There wasn’t a Public League team ranked in the preseason Super 25. COVID and a strike-disrupted season seriously hammered Public League football, and it has been a challenging road back.

A record 24 Public League teams qualified for the Illinois High School Association playoffs last season, but that doesn’t indicate the conference’s true level of play. The first-round results might have: Public League teams went 3-21.

Morgan Park, Phillips and Clark were the winners. Only Phillips, playing in Class 4A, won its second-round game.

Even the best Public League teams were unable to compete with above-average suburban teams. Kenwood lost to Notre Dame 25-7 in the Prep Bowl.

”We are just trying to get back to where we were,” Simeon coach Dante Culbreath said. ”COVID set the Public League back. I think we are digging out finally, but I know for a lot of teams that it is still a task just getting athletes to participate. Numbers are low in most of the city.”

Before the pandemic, Simeon and Phillips consistently beat some of the top teams in the area. The Wildcats’ victory against Loyola in 2017 at Gately Stadium was a statement for Public League football.

There are reasons for optimism this season. Kenwood, Simeon and Morgan Park have multiple Power Five prospects. Wolverines senior Malik Elzy is one of the most talented and exciting players in the state.

But high-level prospects aren’t enough for state-playoff success. Good high school football teams need 20 to 30 capable players. The top Public League teams have sizable programs and, for the most part, had a full summer of camps and practices.

We should get a good indication of where things stand right out of the gate in Week 1. The Public League has set up a fun three-game slate Saturday at Gately. Three suburban teams, including two ranked squads, will play Public League powers.

Here’s a look at the three games:

No. 17 Glenbard North vs. Kenwood, 11 a.m.

Kenwood is stacked with talent. The Broncos were the one Public League team seriously considered for the preseason Super 25.

Defensive back Kahlil Tate (Iowa), receiver Logan Lester (Western Michigan) and linebacker K’Vion Thunderbird are all top prospects in the Class of 2023 in Illinois.

Defensive lineman Marquise Lightfoot (6-5, 215 pounds) is one of the top 100 players in the nation. He has scholarship offers from Auburn, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Mississippi, USC and several other schools.

Glenbard North will provide a stern test. The Panthers have quarterback Justin Bland and receivers Johnnie Robertson and Zamari Robinson back from a team that went 8-4 last season and lost to Lockport, the eventual Class 8A champion, 28-22 in the state quarterfinals.

Wheaton-Warrenville South vs. Simeon, 3 p.m.

Elzy is one of a handful of players in the area who’s worth buying a ticket to see. The 6-3, 198-pound Cincinnati recruit is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.

”You might see Elzy anywhere on the field,” Culbreath said.

Culbreath said he is expecting big things from his quarterback, junior Keshaun Parker.

”If Parker is on his game, we can compete with anybody,” Culbreath said.

Wheaton-Warrenville South has new faces on both lines but has quality players returning at the offensive skill positions (receiver Braylen Meredith, running back Grant Rylander) and at linebacker (Zach Choromokos, Hunter Almada).

The Tigers went 5-5 last season but are traditionally a very strong program.

No. 4 Batavia vs. Phillips, 7 p.m.

Batavia will be a massive test for Phillips. The Bulldogs are one of the favorites to win Class 7A. Their defense is led by two excellent linebackers, Tyler Jansey (Wisconsin) and Jack Sadowsky (Iowa State).

”We know we are going to have our hands full,” Phillips coach Joe Winslow said. ”It’s going to be important that we don’t turn the ball over.”

The Wildcats have seven starters back on defense, led by lineman AJ Phillips (6-3, 260) and defensive back Terrence Collins.

”I’m excited about the defense,” Winslow said. ”They are big, strong, fast and aggressive.”

Center Keeven Blanton anchors the offense, which features two strong senior receivers in Ryan McDonald and Dakwan Phillips. Winslow’s son, Joe Winslow Jr., takes over at quarterback.

Read More

The Chicago Bears don’t appear content with the OL’s status quo

Numerous national media outlets have been hamming the Chicago Bears for what the team has put around their second-year quarterback Justin Fields. The team doesn’t have great options at the wide receiver position. The offensive line looks pitiful after being faced with a few significant injuries in camp.

