Walther Lutheran to replace Driscoll in SCC

Walther Lutheran, the Melrose Park high school that has reached the IHSA state football playoffs 17 straight seasons, has been accepted into the new Suburban Christian Conference starting with the 2010-11 academic year.

St. Francis athletic director Paul Linden said the Broncos were accepted at Wednesday's semiannual SCC Board of Control meeting to replace Driscoll Catholic, which will close at the end of this school year.

Walther Lutheran, which had submitted a formal letter to the SCC, will participate as an independent for the 2009-2010 campaign before shifting to the SCC.

"You get an opportunity like that," Linden said, "and it seems to be a good fit. It was an easy fit."

Presently a member of the Private School League, which will disband after this school year, Walther Lutheran is familiar not only to incoming Suburban Christian Conference schools Wheaton Academy, Chicago Christian and Aurora Christian but to many schools in the current Suburban Catholic Conference.

The Broncos were a perennial PSL football power and rival to Aurora Christian and Chicago Christian. Also a Week 2 staple on Immaculate Conception's nonconference football schedule, the Class 2A state champions defeated Walther 25-7; three weeks later, the Broncos rallied to defeat Wheaton Academy 42-28.

This past boys basketball season Walther Lutheran defeated first Timothy Christian, then Immaculate Conception for the Class 2A Timothy Christian regional title.

Linden said Walther Lutheran was "spoken highly of" by representatives from the SCC additions, which also include Guerin Prep.

A coed institution with a 2008-09 adjusted enrollment of 684.75, Walther Lutheran participates in every sport the Suburban Christian Conference will offer with the exception of boys and girls soccer.

The Broncos won the 1984 Class A boys state track title - under current York coach Stan Reddel - and have third-place state finishes in baseball and both girls and boys basketball.

That can't compare with Driscoll's eight state football titles, three baseball championships, Gigi DiGrazia's Class A golf title and last season's Class 2A girls basketball championship, but Walther Lutheran is indeed a proven adversary.

"With its proximity, its success and its Christian values, it's a very good fit for replacing Driscoll," Linden said.