Tough picking sides for some fans

The painted store windows in downtown Lake Zurich cheering on today's trip by the high school football team to the state semifinals are meant to rouse civic pride.

But for some high school students living in the town, it elicits only jeers.

"I keep seeing all of these 'Go Bears' signs and I want to scream, 'No, go Corsairs," said Nicole Taylor, 16, one of the 50 Carmel Catholic High School students who live in Lake Zurich.

The Carmel Corsairs take on the Lake Zurich Bears at 7 p.m. at Carmel in Mundelein in the Class 7A state football semifinals. The winner goes to the state championship game Nov. 24.

The stakes are high for both schools, and the added excitement of the county showdown has everyone -- even those who don't know the difference between a quarterback and a cornerback -- interested in the game.

Sophomore Patrick Forsberg slipped on his Carmel High School sweatshirt before heading out to a Lake Zurich restaurant this week.

"People whispered and stared," Forsberg said, smirking. "It was exactly the reaction I was hoping for."

Lake Zurich resident and Carmel safety Matt Tripicchio said the debate over which team has a better shot at the finals has been intense this week.

"It is hard because all of my friends are on the Lake Zurich team and I wish we could go out there together," Tripicchio said. "But at least it will be a team from Lake County going to state."

Sara Petermann, a senior at Carmel and Lake Zurich resident, agrees.

She said while she is excited about the possibility of going to state, it's also hard to root against her friends.

"If we lose though, it is going to be hard seeing everyone in Lake Zurich celebrating," Petermann said.

Jim Jennings, spokesman for Lake Zurich Unit District 95, said Lake Zurich High students face the same dilemma.

"We have young people here who may have played football when they were younger with kids who are now on the Carmel team," Jennings said. "All of our kids seem to be just taking it as a lot of great fun. This is the next big game on the road to the state championship."

Students aren't the only people torn by the rivalry.

Patrick Foley, a longtime Lake Zurich orthodontist, finds himself in a sticky situation.

With patients hailing from Carmel and Lake Zurich, and his three children graduates of the Catholic high school, Foley has decided the only respectable way to attend tonight's game will be to sew a Lake Zurich T-shirt to a Carmel T-shirt so he can support both teams.

"This is a very exciting time, and everyone is all charged up for the game," Foley said. "Hey, I've got to be fair."

And while the dilemma over what to wear has been solved, Foley still has to decide which side of the stands he will sit on at the Carmel stadium.

"I'm just going to stand in the end zone," Foley said.

Class 7A semifinals

Kickoff: 7 p.m., today at Carmel Catholic High School, One Carmel Parkway, off Route 176, Mundelein.

Admission: $6, tickets will be sold at the gate starting at 5:30 p.m. until half time.

Parking: 700 on-campus parking spaces and 1,500 remote parking spaces a quarter-mile east at Marytown, 1600 W. Park Ave. (Route 176). Shuttle buses will run continuously from the remote site from 6 p.m. until after the game ends.