wherein a corps of jaded department store Santas sings of rotten kids and jaded adults. When the final Santa sashayed away, I yearned for an encore.

The second one follows immediately, when Buddy’s deeply underwritten non-elf girlfriend Jovie (Lydia Burke) unleashes her spectacular vocals with “Never Fall in Love (With an Elf).” Burke’s got a voice that reaches the sky and a presence like the sun. But, for all the song’s protestations, Jovie has little to do here but wait around for Buddy the man-child to engage with her.

The show’s dance corps also shines in a tap finale, but what could be a real whiz-bang eye-popper sinks due to under-population. The stage looks half-filled much of the time.

The set is a far cry from the richly detailed environments Drury Lane has created in the past. It’s essentially a series of big, blank, flat screens mounted upstage that host projections (by Anthony Churchill) that make 1969’s TV classic “Frosty the Snowman” look like a Pixar masterpiece.

Those screens purportedly show the iconic New York City locales where Buddy’s adventures take him: Central Park, the skating rink at Rockefeller Center, Tavern on the Green, Santa’s house at the Macy’s department store. (I visited Santa in the Manhattan Macy’s back in the day. This rendition of that magical place is as Malibu is to Malibu Barbie. The others are of a kind.)

“Elf — The Musical” purports to be about believing in Christmas like you did when you were a small child. But the story is like an empty gift box covered in cheap wrapping paper.

Not even Buddy’s near-miraculous, one-elf, two-bells bell concert can save this take on Christmas.

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Justin Fields’ running prowess is the talk of the NFL, and most of that conversation is about the unparalleled speed he brings to the quarterback position.

He’s outrunning cornerbacks like the Lions’ Jeff Okudah, a former No. 3 overall pick who surely thought his 4.4 speed would be sufficient for any situation. Fields has clocked the fastest speed of any quarterback this season, at 21.2 miles per hour and has a couple 60-yard touchdown runs.

But his one-yard touchdown for the Bears against the Lions might’ve been his most impressive play. Not only does Fields possess pure speed that scares every defense, but his elusiveness is rivaled only by Ravens star Lamar Jackson.

Fields ran 34 actual yards for that touchdown, and while social media is full of videos of him dancing, none of those moves are as artful and inimitable as what he did in the backfield. The pasodoble is easy by comparison.

When Fields dropped back, two defenders were closing within three yards and a third ran in as he rolled left, then cut back to the right. One lunged and actually had both arms wrapped around his legs for a moment, nearly pulling him to the ground for an eight-yard sack, but he turned hard to the left and shook him.

Even then, he still had a defender in pursuit behind him and another approaching ahead. That’s when the speed kicked in. Fields hit the gas, survived two defenders hitting him at the goal line and plowed into the end zone.

It’s not normal.

Fields has still been sacked more times (36) than anyone in the NFL, but things look much different than they did in his starting debut as a rookie when the Browns flattened him nine times.

It helps that Fields is no longer being told to win from the pocket and is now in an offense that allows him to play freely. But he also has gotten more savvy during the chaos that transpires in the small, crowded space of the backfield. He has natural athleticism, but there’s also a mental component to being an elite escape artist.

“Your eyes are always downfield, so you’re learning to develop a feel for the tempo of the rush,” Bears quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko said. “It just comes down to the functional intelligence to react in that moment.”

And there’s a lot to decipher in a very short time.

Defensive end Trevis Gipson described that challenge, which he’ll face in Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota when the Bears visit Atlanta, as “a lot of commotion,” and whoever processes the frenzy first usually wins those battles. Defenders are often within arm’s reach of Fields, but one quick step is all he needs to escape through the B-gap between the guard and tackle.

“Honestly, it’s pretty challenging,” Gipson said. “When you’ve got a mobile quarterback that’s moving around, you’re hoping your teammates can keep him boxed in and you all can play off each other. You hope there’s no gaps for escaping.”

When asked which quarterback has been the most problematic for him in that regard, Gipson said Fields. When pressed to pick someone whom he has actually faced in a game, he said there really isn’t anyone on Fields’ level.

Again, his mind is a big part of that. Bears defensive tackle Justin Jones said the goal is to make mobile quarterbacks “play with a panic,” but does Fields ever seem panicked? He looks like he’s performing a dance he knows by heart.

“You think you have him… and he just outruns [you],” Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker said. “He gets out of a sack that’s clearly a sack.”

That’s invaluable amid ongoing renovations to the offensive line. Fields has faced pressure on 28.1% of his drop backs, third-highest in the NFL, but been sacked on fewer than half of those plays. He’s turning nothing into something.

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Teven Jenkins was establishing a home at right guard when a hip injury he had been managing all season flared up after the Dolphins game on Nov. 6.

It was all too typical of Jenkins’ star-crossed career that the same week he was being hailed as one of the best guards in the NFL — the sixth-highest graded guard in the league for the season and third-best for the previous month, according to Pro Football Focus — that Jenkins’ hip forced him to miss last week’s game against the Lions.

“Very frustrating,” Jenkins said. “I don’t like missing any time. I don’t like seeing my teammates and my brothers out there doing that without me. I love being there with them. It was hard on me.”

Jenkins, who did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday, had full participation in practice Friday — passed a few of his own physical and mental tests — and hopes to play Sunday against the Falcons. He is listed as questionable.

“It’s still a little sore right now. I’m getting back to it. But I think it’ll be good,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins’ road to success has been a winding one since he was drafted in the second round (39th overall) by former general manager Ryan Pace last year. He played just six games (two starts) as a rookie after undergoing back surgery in training camp and looked lost his starting job to fifth-round rookie Braxton Jones during the second week of OTAs in June.

Just when it looked like Jenkins was the odd-man out, he was switched to right guard in training camp and was the Week 1 starter in a rotation with Lucas Patrick.

As the line shuffled because of injuries, Jenkins became the most consistent performer and solidified the right guard position. He said he expects to have to manage the hip injury until the Bears bye week after the Bears play the Packers on Dec. 4

“I’d say it’s a win for me, because this is my first time being at that position,” Jenkins said. “I wouldn’t want to jinx it now, but I’m playing really good and hopefully I can keep it up for the rest of the season.

Jenkins credited his coaches, but also veteran guard Michael Schofield — who replaced him last week — and starting center Sam Mustipher for his improved play.

“Teven was improving [before the injury]. And Teven’s best is still out there,” offensive line coach Chris Morgan said.

N’Keal Harry out

Wide receiver N’Keal Harry (illness) and safety Dane Cruikshank (hamstring) will not play against the Falcons. Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and cornerback Kindle Vildor all had full participation in practice Friday and are questionable.

Capt. Kmet

Tight end Cole Kmet was named the honorary captain for Sunday’s game.

“Cole’s a special guy,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He is energy. He is enthusiasm. He brings light into a room. When he comes into our offensive room — talking to the whole team — he really dos a good job with that. He’s everything we stand for.”

Fields shoe-in HOF

The cleats Justin Fields wore when he rushed for an NFL-record 178 yards against the Dolphins — the most rushing yards in a single game by a quarterback in a regular-season game — will be displayed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, the Hall of Fame said Friday.

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The 6-9 Chicago Bulls look to bounce back after a 1-5 stretch in the early portion of the season, as the welcome the 4-11 Orlando Magic to the United Center.

The Chicago Bulls head back to the United Center after an ugly second half performance in New Orleans on Wednesday, and following a tough 1-5 stretch on the schedule. The optimism levels around Bulls nation are certainly dipping, but after having witnessed many teams see similar struggles, I’d say it’s too early to be pressing the panic button for Bulls fans.

That is not to suggest that what we’ve seen hasn’t been tough to watch, but tonight could be a great test of this team’s character. The Magic have some young talent, but to this point have been very flawed and inconsistent, and a motivated Bulls team should impose their will en route to a much needed victory.

As of 2:00pm CST, it does appear that both Patrick Williams and Coby White will be active tonight for the Bulls. Williams was questionable after an ankle injury Wednesday, and Coby White returns to the lineup for the first time since October 29th. It remains unclear if White will be on a minute restriction tonight.

Orlando has a long injury report to monitor, with a few players questionable, but the most notable tonight is the absence of rookie sensation Paolo Banchero. Banchero has missed their last four games after a strong start to his rookie year. He remains a heavy (-650) favorite to win rookie of the year.

Despite the ugly performance from the Bulls on Wednesday, the silver lining came with a streak breaking best bet victory in the form of Zach LaVine’s point total. We’re looking to keep the winners coming and hoping to get us back to the winning percentage that we saw before that ugly losing streak. Let’s get wins for the Bulls and for the best bet of the day tonight, it’ll be a quick hitter that I think has a ton of value. Best of luck and GO BULLS!!

