College Achievers: York’s Mailander catching on quickly for Illinois State football

As a senior at York High School in 2023, receiver Luke Mailander set football program records with 69 receptions, 1,373 yards, and 16 touchdown catches on the way to West Suburban Silver offensive MVP honors.

After redshirting last season at Illinois State University, this year Mailander received another award. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound wideout was named freshman of the year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Including No. 17 Illinois State’s 29-28 upset of No. 1 North Dakota State on Saturday in the second round of the Football College Subdivision (FCS) playoffs, the York graduate has caught 38 passes for 598 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Mailander’s top game was a 5-catch, 109-yard effort in a 42-30 win at Eastern Illinois in which he scored on a 46-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse (St. Francis).

Mailander is Illinois State’s second-leading receiver. The Redbirds’ top pass catcher is senior Daniel Sobkowicz (Rolling Meadows), who drew first-team MVFC honors after two previous second-team selections. Sobkowicz has 65 receptions for 742 yards and 14 touchdowns, among the most in Division I football.

In a 46-32 win at Murray State, Sobkowicz caught 8 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. In Saturday’s dramatic finish against North Dakota State, Sobkowicz caught 2 touchdown passes in the last 2 minutes, 44 seconds from Rittenhouse, who threw for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns. A senior, Rittenhouse now owns the Redbirds’ single-season record for touchdown passes with 31.

The other MVFC first-teamer of local interest is North Dakota senior linebacker Malachi McNeal (Warren). A three-year starter, the 6-1, 230-pounder made 83 tackles, 6 for loss, with 2 sacks, an interception, and 4 pass breakups. After a 35-17 win over Youngstown State in which McNeal made 9 solo tackles with an assist, a sack, and a pass breakup, he was named Stats Perform FCS defensive player of the week and the MVFC defensive player of the week.

Joining Mailander on the MVFC All-Newcomer Team was Illinois State junior offensive lineman Jack McGarry (Hinsdale Central), a 6-4, 285-pound Missouri transfer. McGarry played center on a line that ranked among the FCS’ top 19 teams in fewest sacks allowed.

Good week for Milivojevics

The football-playing Milivojevic brothers of St. Francis High School, past and present, were living large last week. One day before Spartans receiver Dario Milivojevic caught a 19-yard touchdown pass in St. Francis’ 39-35 win last week over Providence Catholic to help capture the IHSA Class 5A state title, the Big Ten Conference named older brother Alessio Milivojevic its freshman of the week for football.

A redshirt freshman at Michigan State University, Alessio Milivojevic completed 27 of 39 passes for 292 yards and touchdowns of 1, 9, 10, and 15 yards in a 38-28 win over Maryland.

The 6-foot-2 right-handed passer has kicked it in since making his first start for Michigan State on Nov. 1 in a 23-20 loss at Minnesota, where he passed for 311 yards and a 71-yard touchdown.

Great season

A week ago we wrote of Louisville freshman volleyball player Hannah Kenny (Willowbrook). On Friday, Louisville eliminated Loyola from the NCAA Tournament in three games, ending the season of senior middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes (Benet) and junior middle blocker Avary DeBlieck (Huntley).

Remmes and DeBlieck helped the Ramblers win the Atlantic 10 conference for the third time in four seasons while earning first- and second-team honors, respectively. Remmes, the Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Tournament, finished with 321 kills and 110 blocks, both second for Loyola, and was second in the A-10 with a .333 hitting percentage. DeBlieck’s 168 blocks, including 12 against St. Louis, set Loyola’s single-season record, led the Atlantic 10 and ranked third in the nation. She was a three-time A-10 defensive player of the week.

Now for something completely different

Since 2006, the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has run a contest among member schools. “Cans Across the Conference” has each school advisory committee collect nonperishable food items it’ll donate to a local charity. Donated cash counts as well. Student-athletes from Aurora University won this year’s Cans Across the Conference contest, collecting 6,670 items.