The Bears have changed players’ positions, like Teven Jenkins moving to right guard. They added veteran help, like Riley Reiff and Michael Schofield.

Jenkins is still in the mix to be possibly traded. Schofield might get cut soon. Reiff appears to be beaten out at left and right tackle by a rookie, Braxton Jones, and a second-year tackle, Larry Borom, who were both taken in the 5th round of their respective draft.

Whatever mix the Bears have tried so far does not appear to satisfy the team’s management. The Bears are looking at making more moves at the offensive line position, according to a new report by Adam Jahns with The Athletic:

There have been rumblings in league circles that the Bears have explored adding other offensive linemen, including veteran guards, in the trade market. It won’t be surprising if new faces are added later after cuts are made across the league.

Will the Chicago Bears look to the streets for help?

General manager Ryan Poles said during the NFL draft that the Chicago Bears could find talent during free agency. “There’s still guys on the streets,” Poles said in April. So far, the names Poles has brought in off the streets were unable to dethrone the starters that the Bears are now complaining about.

It’s frankly embarrassing the Bears are looking at bringing in cold cuts off of another team’s training camp to feed the belly of the gutless wonders. Essentially, the Bears would concede that players not good enough to start or play for another team would be good enough to protect Fields this season. As Keyshawn Johnson reminded us this summer, that was already the case.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More

Justin Fields playing in the final preseason game might be a great Bears debate some day — or a no-brainer in favor of sitting. But not this year. Not in Year 2 for the unproven Fields, with a new offensive coordinator and a new scheme, with a rebuilt offensive line and a virtually anonymous wide receiver corps.

Clearly in a work-in-progress stage, Fields and Luke Getsy’s offense are more about work than progress at this point. They need all the snaps they can get.

So it was likely an easy decision for coach Matt Eberflus and Getsy to plan for Fields and the first-team offense to play the first half of Saturday in the Bears’ preseason finale against the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

The preseason “dress rehearsal” seems like all but a relic at this point, but developing units like the Bears’ offense still need them. A week ago, a 19-yard pass from Fields to an open Cole Kmet against the Seahawks was celebrated as a revelation, because after the last four seasons of Matt Nagy’s offense, it kind of was.

But it’s a testament to just how rudimentary the Bears’ offensive maturation is at this point. And that makes any appearance by Fields worth watching, regardless of the stakes. Can Fields and the offense get the little things right to set themselves up for bigger plays down the road? That’s what Eberflus will be looking for from Fields on Saturday night.

“Just poise, execution, running the offense, having command, presence to there — him doing his thing,” Eberflus said. “And then we’re just excited to get him more in there, more comfortable. He’s a young player. This is a big-game experience for him prior to the start of the season, and he’s excited about it.”

With an offensive line still in a formative stage and an already nondescript receiving corps missing key candidates because of injury, Fields has taken baby steps thus far in the preseason. He completed 4-of-7 passes for 48 yards in 18 snaps against the Chiefs.He completed 5-of-7 passes for 39 yards in nine snaps against the Seahawks.

He figures to get more than that against the Browns, with the plan to play him and most of the first-team offense through the first half. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said he will be playing his starters early as well — a key part of Eberflus’ decision to play his first-team offense.

Fields still will be without some expected key weapons, including injured wide receivers Byron Pringle (quadriceps) and N’Keal Harry (high ankle sprain) and center Lucas Patrick (broken thumb). Wide receivers Velus Jones (undisclosed) and Tajae Sharpe (undisclosed) also aren’t expected to play after missing practices this week.

But even without Patrick, still expected to return in time for the season opener, the Bears will be starting the same five-man offensive line unit for the second consecutive game — rookie left tackle Braxton Jones, left guard Cody Whitehair, center Sam Mustipher, right guard Teven Jenkins and right tackle Larry Borom.

Just the continuity alone — that group has been together for two weeks — could help Fields’ growth. Thus far, Fields’ improvement has been extremely incremental.