2022 Bulls Best Bet Record: 7-8 (Ended 6-Game L Streak Wednesday)

Chicago Bulls 1st Quarter Spread (-2.5) (Sportsbook odds may vary)

As mentioned in the intro, I think tonight could be a great test of the character and fight of this team. After a 1-5 stretch, I believe this team will make a statement tonight at home against a lesser and much more inconsistent Magic team.

I do feel like the full game spread is a great indicator that the Bulls can win big in this one, and while I do feel confident in the full game spread, I think the first quarter is a better spot to attack.

Throughout the first 15 games of the season, this Chicago Bulls team has seen slow start after slow start, and if this season is going to turn around, they have to address the sense of urgency in the opening frame of the game. I truly don’t believe the struggles that they have seen will be their calling card this season, and has to be a point of emphasis, especially after these last two embarrassing performances that have been laid out.

Luckily for the Bulls, they face a team that ranks in the bottom half of the league in both 1st quarter points scored per game, and 1st quarter points allowed per game. Of course, Chicago ranks poorly in those categories as well, but in a spot where you need a statement, I feel strongly about them looking to jump out to an early lead tonight.

I expect both the offense and defense to come out strong, but after lackluster defensive performances from Derozan, LaVine and Vucevic, I would feel very strongly about the Bulls starting group making a defensive statement out of the gates tonight. That trio of guys isn’t making any all-defensive teams any time soon, but they have to understand that if the Bulls want to be a serious factor in the league, these guys have to provide more effort defensively.

I’ll take a swing at predicting a 31-23 first quarter victory tonight for the Bulls and a big win to stop the bleeding. Let’s keep the wins rolling in, let’s see some red, and GO BULLS!!

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The Chicago Bears will be without a blocking wide receiver

The Chicago Bears offense has been playing well the past few weeks. One complaint about the group is that they could be more effective in the passing game. Quarterback Justin Fields is breaking records on the ground. But the team has struggled with wide receiver play and pass blocking to help the second-year quarterback make a leap in that department.

It won’t be easier in the passing game against the Atlanta Falcons. According to a statement by the Bears Friday afternoon, wide receiver N’Keal Harry has been ruled out for their Week 11 game. He was ruled out with an illness.

Harry didn’t play last week. The Bears chose Dante Pettis, Byron Pringle, and Equanimeous St. Brown over him. The Bears later chalked that up to needing help in the run-blocking scheme over using a wide receiver who can run a route and catch a ball. That skill is something the Bears brass obviously isn’t too worried about at this juncture, as they kept their most talented big-bodied ball catcher, Chase Claypool, sidelined in the red zone against the Lions.

Evidently, we are to believe Claypool is unable to catch a simple back shoulder fade or jump ball in the endzone because the “route tree” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has drawn up is too complex.

Other updates on the Chicago Bears Week 11 injury report

The Chicago Bears’ injury report Friday is more promising for offensive lineman Teven Jenkins than Wednesday. He was a full participant at Friday’s practice. Although Jenkins is questionable. Tight end Cole Kmet, who did not practice Wednesday, has no designation for Sunday’s game against the Falcons.

Three questionable for Sunday

OL Teven Jenkins, hipDL Al-Quadin Muhammad, kneeDB Kindle Vildor, ankle

Two out for Sunday

DB Dane Cruikshank, hamstringWR N’Keal Harry, illness

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Justin Fields had just trucked Lions safety DeShon Elliott at the goal line to score in the second quarter Sunday when he stomped down the Bears sideline with his helmet off, screaming.

The typically mild-mannered Fields didn’t remember what he said.

“But I was definitely hyped up,” he said.

He wanted to make his teammates feel the same way — even if it took lowering his throwing shoulder into a tackler to do it.

“That is the competitor in him,” offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. “I think that’s why these guys rally around him. He’s about winning. The dude just wants to win. That’s our mindset.”

The physicality, though, is their offensive identity.

Matt Nagy struggled for years trying to find one. John Fox couldn’t identify one after Adam Gase left. Marc Trestman could — for a year.

It took head coach Matt Eberflus and Getsy — the latter who looks like a future head coaching candidate, as soon as January — about six weeks to figure out what they do best. They’ve averaged 31 points over the last four games entering Sunday’s game at the Falcons, buoyed by the NFL’s best running attack and a quarterback putting together the best five-week rushing stretch of anyone to ever play the position.

“I think what the Bears have done, is, they’ve found an identity,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith told reporters this week. “They have a formula right now. You see what the numbers are — running the football as well as anybody. And [Fields] is a huge part of that, whether it’s designed runs, or you get into a game like New England when they get those third downs and he was able to break those tackles.

“He’s a hard guy to bring down and those play extensions. They have been crushing to some people.”

And inspiring to others. Running back David Montgomery, who figures to get the majority of the carries Sunday with Khalil Herbert on injured reserve, wasn’t worried about Fields lowering his shoulder at the goal line.

“Because he’s Justin,” he said. “I was more concerned about the guy he had trucked. Seriously.”

Elliott, the tackler, was helped off the field with a concussion.

That one-yard run impressed more teammates than Fields’ 67-yard touchdown sprint late in the game.

“He’s supposed to slide,” Montgomery said with a smile. “If y’all haven’t noticed, Justin has a problem sliding.”

Fields will have a little extra motivation Sunday — he grew up in suburban Atlanta and went to Falcons games growing up with his dad, a season ticket-holder. He was fond of quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones.

“It’s exciting, for sure,” Fields said of his homecoming.

Smith is trying to prepare the Falcons for it.

“[Fields] is strong as hell,” he said. “He’s probably the strongest guy they’ve got in the backfield, taking into account the running back.”

Fields’ toughness has translated to other position groups.

Tight end Cole Kmet, who has scored five touchdowns the last three games, is turning heads with the way he plows into tacklers after the catch.

An offensive line with major long-term questions has embraced its identity, too; the Bears rank seventh in ESPN’s team run block win rate percentage. The Bears average a league-high 3.6 yards before contact — a testament to run-blocking. But their ball-carries rank second in broken tackles on running plays and sixth in yards after contact per rush. Montgomery’s ability to break tackles has always impressed his teammate.

The Bears’ trade for 6-4, 238-pound Chase Claypool gave them a rough-and-tumble element outside to go with a group of standout run-blocking receivers.

“I think this team really harps on physicality,” Claypool said.

It’s what the Bears do well, and it’s contagious.

It’s their identity — finally.

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Almost six hours into a rehearsal of Strauss’ lush and bombastic “Ein Heldenleben” at Symphony Center, the conductor halted the playing and gestured toward the young oboist Zachary Allen.

“This whole thing needs to be more angry,” Allen Tinkham, who was at the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra podium, told the 18-year-old. “It’s too pretty.”

The rehearsal resumed, this time with Allen providing the snarl and hiss Tinkham wanted as his mother, Denise Allen, who was among the handful of spectators at Symphony Center, kept a watchful eye.

Allen has played at Carnegie Hall and in some of Europe’s great concert venues. He’s applying to some of the top music schools in the United States.

But the most remarkable thing about the talented young musician — who was preparing for a CYSO concert Sunday at Symphony Center — is that he is playing at all after having a stroke in July.

The stroke was a consequence of lupus, an incurable autoimmune disease.

On Monday, the day after this weekend’s concert, Zach Allen expects to have his last session of chemotherapy, which his doctors have used in an effort to control the inflammation that restricted blood flow in his brain and led to the stroke.

It has been a lifetime of off-and-on-again illness that began with a severe infection at birth that doctors twice warned his mother he might not survive.

Denise Allen had miscarried four times. She wasn’t about to lose Zach.

A single mother, she has been a behind-the-scenes dynamo in her son’s life. When a physical therapist began explaining worst-case scenarios to Zach, Mom was there to step in and say, “Tell him what he needs to do to get better.”

“I’m kind of a rally-the-troops, tell-me-what-we-have-to-do-and-let’s-do-it kind of person,” the mother, 59, says at the Skokie apartment where she and her son live. “I’m not a fatalistic person.”

Allen says of her: “I would not be where I am right now without her doing all the stuff that she does.”

Life for him is hectic these days. A senior at Niles West High School in Skokie, he is applying to eight schools, including The Juilliard School in New York. There are recordings to make, accompanists to book, trial lessons with professors, senior portraits, college essays.

