Chicago Sports

Maine South’s credentials are impeccable. Dave Inserra’s program played for the Class 8A state title last season and is one of the area’s most consistently excellent teams.

So the Hawks are always an excellent measuring stick, even when playing their backup quarterback, as was the case against visiting Prospect in Week 4.

The game was a thriller and the Knights prevailed thanks to some heroics by junior quarterback Brad Vierneisel in the final minute. The win catapulted the Mid-Suburban League squad into the No. 6 spot in the Super 25, slotting in right behind the area’s established elite teams.

Vierneisel called the game a “defining moment” for his team and running back Gavin Flanagan agreed.

“It means so much to us that we are finally up there and we can compete with the best,” Flanagan said.

Prospect lost Northwestern recruit Frank Covey to an ankle injury after one quarter. Covey didn’t return after a spectacular 83-yard touchdown grab.

The Knights have another test this week against Hersey. The undefeated Huskies have outscored opponents 174-31 and posted two shutouts.

Testing the Mustangs

Morgan Park coach Chris James deserves some credit. Before the season James boldly predicted that this would be “one of the best years CPS has ever had.” James believed that the Public League had four or five teams that could compete in the state playoffs.

I was skeptical. Public League football has been through a rough couple of seasons during COVID and to put it plainly, the Public League powers were too sloppy to compete with good teams. There were too many penalties and too many mistakes.

It’s still early, but James may be correct. Things are trending his way at least. Simeon has been a revelation this season. Dante Culbreath’s team has been rock solid and may be one of the best in the area.

Kenwood (3-1) narrowly lost to Glenbard North and is just outside the Super 25.

James’ Mustangs are 4-0. They’ve defeated Richards, Rich, Phillips and Curie. Now comes the first big test. Kenwood and Morgan Park will face off on Saturday afternoon at Lane.

Can St.Ignatius do it again?

One of last season’s most surprising results was St. Ignatius’ upset of Mount Carmel. The win propelled the Wolfpack into the Super 25 and the squad had enough returning to earn a preseason ranking this year.

But St. Ignatius has slid out of the spotlight since a 19-14 loss to St. Patrick in Week 1. The Wolfpack is 3-0 since that defeat and heads to Mount Carmel on Friday.

The top-ranked Caravan hasn’t shown any weakness this season and has only allowed one touchdown. Revenge is likely on their minds after last season’s defeat. But maybe Iggy’s hard-nosed rushing attack can pull another surprise.

No nickname, no losses

Morris, which has won three state championships, is one of the state’s football hotbeds. The Grundy County city of 14,000 is football-crazed but things have been a bit quiet lately, at least according to Morris standards.

That’s changing. Morris was 10-1 last season and the success is continuing this year. Morris is off to a 4-0 start and is currently the top-ranked team in Class 5A in the Associated Press poll.

The city hasn’t settled on a new nickname for the high school, but that hasn’t slowed down the football team.

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Nearly a third of the Super 25 lost in Week 4, so I was expecting this week’s ranking task to be complicated. Turns out it wasn’t at all.

There’s always a fair amount of guesswork with the football rankings, but a four-game resume is a solid amount of data and that made things easier than expected.

Lockport (lost to Homewood-Flossmoor) and Palatine (lost to Glenbrook South) both drop out. Neuqua Valley returns to the rankings after beating Naperville North and H-F makes its season debut.

Week 5 should be very helpful for sorting things out. There are a few ranked teams that haven’t quite proved it yet and they have good tests this weekend.

Joliet Catholic is a team that keeps rising that I’m not quite sure about. The Hilltoppers barely survived against Providence on Friday and it’s always a danger to give a team too much credit based on what it did last year. Up next for Joliet Catholic is a trip to take on Crete-Monee and Josh Franklin.

If things had worked out differently Glenbrook South and Geneva would have cracked the Super 25 this week. Both teams are 4-0 and have nice wins. They are waiting in the wings.