“He’s doing a great job,” wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown said. “He’s a young quarterback learning a new offense, and first two seasons [it’s] tough. He has the most to learn out of everybody. He has to know what the o-line’s doing, receivers, everybody. He’s doing a great job and it’s not easy. I’m excited to see what he does.”

With Pringle and Harry injured, St. Brown has become a prime candidate to fill the No. 2 receiver role for Fields behind Darnell Mooney. St. Brown has had a nice connection with Fields in practice — it’s clear Fields trusts him to make plays. But he has yet to be targeted in a preseason game. Trust is one thing. Chemistry is another.

“It’s my first year with him,” said St. Brown, who spent his first three seasons with the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. “I think you’ve gotta get more reps with a quarterback to build chemistry [and] trust within that quarterback. You can’t just come in –new quarterback, new receiver — and just have chemistry. That takes time, effort and you can put in the work. I think the offseason and training camp has helped that.

That’s a big reason why Fields is playing in this game. Any progress — including chemistry with his offensive line and receivers –is significant, regardless of the situation.

“I think we’re all excited where he is right now, with what he’s doing with the offense,” Eberflus said. “We feel good about it.”

Read More

Music of the Baroque has presented hundreds of concerts in downtown Chicago and elsewhere across the city during its 52-year-history, but it has only ever performed one time at the Ravinia Festival, and that was nine years ago.

To at least partially rectify the Chicago chamber orchestra’s absence from the Ravinia lineup, the group will present its first-ever concert in the festival’s 3,350-seat open-air pavilion on Sept. 3.

“Of course, we’re thrilled to be going to Ravinia and on the main stage, too — that’s fabulous,” said Jane Glover, who will begin her 20th season as Music of the Baroque’s music director with this appearance.

One of the initiatives of Jeffrey Haydon, who took over as president and chief executive officer of the Ravinia Festival in 2020, is to bring more top-level Chicago-area groups to the series, and he believes Music of the Baroque fits the bill.

“Obviously, we’re an international music festival,” he said, “and we’re bringing artists from over the country and all over the world, and that will continue to happen. But we also have international-quality music that takes place in Chicago, and just because it’s local doesn’t mean it should be overlooked.”

At the same time, he said, the relaxed atmosphere at Ravinia is ideal to present audiences with new styles or periods of music with which they might not be familiar, like the sounds of the 17th and 18th centuries in which Music of the Baroque specializes.

He’s confident that listeners who give Music of the Baroque a chance will like what they hear.

“If you close your eyes and listen to the harpsichord,” he said, “and translate that into electric guitar, it’s actually pretty close. A lot of these harpsichord parts are pretty rock-ish. It’s pretty remarkable how exciting baroque music is.”

In choosing the repertoire for this concert, Glover took into account the outdoor setting, where it can be tough for certain small-scale or quieter works to register.

“We’re not going to play delicate Purcell or Vivaldi, that sort of thing,” she said. “We’re doing the bigger stuff.”

She is sticking to the tried and true, presenting works by the four famed composers she sees as the pillars of Music of the Baroque’s repertoire — Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart.

The concert also will spotlight famed pianist Garrick Ohlsson, back for his 41st concert at Ravinia, first having performed at the festival in 1981. He will be the soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 9 in E-flat Major, “Jeunehomme.”

While Ohlsson is an old friend of Glover and a regular at Ravinia, this will be his first time with Music of the Baroque.

“So we are thrilled that he is coming,” Glover said. “He’s got such delicacy as well as such great power, and I know his Mozart is glorious, and we’ve done quite a bit of it together elsewhere.”

Haydn wrote more than 100 symphonies, and this program kicks off with the less frequently heard Symphony No 59 in A major, “Fire,” an audience-pleasing work that Glover described as having “great wit and energy.”

“Wherever you put the pin on the list of Haydn symphonies, you always come up with something spectacular,” she said.

After Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 3 in G major, the program concludes with Handel’s ever-popular “Music for the Royal Fireworks,” which was written for an outdoor setting like the one in which it will be performed.

“So it absolutely comes home, in a sense,” Glover said.