In his college application essays, he writes about the struggles he has faced and has overcome: “By age two, I was living in a single-parent household. By age three, I had a series of seizures, signaling the start of yet another medical emergency. My illnesses, though challenging, had always been a series of temporary inconveniences.”

His mother says she noticed her son’s smarts early: He could read at 2 and wrote a simple short story a year later.

In elementary school, Zach started playing viola, then cello.

It wasn’t until he was attending an arts camp in 2019 and heard the hypnotic oboe solo from the second movement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” that he knew he wanted to play oboe.

He’s made astonishing progress in that short time, says Erica Anderson, his teacher at the Music Institute of Chicago. She wrote Juilliard’s admissions office on his behalf: “He is the best student I have ever taught in 29 years of teaching.”

Anderson jokes about playing oboe, calling it a “wretched, wretched” instrument. Playing it well is hard enough. But oboists also make their own reeds — a difficult task that might yield just one good one in 12 attempts.

At home, in the living room, a table is covered in slivers and curls of discarded cane from those efforts. Allen owns a two-inch-thick book titled “Understanding the Oboe Reed.”

Of his playing, Anderson says it’s his tenacity and technique that stand out. But there’s also something more.

“When you hear someone like Zach play, you don’t go, ‘Oh, lovely vibrato’ or ‘What a nice turn of phrase,’ ” she says. “You say, ‘That was amazing.’ And you don’t even have words for it.”

Of his mother, Anderson says: “She is not a stage mom. She is just a really good advocate for her kid. They make an excellent team.”

Allen’s ability led to a Zoom coaching session with conductor Riccardo Muti, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s acclaimed music director, in 2020, an experience the young player says was “very inspiring and also intimidating.”

Allen has played with the CYSO for four years, including playing concerts last summer in Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna and Prague.

“It was a lot of fun,” he says. “There was one point during rehearsal when our conductor had to remind us that we were going on tour, not having a vacation.”

Tinkham, the conductor, calls Allen “extremely talented.” When he singled him out at the recent rehearsal, he says he was challenging the young oboist.

“It’s a tricky thing for him because everything he plays is so beautiful,” Tinkham says. “There are times when the composer asks things that sometimes musicians don’t want to do because you’ve spent your whole life trying to sound pretty.”

Allen’s lupus diagnosis came in 2016. It’s rare in children and often hard to diagnose because the symptoms vary so widely. It made his joints painfully stiff. At one point, he lost a lot of weight — about one-quarter of hat he weighed. And he suffered through scorching fevers.

“One of the challenges with lupus, we do have some good medicines to treat it, but we do not have a cure,” says Dr. Brian Nolan, a Lurie Children’s Hospital specialist who has been treating him for about a year. “And we do not have very many medicines that are FDA-approved for the purpose of treating lupus, particularly in pediatrics.”

Allen had avoided the disease’s more serious complications until this past summer.

It was just days after returning from the European tour that he had the stroke. It cut blood flow to the part of the brain around the right eye that controls muscle movement, Nolan says.

Allen was lucky. The stroke appears to have left no permanent damage.

But he had to lie flat for an entire week in a hospital bed to avoid sudden changes of blood flow in his brain that might bring another stroke.

“Being completely honest, since they had me lying flat for a long time, the main thing I was thinking about was wanting to eat,” he says.

He has had to undergo six infusions of a chemotherapy drug.

But he shows no sign of illness or fatigue either at home or during a grueling rehearsal.

Before dismissing his young musicians, Tinkham reminds them their concert is just days away and urgesd them to wear masks when out in public.

“Don’t get sick!” Tinkham tells them.

Allen says he didn’t need to be told. He wears a mask everywhere.

During a short dinner break at rehearsal, he goes with friends to a nearby Potbelly Sandwich Shop. They talk about applying to music schools and the stress that entails.

And he tells a woman who is preparing a video for the CYSO that what people don’t understand about classical musicians is just how much work it takes to get ready for a performance.

“They write it off as talent,” he tells her.

His mother waits outsid, then sits quietly in the auditorium for the remaining three hours, there in case her son might need her.

Some time next year, she’ll no longer be hearing the fluttering notes of the oboe in her apartment. Nor the scraping of knife blade against cane to make the oboe reeds.

She’ll miss that, of course. But she says won’t be the type of mother who has to check in on her son every day when he’s away at college. He will be on his own.

“This is the goal: the great letting go,” she. says. “That is what you’re preparing for the whole time. And you want them to be this fully actualized person. And you want them to go off into the world.”

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Jack Gleason updates the schedule every morning on his website. Please send updates and corrections to [email protected].

Monday, November 21, 2022

NON CONFERENCE

Carver at Austin, 6:30

Cissna Park at Clifton Central, 8:00

EPIC at Vocational, 5:00

Hansberry at Hope Academy, 6:30

HRK at Ida Crown, 7:45

Hyde Park vs. Lincoln Park, at DePaul University, 5:

Illinois Lutheran at Trinity (Kankakee), 7:00

IMSA at Alden-Hebron, 7:00

Islamic Foundation at Dunbar, 5:30

Kenwood vs. Young, at DePaul University, 8:00

Phoenix at Chicago Academy, 5:00

Rock County Christian at Schaumburg Christian, 7:

UIC Prep at Perspectives-MSA, at IIT, 5:00

Unity Christian at Grace Christian, 7:00

ASHTON-FRANKLIN CENTER

West Carroll vs. LaMoille, 6:00

Polo vs. Amboy, 6:00

Hiawatha vs. Durand, 7:30

Leland vs. Ashton-Franklin Center, 7:30

BATAVIA

Longwood vs. Marmion, 6:00

Raby vs. Batavia, 7:30

BLOOM / MARIAN CATHOLIC

at Bloom

Hillcrest vs. Thornton Fr. South, 4:30

Lincoln-Way Central vs. Bloom, 7:00

at Marian Catholic

Rich vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 5:00

Marian Catholic vs. St. Francis de Sales, 6:30

COLLINS

Little Village vs. North Grand, 11:00

Manley vs. Collins, 1:00

Farragut vs. Curie, 5:00

Proviso West vs. North Lawndale, 7:00

COAL CITY / MANTENO

at Coal City

Gardner-So. Wilmington vs. Morris, 5:30

Agricultural Science vs. Coal City, 7:00

at Manteno

IC Catholic vs. Peotone,5:30

Beecher vs. Manteno, 7:00

CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL

Barrington vs. Belvidere North, 5:30

Grayslake Central vs. Hampshire, 5:30

Hononegah vs. Crystal Lake Central, 7:00

DE LA SALLE / KING

at De La Salle

Chicago Military at De La Salle, 5:00

Latin vs. Urban Prep-Bronzeville, 6:30

at King

Morgan Park vs. Orr, 5:00

Corliss vs. King, 6:30

DE PAUL / LANE

at DePaul

Francis Parker vs. Notre Dame, 4:30

Englewood STEM vs. DePaul, 6:00

at Lane

Legal Prep vs. Niles North, 5:00

Jones vs. Lane, 7:00

DWIGHT / WOODLAND

at Dwight

Grant Park vs. Momence, 5:30

Earlville vs. Dwight, 7:00

at Woodland

Flanagan-Cornell vs. Ridgeview, 6:00

St. Bede vs. Woodland, 7:30

ELLISON

Catalyst-Maria vs. Hubbard, 2:15

Crane vs. Hubbard, 3:30

Crane vs. Ellison, 4:45

Chicago Tech vs. Little Village, 6:00

ELMWOOD PARK

Addison Trail vs. Aurora Central, 5:30

Walther Christian vs. Elmwood Park, 7:00

FENTON

Timothy Christian vs. Rolling Meadows, 6:00

Fenton vs. Clemente, 7:30

GALESBURG

Dunlap at DeKalb, 7:00

Canton at Galesburg, 7:00

GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY

Iroquois West vs. Hoopeston, 5:00

Fisher vs. Armstrong-Potomac, 6:30

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley vs. Tri-Point, 8:00

GLENBARD WEST

Glenbard East vs. Glenbard North, 6:00

Glenbard South vs. Glenbard West, 7:30

GLENBROOK NORTH / ST. PATRICK

at Glenbrook North

Glenbrook North vs. Prosser, 5:15

Conant vs. Wheaton North, 7:00

at St. Patrick

Niles West vs. Lake Forest Academy, 6:00

St. Patrick vs. Payton, 7:30

GOODE

Horizon-McKinley vs. Air Force, 4:45

Morgan Park Academy vs. Chicago Collegiate, 6:15

ASPIRA-Bus&Fin vs. Goode, 7:45

GRANT / MUNDELEIN

at Grant

Warren vs. Grant, 5:30

Schurz vs. Comer, 7:00

at Mundelein

Carmel vs. Deerfield, 5:30

Lakes vs. Mundelein, 7:00

JOHNSBURG

Wauconda vs. Geneva, 5:30

Grayslake North vs. Huntley, 5:30

Crystal Lake South vs. Marian Central, 7:00

Streamwood vs. Johnsburg, 7:00

LOYOLA / NEW TRIER

at Loyola

Loyola vs. Butler, 5:00

St. Ignatius vs. Bulls Prep, 6:30

at New Trier

New Trier vs. Rauner, 5:00

Taft vs. Lake Forest, 6:30

LYONS

Maine South vs. Lincoln-Way East, 6:00

Lyons vs. Fenger, 7:30

MAINE WEST

Hoffman Estates vs. Lake Zurich, 6:00

Elk Grove vs. Maine West, 7:30

NAPERVILLE NORTH / OSWEGO

at Naperville North

Downers Grove South vs. Oswego East, 5:30

Naperville North vs. Hinsdale Central, 7:00

at Oswego

Fenwick vs. Neuqua Valley, 5:30

West Aurora vs. Oswego, 7:00

NORTHRIDGE

Amundsen vs. Vernon Hills, 6:00

Wheeling vs. Bowen, 7:30

OAK LAWN / REAVIS

at Oak Lawn

St. Laurence vs . Lincoln-Way West, 5:00

Oak Lawn vs. Bremen, 6:30

at Reavis

Mount Carmel vs. Sandburg, 4:30

Reavis vs. Kennedy, 6:00

OREGON

Newman vs. North Boone, 5:45

Hinckley-Big Rock vs. Aquin, 5:45

Oregon vs. Milledgeville, 7:15

Christian Life vs. Rockford Christian, 7:15

OTTAWA

LaSalle-Peru vs. Oak Forest, 5:00

Ottawa vs. Marengo, 6:30

Princeton vs. Streator, 8:00

PALATINE

Round Lake vs. Glenbrook South, 6:00

Hersey vs. York, 7:30

RICHARDS / SHEPARD

at Richards

Southland vs. Richards, 5:00

Eisenhower vs. Chicago Christian, 6:30

at Shepard

Perspectives-Lead vs. Shepard, 5:00

Marist vs. Andrew, 6:30

RIDGEWOOD

Maine East vs. Naperville Central, 5:30

Schaumburg vs. Mather, 5:30

Ridgewood vs. Highland Park, 7:00

Northside vs. Leyden, 7:00

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD

Brother Rice vs. Morton, 5:30

Zion-Benton vs. Thornwood, 7:00

ROCKFORD

at Auburn

Larkin vs. Harlem, 6:00

Auburn vs. Douglass (TN), 7:30

ROWVA-WILLIAMSFIELD

Henry-Senachwine vs. West Central, 6:30

ST. CHARLES EAST

St. Charles East vs. East Aurora, 5:45

Proviso East vs. Westinghouse, 7:15

ST. VIATOR

Prospect vs. Libertyville, 5:30

Antioch vs. St. Viator, 7:00

SENECA

Newark vs. Serena, 5:30

Herscher vs. St. Anne, 7:00

STAGG

Argo vs. Nazareth, 4:30

Stagg vs. Lindblom, 6:00

UPLIFT

Uplift vs. Holy Trinity, 5:00

South Shore vs. Roosevelt, 6:15

Alcott vs. Lycee Francais, 7:30

WELLS

Noble Street vs. Wolcott, 4:00

Wells vs. Golder, 5:30

Ogden vs. Intrinsic-Belmont, 7:00

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN

Elgin Academy vs. Westminster Christian, 4:30

Aurora Christian vs. Indian Creek, 6:00

St. Edward vs. Horizon-Southwest, 7:30

WETHERSFIELD

Annawan vs. Bureau Valley, 5:00

Elmwood vs. Putnam County, 6:30

Stark County vs. Wethersfield, 8:00

WHEATON ACADEMY

Oak Park-River Forest vs. Plainfield North, 5:30

Bartlett vs. Wheaton Academy, 7:00

WJOL / ST. FRANCIS UNIVERSITY

Romeoville vs. Plainfield Central, 5:00

Bradley-Bourbonnais at Joliet Central, 6:30

Lemont vs. Minooka, 6:45

Lockport vs. Providence, 8:30