Week 5’s Super 26With record and last week’s ranking

1. Mount Carmel (4-0) 1Friday vs. St. Ignatius

2. Loyola (4-0) 2Saturday vs. Fenwick

3. Lincoln-Way East (4-0) 3Friday vs. No. 11 Bolingbrook

4. Warren (4-0) 4Friday vs. Lake Zurich

5. Glenbard West (4-0) 5Saturday vs. Addison Trail

6. Prospect (4-0) 12Friday vs. No. 23 Hersey

7. Simeon (4-0) 7Friday vs. Hubbard at Gately

8. Jacobs (4-0) 17Friday at Huntley

9. Joliet Catholic (4-0) 15Friday at Crete-Monee

10. Maine South (2-2) 8Friday vs. Glenbrook North

11. Bolingbrook (3-1) 16Friday at No. 1 Lincoln-Way East

12. Marist (2-2) 9Friday vs. Marmion

13. Lemont (4-0) 14Friday vs. Tinley Park

14. Lyons (4-0) 19Saturday vs. No. 24 York

15. Neuqua Valley (3-1) NRFriday at Naperville Central

16. Naperville North (3-1) 6Friday vs. DeKalb

17. Prairie Ridge (3-1) 10Friday vs. Cary-Grove

18. Homewood-Flossmoor (3-1) NRFriday vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais

19. St. Rita (2-2) 20Friday at St. Patrick

20. Wheaton North (3-1) 11Friday at Lake Park

21. Batavia (2-2) 21Friday at Glenbard North

22. Kankakee (3-1) 22Friday vs. Thornwood

23. Hersey (4-0) 23Friday at No. 6 Prospect

24. York (4-0) 24Saturday at No. 14 Lyons

25. Notre Dame (3-1) 25Friday at St. Viator

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Please send additions and corrections to [email protected].

Thursday, September 22

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Sullivan vs. Amundsen at Winnemac, 4:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

UP-Bronzeville vs. King at Eckersall, 4:15

RED WEST

Crane vs. Little Village at Gately, 5

BLUE CENTRAL

Noble Academy vs. Muchin at Lane, 4:15

BLUE NORTH

Marine vs. Roosevelt at Lane, 7:15

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Harlan vs. DuSable at Stagg, 4:15

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Ridgewood at Wheaton Academy, 7:30

Friday, September 23

RED CENTRAL

UIC Prep vs. Pritzker at Lane, 4:15

RED NORTH

Phillips at Taft, 7:30

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Lake View vs. Senn at Winnemac, 4:15

RED SOUTH

Curie at Brooks, 7:30

Hubbard vs. Simeon at Gately, 7:15

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Chicago Richards at Perspectives, 4:15

RED SOUTHEAST

South Shore vs. Julian at Gately, 4:15

RED WEST

Bulls Prep vs. Lincoln Park at Lane, 7:15

Payton vs. Kennedy at Stagg, 4:15

BLUE NORTH

Prosser at Chicago Academy, 4:15

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Fenger vs. Bowen at Eckersall, 4:15

CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTH

Deerfield at Vernon Hills, 7

Highland Park at Niles North, 7

Maine West at Maine East, 6

CENTRAL SUBURBAN SOUTH

Evanston at New Trier, 7:30

Glenbrook North at Maine South, 7

Glenbrook South at Niles West, 7

DUKANE

Batavia at Glenbard North, 7

St. Charles East at Wheaton-Warrenville South, 7

St. Charles North at Geneva, 7

Wheaton North at Lake Park, 7

DUPAGE VALLEY

DeKalb at Naperville North, 7

Neuqua Valley at Naperville Central, 7

Waubonsie Valley at Metea Valley, 7

FOX VALLEY

Burlington Central at Crystal Lake South, 7

Cary-Grove at Prairie Ridge, 7

Dundee-Crown at Crystal Lake Central, 7

Hampshire at McHenry, 7

Jacobs at Huntley, 7

ILLINOIS CENTRAL EIGHT

Coal City at Lisle, 7

Herscher at Wilmington, 7

Reed-Custer at Peotone, 7

Streator at Manteno, 7

KISHWAUKEE BLUE

Marengo at Harvard, 7

Plano at Richmond-Burton, 7

KISHWAUKEE WHITE

Kaneland at Ottawa, 7

Morris at LaSalle-Peru, 7

Woodstock North at Woodstock, 7

METRO SUBURBAN BLUE

Bishop McNamara at Elmwood Park, 6

IC Catholic at Aurora Central, 7

METRO SUBURBAN RED

Chicago Christian at Aurora Christian, 7

Riverside-Brookfield at St. Edward, 7

MID-SUBURBAN EAST

Buffalo Grove at Elk Grove, 7:30

Hersey at Prospect, 7

Wheeling at Rolling Meadows, 7

MID-SUBURBAN WEST

Conant at Hoffman Estates, 7:30

Fremd at Palatine, 7:30

Schaumburg at Barrington, 7

NORTH SUBURBAN

Lake Zurich at Warren, 7

Stevenson at Mundelein, 7

Waukegan at Libertyville, 7

Zion-Benton at Lake Forest, 7

NORTHERN LAKE COUNTY

Grant at Round Lake, 7

Grayslake North at Antioch, 7

North Chicago at Lakes, 7:15

Wauconda at Grayslake Central, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN BLUE

Bremen at TF North, 7

TF South at Hillcrest, 6

Tinley Park at Lemont, 7

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Argo at Oak Lawn, 7

Richards at Shepard, 7

SOUTHLAND

Bloom at Rich Township, 6

Thornton at Thornridge, 5

Thornwood at Kankakee, 6

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE EAST

Plainfield Central at Joliet West, 7

Plainfield East at Joliet Central, 6:30

Plainfield South at Romeoville, 7

SOUTHWEST PRAIRIE WEST

Oswego at Minooka, 7

Plainfield North at Yorkville, 7

West Aurora at Oswego East, 7

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN BLUE

Bolingbrook at Lincoln-Way East, 7

Sandburg at Lockport, 6:30

SOUTHWEST SUBURBAN RED

Lincoln-Way Central at Andrew, 7

Lincoln-Way West at Stagg, 6

UPSTATE EIGHT

East Aurora at South Elgin, 7

Elgin at West Chicago, 7

Fenton at Larkin, 7

Glenbard South at Bartlett, 7:30

Streamwood at Glenbard East, 7

VERMILION VALLEY NORTH

Momence at Dwight, 7

Seneca at Iroquois West, 7

Watseka at Clifton Central, 7

WEST SUBURBAN GOLD

Downers Grove South at Proviso East, 7:30

Hinsdale South at Morton, 7:30

Leyden at Willowbrook, 7:30

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

Oak Park-River Forest at Hinsdale Central, 7:30

Proviso West at Downers Grove North, 7:30

NONCONFERENCE

Benet at Marian Catholic, 7:30

Bradley-Bourbonnais at Homewood-Flossmoor, 7

De La Salle at Brother Rice, 7

Eisenhower at Oak Forest, 7

Joliet Catholic at Crete-Monee, 7:30

Kingdom Prep, Wis. at Johnsburg, 7

Marmion at Marist, 6:30

Montini vs. Leo at St. Rita, 7

Nazareth at Carmel, 7:30

Notre Dame vs. St. Viator at Forest View, 7

Ottawa Marquette at Hope Academy, 7

Providence at Marian Central, 7:30

St. Ignatius at Mount Carmel, 7:30

St. Laurence at DePaul Prep, 7:30

St. Rita at St. Patrick, 7:30

Sycamore at Rochelle, 7

Saturday, September 24

RED CENTRAL

Hansberry vs. Rauner at Lane, 10 a.m.

Rowe-Clark vs. Woodlawn at Stagg, 4

Speer vs. Catalyst-Maria at Gately, 1

RED NORTH

Lane vs. Young at Winnemac, 10 a.m.

Westinghouse vs. Clark at Lane, 4

RED NORTH-CENTRAL

Mather at Steinmetz, 3

Von Steuben vs. Schurz at Winnemac, 1

RED SOUTH

Morgan Park vs. Kenwood at Lane, 1

RED SOUTH-CENTRAL

Bogan vs. Dunbar at Gately, 7

Hyde Park vs. Ag. Science at Gately, 4

RED SOUTHEAST

Carver vs. Comer at Eckersall, 4

Corliss at Goode, 2:30

Vocational vs. Dyett at Eckersall, 1

RED WEST

North Lawndale vs. Raby at Lane, 7

BLUE CENTRAL

Butler vs. Noble Street at Winnemac, 4

Johnson vs. Longwood at Gately, 10 a.m.