The Sept. 3 concert also marks the second appearance at the festival by Glover, adding a kind of encore to the Ravinia’s July 29-31 mini-festival, “Breaking Barriers: Women on the Podium.” She is one of more than 100 noted women conductors whose stories are featured in an outdoor display this summer on the Ravinia grounds.

The British conductor is marking two decades with Music of Baroque and has no plans to leave any time soon.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she said. “It’s a relationship that I value hugely. Every time I come to Chicago, I feel I’m sort of coming home musically.”

Music of Baroque’s return to Ravinia had been in discussions for several years, with a tentative idea that it might happen around the group’s 50th anniversary, but the COVID-19 shutdown made that impossible.

Conversations already are under way about future appearances at the festival, perhaps featuring more adventuresome repertoire.

“I hope,” Glover said, “this is the beginning of a lovely relationship.”

Read More

The Big Ten Football season kicks off in Ireland between Northwestern and Nebraska

Three Big Ten Teams Begin their season Saturday as the College Football world looks on. For full season breakdowns check out Austin Schmidt’s Aug. 25th article: College Football Power 5 Betting Preview.

Week ZERO is officially upon us, and while it isn’t the deepest slate you’ll ever see, it is the perfect prelude to what promises to be an incredible CFB season, both across the nation and right here in Big Ten country. Beyond Ohio State, who I believe is going to run away with this thing from moment one, the rest of the Big Ten is as wide open as it has ever been. Three Big Ten teams will be in action Saturday, including the offseason darlings, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. An absurd amount of pressure will be sitting on the entire program’s shoulders in Ireland and throughout the entire season, as Scott Frost attempts to solidify his job and return the Huskers to some sense of relevancy.

Each of the three teams competing this weekend are looking to put a forgettable 2021 in the rear view mirror as Nebraska and Northwestern each posted 3-9 seasons, while Illinois managed a 5-7 campaign under first year coach Bret Bielema. As far as gambling goes, I understand it can be very difficult or impossible for Illinois residents to find action on these games with Illinois’ restrictions on college sports, but for those who have the luxury of betting at a physical location, betting offshore, or live out of state, you can find my best bets for the weekend here along with my preview for each game. 

Nebraska (-13.5) vs Northwestern: O/U 50 (Dublin, Ireland) 11:30am CST

If I were to ask you the question, since Pat Fitzgerald took over Northwestern in 2006, how many consecutive losing seasons would you guess he’s had? Now mind you, I am not a Northwestern fan, this is not homer talk from a Wildcat faithful, I am incredibly neutral on this program from that sense. I have asked this question many times this summer and the consensus guess is in the 3-5 range. The correct answer is ONE. One time in the last 16 seasons the Wildcats put up two straight seasons with less than six wins and in fact it was consecutive 5-7 seasons in the 2013 & 2014 seasons.

I am very aware of how bad this team was last year, 3-9 (1-8 conf), I’m not blind to that, it was a brutal year to watch. Now I want you to direct your attention to 2019, a season in which NU also went 3-9 and won one conference game. Fitzgerald and his team flipped that into a 7-2 record (covid shortened 2020) and a date with Ohio State in the Big Ten Title Game the following year. NOW, before the Wildcat fans get themselves in a tizzy, I am by no means suggesting history will repeat itself, and Northwestern is going to win the Big Ten West, I absolutely do not expect that. What I do expect is this staff to once again be the best in the entire nation at using down to even horrific years, as a way to give his guys experience and be a totally different team in that following year.

So what does that mean this weekend against a Nebraska team that is getting an immense amount of buzz this offseason, with many calling this the return of the Cornhuskers to relevancy? What I expect is actually a fairly competitive game. Nebraska is still the more talented team, however, with increased experience defensively and some pieces filled via the transfer portal, I think the Wildcat defense will be greatly improved and will at minimum keep them in this game.

The expectation from the offensive side of the ball is very uncertain, but optimism does increase with the return of Cam Porter who burst onto the scene in 2020, only to miss the entirety of 2021 due to injury. That really is the recipe for Northwestern to somehow pull off an upset, or at the very least cover the 13.5 point spread. A legitimate and consistent ground attack, and a defensive performance that keeps Nebraska in the low 20s.