WOODSTOCK / WOODSTOCK NORTH

at Woodstock

Cary-Grove vs. Kaneland, 5:15

Prairie Ridge vs. Woodstock, 7:00

at Woodstock North

McHenry vs. Woodstock North, 7:00

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

LAKE SHORE ATHLETIC

Roycemore at Lycee Francais, 5:30

NON CONFERENCE

ACERO-Soto at Mansueto, 5:30

Alden-Hebron at Our Lady Sacred Heart. 5:30

Bader Hillel (WI) at Ida Crown, 7:30

Blue Ridge at Lowpoint-Washburn, 7:00

Harvest Christian at Rochelle Zell, 7:00

Illinois Lutheran at Heritage Christian (IN), 6:00

Marquette at DePue, 7:00

North Grand at Urban Prep-Englewood, 1:00

Universal at Hope Academy, 6:30

ASHTON-FRANKLIN CENTER

Leland vs. West Carroll, 6:00

Durand vs. Polo, 6:00

Amboy vs. Hiawatha, 7:30

LaMoille vs. Ashton-Franklin Center, 7:30

BATAVIA

Waubonsie Valley vs. Longwood, 6:00

Raby vs. Marmion, 7:30

BLOOM / MARIAN CATHOLIC

at Bloom

Lincoln-Way Central vs. Hillcrest, 4:30

Bloom vs. Thornton Fr. South, 7:00

at Marian Catholic

Homewood-Flossmoor vs. St. Francis de Sales, 5:0

Marian Catholic vs. Rich, 6:30

BOYLAN

Freeport vs. Rockford Lutheran, 5:00

St. Charles North vs. Richwoods, 6:30

Boylan vs. Marshall, 8:00

CHRIST THE KING

Julian vs. Richards (Chgo), 5:30

Hansberry vs. Christ the King, 7:00

COLLINS

Ellison vs. Manley, 11:00

North Grand vs. Urban Prep-Englewood, 1:00

Muchin vs. Collins, 3:00

Providence-St. Mel vs. Austin, 5:00

Hyde Park vs. North Lawndale, 7:00

COAL CITY / MANTENO

at Coal City

Morris vs. Agricultural Science, 5:30

Gardner-So. Wilmington vs. Coal City, 7:00

at Manteno

Beecher vs. Peotone, 5:30

IC Catholic vs. Manteno, 7:00

DE LA SALLE / KING

at De La Salle

Urban Prep-Bronzeville at De La Salle, 5:00

Chicago Military vs. Latin, 6:30

at King

Morgan Park vs. King, 5:00

Corliss vs. Orr

DE PAUL / LANE

at DePaul

Englewood STEM vs. Notre Dame, 4:30

Francis Parker vs. DePaul, 6:00

at Lane

Jones vs. Niles North, 5:00

Legal Prep vs. Lane, 7:00

DECATUR

Bolingbrook vs. Eisenhower (Decatur), 6:00

Thornton vs. Manual, 7:30

DWIGHT / WOODLAND

at Dwight

Momence vs. Earlville, 5:30

Grant Park vs. Dwight, 7:00

at Woodland

Flanagan-Cornell vs. St. Bede, 6:00

Ridgeview vs. Woodland, 7:30

ELLISON

Catalyst-Maria vs. Chicago Tech, 2:15

Catalyst-Maria vs. Ellison, 3:30

Chicago Tech vs. Ellison, 4:45

Hubbard vs. Little Village, 6:00

Crane vs. Little Village, 7:15

ELMWOOD PARK

Addison Trail vs. Walther Christian, 5:30

Aurora Central vs. Elmwood Park, 7:00

FENTON

Clemente vs. Rolling Meadows, 4:30

Wheaton-Warr. South vs. Harlan, 6:00

Fremd vs. Montini, 7:30

GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY

Prairie Central vs. Fisher, 5:00

Armstrong-Potomac vs. Lexington, 6:30

Hoopeston vs. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, 8:00

GLENBARD WEST

Glenbard East vs. Glenbard South, 6:00

Glenbard North vs. Glenbard West, 7:30

GLENBROOK NORTH / ST. PATRICK

at Glenbrook North

Wheaton North vs. Prosser, 5:15

Conant vs. Glenbrook North, 7:00

at St. Patrick

Lake Forest Academy vs. Payton, 6:00

St. Patrick vs. Niles West, 7:30

GOODE

Chicago Collegiate vs. Horizon-McKinley, 10:00

Air Force vs. ASPIRA-Bus&Fin, 11:30

Goode vs. Mogan Park Academy, 1:00

GRANT / MUNDELEIN

at Grant

Schurz vs. Grant, 5:30

Comer vs. Warren, 7:00

at Mundelein

Lakes vs. Deerfield, 5:30

Carmel vs. Mundelein, 7:00

JOHNSBURG

Marian Central vs. Wauconda, 5:30

Huntley vs. Streamwood, 5:30

Geneva vs. Crystal Lake South, 7:00

Johnsburg vs. Grayslake North, 7:00

LISLE

Evergreen Park vs. Westmont, 5:30

West Chicago vs. Lisle, 7:00

LOYOLA / NEW TRIER

at Loyola

Loyola vs. Rauner, 5:00

Bulls Prep vs. Lake Forest, 6:30

at New Trier

New Trier vs. Butler, 5:00

St. Ignatius vs. Taft, 6:30

LYONS

Fenger vs. Lincoln-Way East. 6:00

Lyons vs. Maine South, 7:30

NAPERVILLE NORTH / OSWEGO

at Naperville North

Oswego East vs. Hinsdale Central, 5:30

Naperville North vs. Downers Grove South, 7:00

at Oswego

Neuqua Valley vs. West Aurora, 5:30

Fenwick vs. Oswego, 7:00

NORTHRIDGE

Wheeling vs. Amundsen, 6:00

Vernon Hills vs. Northridge, 7:30

OAK LAWN / REAVIS

at Oak Lawn

Bremen vs. St. Laurence, 5:00

Lincoln-Way West vs. Oak Lawn, 6:30

at Reavis

Kennedy vs. Mount Carmel, 4:30

Sandburg vs. Reavis, 6:00

OTTAWA

Pontiac vs. Marengo, 5:00

Ottawa vs. Thornridge, 6:30

Streator vs. LaSalle-Peru, 8:00

PALATINE

York vs. Round Lake, 4:30

Stevenson vs. Buffalo Grove, 6:00

Palatine vs. Jacobs, 7:30

PEORIA HEIGHTS

Midland vs. Peoria Christian, 6:00

RICHARDS / SHEPARD

at Richards

Chicago Christian vs. Richards, 5:00

Eisenhower vs. Southand, 6:30

at Shepard

Andrew vs. Perspectives-Lead, 5:00

Marist vs. Shepard, 6:30

RIDGEWOOD

Northside vs. Maine East, 5:30

Highland Park vs. Schaumburg, 5:30

Mather vs. Ridgewood, 7:00

Naperville Central vs. Leyden, 7:00

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD

Curie vs. Hinsdale South, 5:30

Riverside-Brookfield vs. University High, 7:00

ROCKFORD

at Guilford

Young vs. Rockford East, 6:00

Guilford vs. Douglass (TN), 7:30

ROWVA-WILLIAMSFIELD

Henry-Senachwine vs. Monmouth United, 6:30

ST. CHARLES EAST

East Aurora vs. Proviso East, 5:00

Benet vs. Plainfield East, 6:30

South Elgin vs. Willowbrook, 8:00

ST. VIATOR

Antioch vs. Prospect, 5:30

Libertyville vs. Evanston, 7:00

SENECA

Hall vs. Mendota, 5:30

Somonauk vs. Seneca, 7:00

STAGG

Argo vs. Plainfield South, 4:30

Lindblom vs. Nazareth, 6:00

UPLIFT

Alcott vs. South Shore, 5:00

Roosevelt vs. Holy Trinity, 6:15

Uplift vs. Lycee Francais, 7:30

WASHINGTON (IL)