BLUE NORTH

Clemente vs. Foreman at Orr, 1

BLUE SOUTHEAST

Chicago Military vs. Washington at Eckersall, 10 a.m.

BLUE SOUTHWEST

Back of the Yards vs. Gage Park at Stagg, 10 a.m.

Solorio vs. Lindblom at Stagg, 1

Tilden at Englewood STEM, 11 a.m.

BLUE WEST

Kelly vs. Marshall at Orr, 10 a.m.

Phoenix vs. Collins at Orr, 4

SOUTH SUBURBAN RED

Evergreen Park at Reavis, 1

WEST SUBURBAN SILVER

York at Lyons, 1:30

NONCONFERENCE

Addison Trail at Glenbard West, 1:30

Christ the King at Walther Christian, 1

Fenwick at Loyola, 1:30

St. Francis at Rosholt, Wis., 3

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The Chicago Bears take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 2 as we have our keys to victory

The Chicago Bears will meet with the Green Bay packers for the 205th time this Sunday night under the lights at Lambeau Field. The Bears have dropped six straight to their division rival and are looking to start the 2022 season 2-0.

In order for this to happen the Bears have to do three things.

1. Win the running game

Last week against the 49ers the bears were out-rushed by 77 yards and rushed for 99 yards on 37 attempts. This is usually not a formula for success, however the Bears were able to take advantage of the 9ers mistakes and still come-out on top. Winning the running game against the Packers will prove very fruitful to Chicago. It will 1.keep Rodgers off the field, 2.control the clock edge, and 3. put pressure on Green Bay’s offense to make something happen. The Packers have two very talented backs in A.J Dillion and Aaron Jones so allowing 176 yards on the ground Chicago did last week will make it very hard to win.

2. Take advantage of the Weakened Packers

It’s no secret after the Packers performance last week vs the Vikings that they are severely banged up on the O-line. Aaron Rodgers was sacked four times and did not reach 200 passing yards, he was practically running for his life the whole game. The injury report is not that much better for Green Bay this week with their matchup vs Chicago looming.

Starting tackle David Bakhtiari and pro bowl tackle Elgton Jenkins are both listed as questionable in the last packers injury report. Chicago’s D-line must take advantage of the Packers O-line being banged up.

Last week Chicago’s interior Lineman did not receive a PFF grade higher than 60.3. The lowest belonging to Angelo Blackson at 30.1. Even if the Bears D-line doesn’t improve much from last week, any improvement will surely be noticeable after a horrid showing vs the 49ers.

The Bears must put the pressure on Rodgers in order to be victorious. Look for Bears rookie Dominique Robinson to add to 1.5 sack total in week 2.

3. Set the tone early

Fans can remember recent games against the Packers in which the Bears found themselves out of the game come halftime. If the defense can force another early turnover like they did last week against the 49ers and capitalize on penalties, the Bears can maybe turn the tables on the Pack and put them in a hole and make them play catch-up for once.

This game is an opportunity for the Chicago Bears to show the rest of the NFL that they are for real this year. Going into Lambeau and coming out victorious with a young QB against Aaron Rodgers would be a huge confidence booster for the squad. If Chicago hones in on these three keys, they should find themselves atop the North come Monday.

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The Fire couldn’t have picked a more fitting way to officially end their playoff hopes.

After building a two-goal lead, the Fire capitulated in the last half hour of a 3-2 loss to Charlotte FC, suffering the defeat when Karol Swiderski scored in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time. With the defeat, the Fire were eliminated from postseason contention for the fifth consecutive season.

And coach Ezra Hendrickson was ticked. Very ticked.

“It’s just us not wanting it enough,” Hendrickson said, with a hoarse voice. “I want to apologize to the fans that they have to go through that a second time this year, in a game this important, that we can put ourselves in a good position to extend our [playoff hopes] at least another week, then a couple weeks, extend our playoff hopes and we just come out the second half and just decide we’re not going to defend, we’re not going to play disciplined and just do whatever we want.

“I want to apologize for that, because that’s not good enough.”

The first time the Fire squandered a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 loss, it was in July and followed by a five-game unbeaten streak that included four wins.