The Cornhuskers offense will be led by Texas transfer, Casey Thompson. Thompson threw for 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions across 12 games in 2021. Time will only tell what type of effect the trip to Ireland will have, if any, on either of these teams, but if you’re a Northwestern fan, you’re hoping Nebraska shows the same type of rust that they showed last season in Week 0 as they lost 30-22 in Champaign. I can see this game going a number of different ways, but I’ve put way too many eggs in the ‘Northwestern will be frisky’ basket this year, and I can’t pass up the points to kick things off. Give me a loss, but a cover for the Wildcats, though if they can find a way to pull off the upset, you can count on Scott Frost not leaving Ireland with his squad.

RMags’ Pick: Northwestern +13.5

Wyoming at Illinois (-11): O/U 44 (Champaign, IL) 3:00pm CST

The buzz and optimism heading into year two of Bret Bielema’s tenure at Illinois has not exactly been boisterous. In year one, Bielema inherited a less than formidable Big Ten roster that saw massive growing pains, yet given the circumstances the approval rating for the job that was performed was respectable. Now, as we head into year two, it’s very likely we will see a near mirror season, as roster turnover has taken place, and the reality that we won’t see the fruits of Bielema’s recruiting until at least next season.

As has been the case for the majority of Illinois’ recent history, the Fighting Illini will start a new QB under center in the form of Tommy DeVito, a grad transfer out of Syracuse. DeVito’s career has been interesting to this point, getting the bulk of the QB duties at ‘Cuse in 2019, only to find himself on backup duty over the past two years, tallying a total of seven games played with five touchdown passes to four interceptions. In that 2019 season however, he led the Orange to a 5-7 record throwing 19 touchdowns on five interceptions. While the jury is out on how effective he will be, it does appear that this is an improvement over Artur Sitkowski who played five games last season, finishing with a completion percentage of exactly 50%. Despite the uncertainty, it does appear that Illinois will have the QB advantage in this upcoming game.

Wyoming will start Andrew Peasley, a transfer from conference foe Utah State. Peasley’s time there was less than impressive, recording 18 games played over four seasons, with a completion percentage near 50%. For context on both quarterbacks, the over-under on each player’s passing yards in this game is DeVito o/u 166.5, and Peasley o/u 128.5. I do not expect either team to light up the game through the air, but I definitely like the potential for more efficiency from DeVito, and with the right defensive game plan and execution, this could be a very long day for Peasley and Wyoming’s offense.

The area that I feel most confident in for this matchup is Illinois’ rushing attack led by Chase Brown up against this Wyoming rush defense. In 2021, the Cowboys ranked 99th in both rushing yards allowed per game and yards per attempt allowed. With some serious turnover on defense, we could even see an even bigger dip in those categories in 2022. Chase Brown returns as the starting RB for the Illini after posting 1,005 yards rushing across 10 games. 2021 was fairly up and down for him on a week to week production basis, however, when given a matchup this favorable, he has excelled. Three times he was given over 20 carries and each time he saw massive production, twice exceeding 200 yards. The down weeks can be chalked up to stingy Big Ten rush defenses, or games in which Illinois was down three scores in the blink of an eye. I fully expect Brown to be the player of this game, and will confidently predict at least 125 yards on the ground for him.

While I do believe Illinois will win this game, I am hesitant to endorse the -11 selection this weekend. I honestly have this in the 24-10, 24-14 range, putting the spread at a tossup and ultimately, a stay-away. However, you will absolutely see me with plenty of Big Ten unders this season, and given the prediction that I just laid out, I’m taking my first Big Ten under of the season at under 44, along with a Chase Brown prop if you can grab it!

RMags’ Pick: Under 44 & Chase Brown Over 101.5 Rush Yds

Week 0 Bonus Pick: FAU -7.5

FAU will host Charlotte in a matchup of two 5-7 teams from 2021. On the surface you may think this is closer than a touchdown matchup, but look deeper and you will find that Charlotte is really bad. FAU heads into year three under Willie Taggert and should have a big edge defensively in this game. I’m predicting a blowout in this one.

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

Read More