Yorkville Christian vs. Metamora, 4:30

Lincoln Park vs. Washington (IL), 7:30

Joliet West vs. Ritter (MO), 9:00

WELLS

Ogden vs. Golder, 3:00

Wells vs. Noble Street, 4:30

Intrinsic-Belmont vs. Wolcott, 6:00

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN

Elgin vs. Genoa-Kingston, 4:30

Horizon-Southwest vs. Westminster Christian, 6:0

WETHERSFIELD

Annawan vs. Stark County, 5:00

Bureau Valley vs. Elmwood, 6:30

Putnam County vs. Wethersfield, 8:00

WHEATON ACADEMY

Downers Grove North vs. Lake Park, 5:30

Metea Valley vs. St. Francis, 7:00

WOODSTOCK / WOODSTOCK NORTH

at Woodstock

Kaneland vs. McHenry, 5:15

Cary-Grove vs. Woodstock, 7:00

at Woodstock North

Prairie Ridge vs. Woodstock North, 7:00

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

NON CONFERENCE

Intrinsic-Downtown at McNamara, 5:00

BATAVIA

Waubonsie Valley vs. Raby, 6:00

Marmion vs. Batavia, 7:30

BLOOM / MARIAN CATHOLIC

at Bloom

Lincoln-Way Central vs. Thornton Fr. South, 4:00

Hillcrest vs. Bloom, 6:40

at Marian Catholic

Marian Catholic vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 5:00

St. Francis de Sales vs. Rich, 6:30

BOYLAN

Rockford Lutheran vs. St. Charles North, 4:00

Marshall vs. Freeport, 5:30

Boylan vs. Richwoods, 7:00

CHRIST THE KING

Hansberry vs. Julian, 11:00

Richards (Chgo) vs. Christ the King, 12:30

CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL

Barrington vs. Hampshire, 11:30

Grayslake Central vs. Hononegah, 1:00

Belvidere North vs. Crystal Lake Central, 2:30

DE LA SALLE / KING

at De La Salle

Latin at De La Salle, 5:00

Chicago Military vs. Urban Prep-Bronzeville

at King

Morgan Park vs. Corliss, 5:00

Orr vs King, 6:30

DE PAUL / LANE

at DePaul

Englewood STEM vs. Francis Parker, 4:30

Notre Dame vs. DePaul, 6:00

at Lane

Jones vs. Legal Prep, 5:00

Niles North vs. Lane, 7:00

DECATUR

Springfield Southeast vs. Peoria Central, 6:00

MacArthur vs. Edwardsville, 7:30

DWIGHT / WOODLAND

at Dwight

Grant Park vs. Earlville, 5:30

Momence vs. Dwight, 7:00

at Woodland

Ridgeview vs. St. Bede, 6:00

Flanagan-Cornell vs. Woodland, 7:30

ELLISON

Pool Playoff

ELMWOOD PARK

Aurora Central vs. Walther Christian, 1:00

Addison Trail vs. Elmwood Park, 2:30

EL PASO-GRIDLEY

East Peoria vs. Roanoke-Benson, 5:30

El Paso-Gridley vs. Olympia, 7:00

FENTON

Montini vs. Wheaton-Warr. South, 4:30

Harlan vs. Fremd, 6:00

Fenton vs. Timothy Christian, 7:30

GENESEO

Erie-Prophetstown vs. Kewanee, 6:00

Geneseo vs. Rockridge, 7:30

GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY

Tri-Point vs. Iroquois West, 5:00

Lexington vs. Prairie Central, 6:30

GLENBARD WEST

Glenbard North vs. Glenbard South, 5:00

Glenbard East vs. Glenbard West, 6:30

GLENBROOK NORTH / ST. PATRICK

at Glenbrook North

Prosser vs. Conant, 5:15

Glenbrook North vs. Wheaton North, 7:00

at St. Patrick

Payton vs. Niles West, 6:00

St. Patrick vs. Lake Forest Academy, 7:30

GOODE

Fifth Place, 9:30

Third Place, 11:00

Championship, 12:30

GRANT / MUNDELEIN

at Grant

Comer vs. Grant, 11:00

Warren vs. Schurz, 12:30

at Mundelein

Carmel vs. Lakes, 5:00

Deerfield vs. Mundelein, 6:30

JOHNSBURG

Geneva vs. Marian Central, 5:30

Streamwood vs. Grayslake North, 5:30

Wauconda vs. Crystal Lake South, 7:00

Huntley vs. Johnsburg, 7:00

LISLE

Evergreen Park vs. West Chicago, 5:30

Westmont vs. Lisle, 7:00

LOYOLA / NEW TRIER

at Loyola

Butler vs. Rauner, 11:15

Bulls Prep vs. Taft, 11:15

Loyola vs. New Trier, 4:00

Lake Forest vs. St. Ignatius, 5:45

LYONS

Maine South vs. Fenger, 6:00

Lyons vs. Lincoln-Way East, 7:30

MAINE WEST

Elk Grove vs. Hoffman Estates, 12:00

Lake Zurich vs. Maine West, 1:30

NAPERVILLE NORTH / OSWEGO

at Oswego

Fenwick vs. West Aurora, 2:00

Downers Grove South vs. Hinsdale Central, 3:30

Naperville North vs. Oswego East, 5:15

Neuqua Valley vs. Oswego, 7:00

NORTHRIDGE

Vernon Hills vs. Wheeling, 4:00

Bowen vs. Northridge, 5:30

OAK LAWN / REAVIS

at Oak Lawn

Lincoln-Way West vs. Bremen, 5:00

Oak Lawn vs. St. Laurence, 6:30

at Reavis

Sandburg vs. Kennedy, 4:30

Reavis vs. Mount Carmel, 6:00

OREGON

Rockford Christian vs. Plano, 5:45

South Beloit vs. Hinckley-Big Rock, 5:45

Oregon vs. Morrison, 7:15

Harvard vs. Newman, 7:15

PALATINE

Glenbrook South vs. Hersey, 3:30

Jacobs vs. Stevenson, 5:00

Palatine vs. Buffalo Grove, 6:30

RICHARDS / SHEPARD

at Richards

Southland vs. Chicago Christian, 11:00

Richards vs. Eisenhower, 12:30

at Shepard

Perspectives-Lead vs. Marist, 11:00

Shepard vs. Andrew, 12:30

RIDGEWOOD

Leyden vs. Maine East, 5:30

Highland Park vs. Mather, 5:30

Ridgewood vs. Schaumburg, 7:00

Naperville Central vs. Northside, 7:00

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD

Zion-Benton vs. Brother Rice, 2:30

Thornwood vs. Morton, 4:00

Curie vs. University High, 5:30

Riverside-Brookfield vs. Hinsdale South, 7:00

ROCKFORD

at Auburn

Douglass (TN) vs. Rockford East, 10:00

Auburn vs. Young, 12:30

Guilford vs. Larkin, 2:00

ST. CHARLES EAST

Willowbrook vs. Plainfield East, 5:00

Benet vs. South Elgin, 6:30

St. Charles East vs. Westinghouse, 8:00

ST. VIATOR

Antioch vs. Evanston, 5:30

Prospect vs. St. Viator, 7:00

SENECA

Newark vs. Herscher, 1:00

St. Anne vs. Serena, 2:30

Mendota vs. Somonauk, 4:00

Hall vs. Seneca, 5:30

STAGG

Lindblom vs. Plainfield South, 1:00

Stagg vs. Nazareth, 2:30

SYCAMORE

Sandwich vs. Burlington Central, 3:00

Rochelle vs. Sterling, 4:30

Yorkville vs. Belvidere, 6:00

Sycamore vs. Dundee-Crown, 7:30

UNION LEAGUE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB

Foreman vs. Roosevelt, 12:45

Sullivan vs. Phoenix, 2:15

Providence-St. Mel vs. Uplift, 3:45

Lake View vs. Austin, 5:15

Alcott vs. Holy Trinity, 6:45

WASHINGTON (IL)

Yorkville Christian vs. Washington (TX), 10:30

Phillips vs. East Peoria, 12:00

Lincoln Park vs. St. Paul (CA), 1:30

Joliet West vs. St. Rita, 6:15

WELLS

Golder vs. Intrinsic-Belmont, 3:00

Noble Street vs. Ogden, 4:30

Wolcott vs. Wells, 6:00

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN

Elgin Academy vs. St. Edward, 4:30

Genoa-Kingston vs. Aurora Christian, 6:00

Indian Creek vs. Elgin, 7:30

WETHERSFIELD

Bureau Valley vs. Wethersfield, 5:00

Annawan vs. Elmwood, 6:30

Putnam County vs. Stark County, 8:00

WHEATON ACADEMY

Bartlett vs. Plainfield North, 4:00

Lake Park vs. Metea Valley, 5:30

Downers Grove North vs. St. Francis, 7:00

Oak Park-River Forest vs. Wheaton Academy, 7:00

WJOL / ST. FRANCIS UNIVERSITY

Minooka vs. Joliet Central, 3:00

Plainfield Central vs. Lockport, 4:45

Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Lemont, 6:30

Providence vs. Romeoville, 8:15

WOODSTOCK / WOODSTOCK NORTH

at Woodstock

Kaneland vs. Prairie Ridge, 5:15

McHenry vs. Woodstock, 7:00

at Woodstock North

Cary-Grove vs. Woodstock North, 5:15

Thursday, November 24, 2022

QUINCY

Lanphier vs. Miller (MO), 5:30

Quincy vs. Dixon, 7:00

WASHINGTON (IL)

St. Rita vs. Lanier (GA), 6:00

Friday, November 25, 2022

ASHTON-FRANKLIN CENTER

LaMoille vs. Leland, 6:00

Polo vs. Hiawatha, 6:00

Durand vs. Amboy, 7:30

West Carroll vs. Ashton-Franklin Center, 7:30

BATAVIA

Marmion vs. Waubonsie Valley, 6:00

Longwood vs. Batavia, 7:30

BLOOM / MARIAN CATHOLIC

at Marian Catholic

Seventh Place, 10:00

Fifth Place, 11:30

Third Place, 1:00

Championship, 3:00

BOYLAN

Richwoods vs. Marshall, 4:00

St. Charles North vs. Freeport, 5:30

Boylan vs. Rockford Lutheran, 7:00

CALVARY (NORMAL)

