Battle for Grayslake exceeds the hype
Sports fans always make a big deal over crosstown rivalry, but frequently the game doesn’t live up to the hype.
That wasn’t the case on Thursday as Grayslake Central prevailed over Grayslake North 6-5.
It took a goal by Jake Paust with 1:03 to settle the score. It certainly made football fans happy to see the outside linebacker during the fall season score the game-winner. Paust had 2 goals and an assist in the game.
“A great game with several lead changes throughout that ended up in the Rams favor,” Grayslake North coach Brad Fish said. “The low-scoring affair showed tough defense and good goaltending by both teams.”
Grayslake North’s A.J. Fish sustained a knee injury but continued to play, albeit hampered. He led the Knights with 2 goals and an assist. Matt Schlagetter, Colin Chatten and Patrick Walker also scored.
Comeback kids: On Saturday it was all about rallying for Lake Zurich. The Bears trailed Deerfield, 7-3, at halftime, but responded with a brilliant defensive second half, shutting out the Warriors while tacking on four scores of their own, to win 8-7. Ryan Faetz netted the game winner with just 1:27 left on the clock.
Red, white and Blue Devils: On Monday, May 16, the Warren Area Lacrosse Association (WALA) is hosting Red, White and Blue Devils Military Night in conjunction with Armed Forces Day.
The lacrosse action begins at 5:30 p.m. at Warren Township with the frosh game, followed by military ceremonies and festivities, including Wayne Messmer singing the national anthem at 7 p.m., and then the varsity game against Lake Zurich.
One of the ceremonies will honor Warren graduates Lance Corporal Sean Maher and PFC Geoffrey Morris, marines who lost their lives serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For the past three years, Warren’s lacrosse teams have collected thousands of items for military units in active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. Handwritten cards and jerseys have also been shipped overseas from the players to the soldiers.
Those who can make this event are asked to bring basic necessities such as toothpaste and socks for the troops. Visit www.warrenlax.org for a list of other donation essentials.
For more info, contact WALA Board President Ray Weinstock at (815) 514-9585.
Night moves: Several area teams have taken the field at Benedictine University this spring for 8:15 p.m. starts. Last Monday, Benet finished off Naperville Central, 12-7, at 10:12 p.m.
Conant, Palatine, Neuqua Valley, Naperville North, St. Charles and Waubonsie Valley, among others, have all been scheduled for evening starts at Benedictine.
While the late start creates a window of several hours between the end of the school day and the opening face-off, and has players finally walking to the parking lot at 10:30 p.m., or later, it doesn’t appear to cause any problems for the student-athletes.
“We have a lot second-semester seniors so it’s not much of a problem for us,” Benet’s Jack Manion said. “I think we look forward to playing all day. You just have to be patient, go home, get all situated and then get ready for game time.”
Handling the late starts and then early mornings comes down to discipline and preparation.
“We all have our own routines after getting our of school at three,” Benet’s Pat Henderson said. “Some will take a nap, have a snack and hydrate. You just have to get a good routine because once the game starts, nothing matters.”
A good meeting: There’s no denying that long meetings that are not effective and fail to produce positive results ultimately are a big waste of time. Recently, Benet called together a meeting and the results have been very positive. The Redwings have now won three straight.
“We called together a team meeting last week and talked about some issues with discipline and other things,” Benet’s Jack Manion said. “It’s brought us together with two solid wins agains St. Rita and Naperville Central (and also Marian Catholic) and we’re excited about the rest of the season.”
The Redwings have taken a little while to put it all together this season, learning some valuable lessons during losses early on at a tournament at the University of Notre Dame and in tough, close losses to St. Ignatius (8-6) and Fenwick (7-6).
“It was a little rough start but once we got back to Illinois with the team building and improving our discipline we started to see better results,” Benet’s Pat Henderson said. “We showed our discipline (against Naperville Central). It’s something we’re working on every day and we capitalized on the chances we got and this was a big win that we needed.”
Rollercoaster-like ride: After losing a good chunk of its roster to graduation and adding eight freshmen and sophomores, Naperville Central expected there to be some growing pains this season.
During a 12-7 loss to Benet last Monday, the Redhawks were penalized 18 times to Benet’s three. The team battled back in the third quarter to make things interesting but Benet ultimately pulled away.
“It’s the story of our season,” Naperville Central coach Blake Zinn said. “We’ve gotten down and we start to come back. I’m happy with how we came back but when you have 18 penalties it’s pretty tough to win in that situation.”
The loss to Benet doesn’t bother Zinn too much, but the way the team lacked discipline does. As a B-Class team, the loss to Benet isn’t part of the team’s overall record either.
“We’re a work in progress that plays well at times but is missing discipline,” he said. “I’m happy with how we played defense and worked the ball on offense and took advantage of transition.”
Wanna see it yourself? If you haven’t had a chance to check out a lacrosse game yourself, then certainly find your away to Marmion on Saturday. Geneva, Grayslake Central, Grayslake North, Marmion, Minooka and West Chicago will all be in action with games starting at 7 a.m.
New Wave will be on site for youth clinics and Chicago Lacrosse has also confirmed its presence as a vendor.
Break on through: West Chicago felt like it was close to breaking through in recent weeks but was still falling just short. The team got a big win on May 3, beating Chiefs Lacrosse, 14-12. Chiefs entered the contest 7-0 against the B-Class.
“They had two losses, however, to two A teams,” West Chicago coach Dave Pater said. “It came down to costly penalties in the end. The first half of the fourth quarter they were three men down at one point and had a three-minute unreleaseable penalty for an illegal stick. We caught some breaks, but we needed them.”
The Wildcats hope to carry some momentum into the remainder of the season.
“I hope we take this energy and focus into the next two weeks and get hot before entering the playoffs,” Pater said.
DuPage supreme: Wheaton Warrenville South has proven that its tops among DuPage teams with wins already against Neuqua Valley, Naperville North and Wheaton North. The Tigers will look to continue such dominance this week with a clash against Naperville Central on Monday and Glenbard West on Tuesday.