Football dynasty ends suddenly
How could they have known?
How could the Driscoll Highlanders have known that their 24-17 loss to Aurora Christian in the 2008 Class 2A quarterfinals would in all probability be the last football game ever for the history-making program?
"If you would have told me that it'd be the last game in a Driscoll uniform against Aurora Christian, maybe we would have done something a little bit harder, maybe we could have done something a little bit more," said junior Pierre Washington-Steel.
Washington-Steel is one of those football players most affected by the decision to close the Addison school, made Thursday by the Christian Brothers of the Midwest District.
The tailback, already at his third high school, stood to be the go-to ball carrier for Driscoll's 2009 squad. Now Washington-Steel, reached by phone Friday, and many of his teammates are wondering where to turn.
"I'm thinking of probably Nazareth (led by former Driscoll coach Tim Racki), Montini or Glenbard West, I'm not sure. Or maybe Immaculate Conception.
"Most of the people are going to transfer to IC or Montini," Washington-Steel said. "Some other guys are splitting up and going to public schools. It's really devastating."
Brandon New could say that again. The Driscoll graduate had a hand in each of the Highlanders' eight state championships as either a player, assistant or head coach. New could offer no help to players disconsolate upon hearing Thursday's news.
"I talked to them (Thursday) when they all found out, after school. We found out at 11:30 and it was absolute chaos," said New, who went 9-3 last fall in his first season as head coach.
"It was like a morgue, horrible," he said. "And the worst thing about it was they came to me looking for answers and I had no answers."
Few football teams had an answer for Driscoll.
The Highlanders stated their case under Gene Nudo to win the 1991 Class 3A title, but simply dominated under the brain trust of Racki, Mike "Buzz" Burzawa and a horde of loyal assistants like the late Mike Loconsole, Bob O'Connor, Joe Petro, Dan Cepek, Nick Cicero, Pat Ryan, Kevin Hanrahan and many others.
After a fifth-place finish in the Suburban Catholic Conference in Racki's first year, 1998, Driscoll's lowest finish was third this past season. They won or tied for the SCC crown six times and went 14-0 in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
It's obvious but still awe-inspiring that during Driscoll's legendary string of seven straight state titles from 2001-07 - one of only 10 teams nationally to have accomplished that feat - they won 35 straight playoff games.
Driscoll football was always more than that.
"I want to get this point across - it wasn't only athletics here," said David Schwabe, a 1979 Driscoll three-sport athlete and now its director of development. He called it his dream to send children Dave, Steven and Lauren to Driscoll.
(He also said that after a Friday evening meeting at the school there was a "longshot" Driscoll could remain open if in the next 10 days it comes up with $3.5 million and a viable business plan.)
"I don't think people realize that the state championships were great, but it was the idea of getting there and how we got there," he said. "And all the parents and moms, togetherness and family atmosphere. That was actually more fun than winning the state championship, was getting there."