Donovan vs. Greenview, 2:00

CHRIST THE KING

Richards (Chgo) vs. Hansberry, 11:00

Christ the King vs. Julian, 12:30

COAL CITY / MANTENO

at Coal City

Gardner-So. Wilmington vs. Agricultural Science, 5

Morris vs. Coal City, 7:00

at Manteno

Beecher vs. IC Catholic, 5:30

Peotone vs. Manteno, 7:00

CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL

Barrington vs. Hononegah, 11:30

Belvidere North vs. Hampshire, 1:00

Grayslake Central vs. Crystal Lake Central, 2:30

DE LA SALLE / KING

at King

Seventh Place

Fifth Place

Third Place

Championship

DE PAUL / LANE

at DePaul

Pool Playoff

Pool Playoff

at Lane

Pool Playoff

Pool Playoff

DECATUR

Consolation Semi-Final, 1:00

Consolation Semi-Final, 2:30

Semi-Final, 6:00

Semi-Final, 7:30

EL PASO-GRIDLEY

Olympia vs. East Peoria, 5:30

El Paso-Gridley vs. Roanoke-Benson, 7:00

FENTON

Harlan vs. Montini, 2:30

Timothy Christian vs. Clemente, 4:00

Wheaton-Warr. South vs. Fremd, 5:30

Fenton vs. Rolling Meadows, 7:00

GALESBURG

Madison vs. Dunlap, 10:30

Canton vs. Ogden, 12:00

Dunlap vs. Wells, 3:00

Ogden vs. Madison, 4:30

DeKalb vs. Canton, 6:00

Wells vs. Galesburg, 7:30

GENESEO

Erie-Prophetstown vs. East Moline, 10:30

Rock Falls vs. Rockridge, 1:30

East Moline vs. Intrinsic-Downtown, 4:30

Geneseo vs. Rock Falls, 6:00

Intrinsic-Downtown vs. Kewanee, 7:30

GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY

Fisher vs. Lexington, 1:00

Prairie Central vs. Armstrong-Potomac, 2:30

Tri-Point vs. Hoopeston, 4:00

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley vs. Iroquois West, 5:30

GLENBROOK NORTH / ST. PATRICK

at St. Patrick

Seventh Place, 11:00

Fifth Place, 12:30

Third Place, 2:00

Championship, 3:30

HOMETOWN COMMUNITY

North Chicago at Morton, 6:45

Thornton Fr. North at Pekin, 6:30

Phillips at Limestone, 6:00

JOHNSBURG

Seventh Place, 11:00

Fifth Place, 12:30

Third Place, 2:00

Championship, 3:30

LISLE

West Chicago vs. Westmont, 5:30

Evergreen Park vs. Lisle, 7:00

NAPERVILLE NORTH / OSWEGO

at Oswego

Seventh Place, 2:00

Fifth Place, 3:30

Third Place, 5:15

Championship, 7:00

NORTHRIDGE

Vernon Hills vs. Bowen, 4:00

Amundsen vs. Northridge, 5:30

OAK LAWN / REAVIS

at Oak Lawn

Pool Playoff, 4:30

Pool Playoff, 6:00

at Reavis

Pool Playoff, 4:30

Pool Playoff, 6:00

OREGON

North Boone vs. Harvard, 5:45

Milledgeville vs. Morrison, 5:45

Aquin vs. South Beloit, 7:15

Christian Life vs. Plano, 7:15

OTTAWA

Pontiac vs. Thornirgde, 11:30

Princeton vs. LaSalle-Peru, 1:00

Streator vs. Oak Forest, 2:30

Thornridge vs. Marengo, 4:00

Ottawa vs. Pontiac, 5:30

Oak Forest vs. Princeton, 7:00

PALATINE

Round Lake vs. Hersey, 1:00

Buffalo Grove vs. Jacobs, 2:30

Palatine vs. Stevenson, 4:15

Glenbrook South vs. York, 5:45

QUINCY

Dixon vs. Lanphier, 5:30

Miller (MO) vs. Quincy, 7:00

RICHARDS / SHEPARD

at Richards

Seventh Place, 10:00

Fifth Place, 11:45

Third Place, 1:30

Championship, 3:15

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD

Morton vs. Zion-Benton, 12:00

Brother Rice vs. Thornwood, 1:30

Hinsdale South vs. University High, 3:00

Riverside-Brookfield vs. Curie, 4:30

ROCK ISLAND

Waukegan vs. Tinley Park, 10:00

Carver vs. Rock Island, 12:00

Dyett vs. Waukegan, 2:00

Carver vs. Tinley Park, 6:00

Dyett vs. Rock Island, 7:30

ROCKFORD

at Guilford

Jefferson vs. Perspectives-MSA, 9:30a

Larkin vs. Rockford East, 11:00

Bogan vs. Guilford, 12:30

Perspectives-MSA vs. Harlem, 2:00

East St. Louis vs. Jefferson, 3:30

Rockford East vs. Bogan, 5:00

Harlem vs. Clark, 6:30

Guilford vs. East St. Louis, 8:00

ROWVA-WILLIAMSFIELD

Henry-Senachwine vs. Riverdale, 2:00

ST. CHARLES EAST

Plainfield East vs. South Elgin, 2:30

Westinghouse vs. East Aurora, 4:00

Benet vs. Willowbrook, 5:30

St. Charles East vs. Proviso East, 7:00

ST. VIATOR

Evanston vs. Prospect, 3:30

Libertyville vs. St. Viator, 5:00

SENECA

St. Anne vs. Newark, 2:30

Herscher vs. Serena, 4:00

Somonauk vs. Hall, 5:30

Mendota vs. Seneca, 7:00

STAGG

Nazareth vs. Plainfield South, 1:00

Stagg vs. Argo, 2:30

SYCAMORE

Consolation Semi-Final, 3:00

Consolation Semi-Final, 4:30

Semi-Final, 6:00

Semi-Final, 7:30

WASHINGTON (IL)

Lincoln Park vs. Moss Point, (MS), 9:00

Joliet West vs. Lanier (GA), 1:30

Yorkville Christian vs. Winter Haven (FL), 3:00

St. Rita vs. Ritter (MO), 4:30

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN

Aurora Christian vs. Elgin, 2:30

Horizon-Southwest vs. Elgin Academy, 4:00

Genoa-Kingston vs. Indian Creek, 5:30

St. Edward vs. Westminster Christian, 7:30

WETHERSFIELD

Bureau Valley vs. Stark County, 4:00

Annawan vs. Putnam County, 6:30

Elmwood vs. Wethersfield, 8:00

WHEATON ACADEMY

Downers Grove North vs. Metea Valley, 2:30

Bartlett vs. Oak Park-River Forest, 4:00

Lake Park vs. St. Francis, 5:30

Plainfield North vs. Wheaton Academy, 7:00

WJOL / ST. FRANCIS UNIVERSITY

Plainfield Central vs. Providence, 12:00

Lemont vs. Joliet Central, 1:45

Bradley-Bourbonnais vs. Minooka, 3:30Lemont, 6:

Romeoville vs. Lockport, 5:15

Saturday, November 26, 2022

NON CONFERENCE

Amundsen at Bowen, 4:00

Austin at Proviso West, 6:00

Clifton Central at Watseka, 7:30

Hope Academy at Hansberry, 1:00

Southland at McNamara, 5:30

Winnebago at Pecatonica, 5:45

ASHTON-FRANKLIN CENTER

Seventh Place, 6:00

Fifth Place, 7:30

Third Place, 6:00

Championship, 7:30

BATAVIA

Longwood vs. Raby, 6:00

Waubonsie Valley vs. Batavia, 7:30

BOYLAN

Richwoods vs. Freeport, 3:00

Marshall vs. Rockford Lutheran, 4:30

Boylan vs. St. Charles North, 6:00

COAL CITY / MANTENO

at Coal City

Seventh Place, 6:00

Fifth Place, 7:30

Third Place, 6:00

Championship, 7:30

CRYSTAL LAKE CENTRAL

Belvidere North vs. Grayslake Central, 11:30

Hampshire vs. Hononegah, 1:00

Barrington vs. Crystal Lake Central, 2:30

DECATUR

Seventh Place, 1:00

Fifth Place, 2:30

Third Place, 6:00

Championship, 7:30

DWIGHT / WOODLAND

at Dwight

Seventh Place, 1:30

Fifth Place, 3:00

Third Place, 4:30

Championship, 6:00

EL PASO-GRIDLEY

Olympia vs. Roanoke-Benson, 5:30

El Paso-Gridley vs. East Peoria, 7:00

FENTON

Seventh Place, 2:30

Fifth Place, 4:00

Third Place, 5:30

Championship, 7:00

GALESBURG

Madison vs. Wells, , 9:00a

Galesburg vs Ogden, 10:30

Wells vs. DeKalb, 1:00

Canton vs. Madison, 2:30

Ogden vs. Dunlap, 4:00

DeKalb vs. Galesburg, 7:30

GENESEO

Intrinsic-Downtown vs. Geneseo, 9:00a

Rock Falls vs. Erie-Prophetstown, 10:30

Kewanee vs. Rockridge, 12:00

East Moline vs. Rock Falls, 1:30

Erie-Prophetstown vs. Intrinsic-Downtown, 3:00

Rockridge vs. East Moline, 5:30

Geneseo vs. Kewanee, 7:00

GIBSON CITY-MELVIN-SIBLEY

Seventh Place, 1:00

Fifth Place, 2:30

Third Place, 4:00

Championship, 5:30

GRANT / MUNDELEIN

at Mundelein

Seventh Place, 11:00

Fifth Place, 12:30

Third Place, 2:00

Championship, 3:30

HOMETOWN COMMUNITY

Phillips at Pekin, 11:30

North Chicago at Limestone, 11:30

North Chicago at Pekin, 6:00

Thornton Fr. North at Limestone, 6:00

Phillips at Morton, 6:45

LOYOLA / NEW TRIER

at Loyola

Seventh Place, 10:00

Fifth Place, 11:45

Third Place, 1:30

Championship, 3:15

MAINE WEST

Elk Grove vs. Lake Zurich, 12:00

Hoffman Estates vs. Maine West, 1:30

NORTHRIDGE

Amundsen vs. Bowen, 4:00

Wheeling vs. Northridge, 5:30

OREGON

9th Place Semi-Final, 11:00

9th Place Semi-Final, 11:00

5th Place Semi-Final, 12:30

5th Place Semi-Final, 12:30

Semi-Final, 2:00

Semi-Final, 2:00

11th Place, 4:00

9th Place, 4:00

7th Place, 5:30

5th Place, 5:30

Third Place, 7:00

Championship, 7:00

OTTAWA

Seventh Place, 1:00

Fifth Place, 2:30

Third Place, 4:00

Championship, 5:30

PALATINE

Seventh Place, 10:30

Fifth Place, 12:00

Third Place, 1:45

Championship, 3:15

QUINCY

Miller (MO) vs. Dixon, 5:30

Quincy vs. Lanphier, 7:00

RIDGEWOOD

Seventh Place, 10:00

Fifth Place, 12:00

Third Place, 10:00

Championship, 12:00

RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD

Seventh Place, 12:00

Fifth Place, 1:30

Third Place, 3:00

Championship, 4:30

ROCK ISLAND

Dyett vs. Carver, 10:00

Waukegan vs. Rock Island, 12:00

Tinley Park vs. Dyett, 2:00

Carver vs. Waukegan, 6:00

Tinley Park vs. Rock Island, 7:30

ROCKFORD

at Auburn

Bogan vs. Jefferson, 10:00

East St. Louis vs. Auburn, 11:30

Guilford vs. Perspectives-MSA, 1:00

Jefferson vs. Clark, 2:30

Rockford East vs. East St. Louis, 4:00

Harlem vs. Bogan, 5:30

Auburn vs. Larkin, 7:00

ROWVA-WILLIAMSFIELD

Henry-Senachwine vs. ROWVA-Williamsfield, 1:00

Henry-Senachwine vs. Galva, 4:00

ST. CHARLES EAST

Seventh Place, 2:30

Fifth Place, 4:00

Third Place, 5:30

Championship, 7:00

ST. VIATOR

Antioch vs. Libertyville, 1:30

Evanston vs. St. Viator, 3:00

SENECA

Seventh Place, 1:00

Fifth Place, 2:30

Third Place, 4:00

Championship, 5:30

STAGG

Argo vs. Lindblom, 1:00

Stagg vs. Plainfield South, 2:30

SYCAMORE

Seventh Place, 3:00

Fifth Place, 4:30

Third Place, 6:00

Championship, 7:30

WASHINGTON (IL)

Pool Crossover

WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN

Seventh Place, 2:30

Fifth Place, 4:00

Third Place, 5:30

Championship, 7:30

WETHERSFIELD

Bureau Valley vs. Putnam County, 4:00

Elmwood vs. Stark County, 6:30

Annawan vs. Wethersfield, 8:00

WHEATON ACADEMY

Seventh Place, 2:15

Fifth Place, 4:00

Third Place, 5:45

Championship, 7:30

WJOL / ST. FRANCIS UNIVERSITY

Seventh Place, 10:00

Fifth Place, 11:45

Third Place, 1:30

Championship, 3:15

Sunday, November 27, 2022

NON CONFERENCE

Johnsburg vs. McHenry, at Fiserv Forum, 12:50

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Chicago Bulls Zach Lavine

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Every year the top 25 teams are highlighted and we dig deep to find sleepers. But also of intrigue are those teams that struggled at or below the .500 mark a year ago but should be vastly improved this season.

Alright, these teams may not be poised to make deep runs when state tournament play opens, and they all may not be conference champions. But these seven teams are set to put a disappointing 2021-22 season in the rearview mirror. They’ve made significant improvements and will be much more competitive this winter.

Here are seven of what should be the most improved teams in high school basketball.

Antioch

Last year’s record: 12-18

Coach Sean Connor begins his second season leading a program that hasn’t won 20 games in 41 years. The recent history includes scratching and clawing last year just to get to 12 wins and learning how to win on the road; the Sequoits didn’t win a true road game last year until February.

Reason for optimism: This is a senior-dominated group led by a senior point guard. Emmy Zamudio makes this team go. He did a little of everything last year, including shooting 42 percent from the three-point line, and returns.

But there is a player in 6-3 sophomore Marshall Gehrke who can be a difference-maker. He led Antioch in scoring last year as a freshman with 13 points a game.

Nathan Young is a vastly improved 6-3 senior wing while 6-4 Joe Neumann, a South Dakota State football recruit, brings some physicality.

While Grayslake Central will be the favorite in the Northern Lake County Conference, Antioch can certainly be a sleeper.

De La Salle

Last year’s record: 13-22

The Meteors actually began last season 2-0. But then a six-game losing streak followed and they weren’t heard from again. A competitive schedule and injuries hampered the progression of this team last season.

Reason for optimism: A lot is still to be determined with the arrival of transfers who will have to be cleared to play. Richard Lindsey is a talented 6-4 junior who moved in from Simeon.

What we do know is Evan Jackson had a productive summer and is back after averaging seven points a game. He provides size, length and athleticism as a veteran 6-7 senior.

Junior guard Bryant Hedrick came on strong in the final third of the season and junior point guard Michael Davis is back after missing the last 12 games last season.

And Gary DeCesare absolutely loves his freshman class, who he says is “the best freshmann class in the state.”

DeCesare’s team is young and probably a year away from competing at a very high level, but it’s going to be one of the more improved teams.

Lincoln Park

Last year’s record: 15-14

Yes, Lincoln Park snuck its way above the .500 mark a year ago overall. But that was also after beginning the season with a red-hot 7-0 start. The schedule ramped up and the Lions struggled in the Red-West/North, finishing seventh with a 2-7 record.

Reason for optimism: The lack of continuity in the program has hurt. But coach Antwon Jennings begins his second season leading the Lions and is sky-high about his team, a blend of seniors and a group of young, promising players.

Senior Myan Whitfield is an open-court weapon in the backcourt, 6-2 senior Jalen Calloway is a diverse scoring threat and 6-8 junior Justus Berry is a versatile big.

But keep an eye on the sophomore class, which includes speedy underrated guard Vincent Kelly and 6-9 Keyshawn Barfield, who continues to progress as a developing big man.

Lincoln-Way East

Last year’s record: 11-17

After a couple of down seasons, particularly in the Southwest Suburban Blue, Lincoln-Way East is set to more closely resemble the 2017-18 23-win regional championship team.

Reason for optimism: Despite the rough season a year ago, there are some within the league that expect the Griffins to battle the favorite, Bolingbrook, for the top spot. There are reasons to believe.

There is depth, balance, plenty of senior experience and an influx of younger talent that coach Rich Kolimas will look to blend and mesh together. If it does, Lincoln-Way East is more than capable of flipping that 11-17 record around.

There isn’t a headliner in the group, but the senior contingent of point guard Kaiden Ross, who will make this team hum, 6-2 guard Ty Tolliver, athletic 6-6 wing Kyle Olagbegi and big, strong, versatile 6-6 George Bellevue will anchor this team.

There is also some added size with intriguing 6-8 junior Mac Hagemaster and a host of others who will figure into the rotation.

Metea Valley

Last year’s record: 10-20

Not only did Metea drop 20 games on the season, but the Mustangs also finished last in the DuPage Valley with a 2-8 mark. The 2021-22 season was a grind; Metea won five games in November and December and five more in January and February.

Reason for optimism: The record may not have shown it a year ago but Metea did show improvement. A 15-point loss to Neuqua Valley in mid-December turned into a 60-59 win in February. After being drilled by Waubonsie Valley, 59-35, in December, Metea lost by just four points in late January.

There were other examples like this over the course of the season. Plus, there is only one way to go in a league that isn’t exactly brimming with world-beaters. It’s not too far-fetched to say Metea could contend in the DVC.

There is an all-conference guard back in senior Jahki Gray (13 ppg). Nick Schroeder is a 6-4 junior sharpshooter who gained some valuable experience last season. Quentin Schaffer adds athleticism, 6-4 Jackson Corbett provides some glue, and 6-7 sophomore Jake Nosek is full of high-level potential.

Romeoville

Last year’s record: 13-16

The record last season was a little deceiving considering the schedule the Spartans played. With non-conference matchups with sectional champ Lemont, identical 23-win conference champs Bradley-Bourbonnais and Riverside-Brookfield, 24-win Brother Rice, Missouri power St. Louis Vashon and rival Bolingbrook, inching anywhere above .500 was probably wishful thinking.

Reason for optimism: Coach Marc Howard has one of the better backcourts in the Chicago area with the return of Loyola-Maryland recruit Trey Cicero and unheralded but uber-talented junior guard Meyoh Swansey. Those two combined to average 30 points a game last season.

There is a lot of experience — four starters are back when you include 6-4 Devonte Cunningham and 6-5 Aaron Brown — for a team that could push past 20 wins this year if everything falls into place.

Yorkville

Last year’s record: 9-21

There is no other way to put it: 2021-22 was a rough one. And that was after starting the season 3-1. The paltry overall win total was compounded by the fact the Foxes finished 2-14 in the Southwest Prairie West.

Reason for optimism: In seven of Yorkville’s final eight losses last season, the Foxes lost by single digits. So there was a competitive spirit still alive even after months of struggles.

Coach John Holakovsky has emerging 6-8 junior Jason Jakstys who has caught the eye of Division I basketball programs. He’s among the top 20 prospects in the Class of 2024 and averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Jakstys is still a bit raw but is only getting better.

More importantly, there is some ammunition on the way, via Yorkville Christian transfers, including talented junior guard Dayvion Johnson. He played in 29 games and averaged three points a game for a Class 1A state championship team.

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