This time, there is no coming back for the Fire. Not that they would deserve another chance, and Hendrickson said it was like “11 individuals” playing in the second half.

“As far as how it happened, it’s just them wanting it more than we did,” Hendrickson said. “It’s not acceptable. I’m very upset, I’m very disappointed right now. That 45 minutes, second half, that’s not a team… that was not a good-enough team I felt. All across the pitch in the second half, we just did not stick to the game plan. Guys weren’t playing their roles.”

Captain Rafael Czichos was a little more calm, but also pointed.

“There are no excuses,” Czichos said. “We lost it today. We lost the whole season today. We lost the chance to have a little chance for the playoffs still. You can see everybody is so disappointed. It’s hard to explain.”

A loss like this should force significant introspection from Hendrickson, his players and owner Joe Mansueto, who has to decide whether to bring back sporting director Georg Heitz. But what was already clear – and emphatically confirmed Saturday – is that the Fire are not built to win and need more changes before 2023.

“We are missing a little bit of consistency,” Czichos said. “It’s hard to explain 10 minutes after a game after a tough loss against a team that’s fighting with us for a playoff seed. I don’t know. It’s hard.”

Though Czichos meant the 2022 Fire are missing consistency, losses like Saturday have been a running theme for the franchise for over a decade. At the start, this year felt like it could be different, with eight points through four games and a seemingly stout defense plus the arrival of Xherdan Shaqiri.

But a 10-game winless streak and significant injuries that exposed the Fire’s depth once again did them in.

The reality of the situation seemed to hit Gabriel Slonina very hard. A Fire homegrown who’s on his way to Chelsea in January, Slonina desperately wanted to help the Fire return to the postseason.

Unless Slonina’s back next season on a loan, that won’t be happening.

“It’s difficult. It’s hard to process,” Slonina said. “My mind is just cloudy right now. I don’t have much words. It’s just difficult to take in.”

Hendrickson was struggling with what he had just seen, and not quite ready to talk about the lessons he’s learned in his first year with the Fire.

“Tonight is still in my mind right now,” Hendrickson said. “My focus is about what happened tonight, because regardless of what happened throughout the season, regardless of what mistakes we made through the season, we had the opportunity tonight to, at the least, extend our playoff hopes and we come out and do what we’re supposed to in the first half and we don’t finish out the game in the second half.

“That’s what’s on my mind right now. That’s what’s bugging me right now.”

A lot of Fire fans feel the same way.

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DETROIT — A successful bunt, a double steal, a timely hit and a sacrifice fly.

After Liam Hendriks pitched out of a jam in the 10th, stranding the winning run at third with a short fly ball and strikeout, the White Sox used that combination to pushed across two runs in the 11th inning for a much needed 4-3 win against the Tigers Saturday.

With the Guardians headed toward a doubleheader sweep, the Sox still lost ground to the AL Central leaders, falling to five games behind.

Yoan Moncada singled in the go-ahead run against lefty Gregory Soto after Soto misplayed Elvis Andrus’ sacrifice bunt into a single, and Andrus scored on Eloy Jimenez’ sacrifice fly after stealing third ahead of Moncada on a double steal.

Aaron Bummer (second save) pitched the 11th, allowing the free runner to score but no one else to give the Sox a win one night after Hendriks (4-4) took the loss in the 10th.

Rookie right-hander Davis Martin, called up from Triple-A Charlotte to replace Michael Kopech who landed on the injured list, pitched six innings of one-run ball, giving the Sox a chance.

After getting blanked by lefty Eduardo Rodriguez for six innings, the Sox took a 2-1 lead in the seventh on a two-run single from AJ Pollock against righty reliever Jason Foley.

The Tigers caught a break and tied it in the eighth when Akil Baddoo scored from second on Riley Greene’s infield single, thanks to shortstop Elvis Andrus’ throw to the plate that should have had Baddoo easily but was off the mark.

Andrus made a diving stop of Greene’s two-out bouncer headed to left field, and Baddoo, who was on second, kept going around third apparently unaware that Andrus made the stop. Andrus hesitated, then threw wide from the outfield grass, and it was 2-2.

Martin allowed three hits and one walk while striking out five Tigers. He threw 85 pitches, 57 strikes.

“A tough year”

There’s no getting the Sox’ shaky defense and lagging offense for most of the season, but there’s also no denying how much the abundance of injuries saddled a team that can’t distance itself much from the .500 mark.

“It’s been a tough year,” coach Jerry Narron said. “Anytime you go through different lineups we’ve had every day out of necessity … Just coming to the ballpark hoping this player is going to be able to play tonight [became the norm].”

Robert returns

Luis Robert returned to center field, batting eighth as manager Miguel Cairo wasn’t fully confident in what Robert could give offensively because of his sore wrist.

“He can cover a lot of ground in the outfield,” Cairo said. “Trying to put the best lineup in there today.

“I know he can play through it. I just have to be careful. I don’t want him to get hurt or nothing like that. Those [last] two days, he said he was better today so I’m going with him.”

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The Bears might be leaving Soldier Field.

The Fire could be, too.

During a town hall with fans before their game Saturday against Charlotte FC, team president Ishwara Glassman Chrein said building a soccer-specific stadium within city limits is an option for the Fire. Another option if the Bears bolt for Arlington Heights would be to become Soldier Field’s primary tenant, which could include significant renovations to make the facility more friendly for the Fire.

But the idea of a soccer-specific stadium in Chicago would be a major development for the Fire, who are seemingly on the verge of finalizing plans for a state-of-the-art performance center.

This story will be updated

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Hayden Wesneski’s preparation and sharpness validated his determination to earn a spot on the Cubs’ 2023 opening day roster.

And that’s exactly what manager David Ross has been looking for down the stretch with an influx of young but inexperienced players.

Wenseski’s seven innings of three-hit ball stood out Saturday in a 3-1 loss to the Rockies that snapped a four-game losing streak.

Since being promoted Sept. 6 from Triple-A Iowa, Wesneski has walked two while striking out 18 in 15 2/3 innings. More impressive was the manner in which Wesneski rebounded from his previous outing, in which he was tagged for three runs on four hits (including two home runs) in 3 2/3 innings in a Sept. 11 loss to the Giants.

“A beautiful outing,” said Ross, marveling over Wesneski’s sharpness and his ability to pitch effectively with his slider.

Wesneski, 24, retired 16 consecutive batters at one point and was so locked in that “I didn’t know what inning it was.”

Before the game, Ross tempered the excitement over the minor successes of the young players.

“There’s expectations I still have that we’re not meeting as a team yet,” Ross said. “I don’t want to lose sight of that. I want to continue it to be a privilege to get up here and play in the major leagues, and that’s something that’s hard to do in our organization.”

A blooper by Yonathan Daza near the right field foul line bounced over rookie Nelson Velazquez for a double in the first.

In the seventh, second baseman Zach McKinstry bobbled a grounder before skipping a throw past catcher P.J. Higgins that allowed C.J. Cron to score.

And the sequence became harrowing when shortstop Christopher Morel fired a throw that sailed past first base in an attempt to nail Elias Diaz, who retreated after momentarily tried to advance to second on McKinstry’s errant throw.

If the Cubs intend to dip into the free-agent market with ferocity, the two years of scholarships granted to players because of need and not merit could finally end.

For now, Ross is trying to teach and win, as evidenced by his late-game moves for defensive purposes.

“There are changes that happens, moves that are made and injuries that pop up,” Ross said. “In one way, all these things are great experiences for me. In another way, we got a long way to go.”

Despite a lack of quality sleep, Wesneski was alert in his pregame planning session.

“He had an idea of what he wanted to do, which is huge,” catcher P.J. Higgins said. “Especially from a younger guy. A lot of times they want to be told what to do.”

Wesneski, acquired from the Yankees Aug. 1 for reliever Scott Effross,might not receive another start this season, pending the health of left-hander Justin Steele (low back strain) and Keegan Thompson (low back tightness). But he will pitch in some form before the season ends.

“My stuff is good, and I know that,” Wesneski said. “If I keep throwing strikes with my stuff, I have a chance even when I’m not sharp with my stuff.”

Reliever Adbert Alzolay, making his first appearance since returning from a right lat strain, allowed a tie-breaking triple to Charlie Blackmon and RBI single to Diaz in the ninth.

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