Fans have a ball with rivalry Saturday

As far as football battles went, this was an old-school Catholic League slugfest.

And Bill Fitzgerald made sure to stock up on his Montini High School gear in preparation for Saturday's battle of unbeaten rivals Montini and Driscoll Catholic high schools.

Montini Maniacs T-shirt.

Check.

Bright yellow socks and maroon school headband.

Check. Check.

Two school flags.

You better believe it.

Air horn.

Did you even need to ask?

But what exactly were the 17-year-old Montini senior's plans for the air horn, stashed neatly under his mesh shorts.

"The quarterback (for Driscoll) will find out when he tries to snap the ball," he said.

Thousands of fans packed Robert A. Barth Field in Addison Saturday to watch the two high school football powerhouses vie for a shot at the Suburban Catholic title.

To say there was a lot riding on the game was perhaps an understatement for Ryan Franken, whose brother, Timmy, was playing in his final regular season game. Ryan's other younger brother and former football alumnus, Shane Franken, also made it out to the game.

"I'm excited for him," said Ryan Franken, who played on the 2001 championship team, the first of six consecutive championship winning teams at Driscoll. "I wish I was in his shoes. There's definitely a strong rivalry and a respect between the two schools."

Driscoll alumni, many of them old football players, showed up to root for their Highlanders, who beat the visiting Broncos 13-7 for the conference title.

Not to be outdone, Neal Revane and a few of his old Montini high football buddies also made their way to Addison.

"I loved playing (Driscoll) when I was in school," said Revane, who now plays football for Benedictine University in Lisle. "It doesn't matter what the standings are. They all go out the window for a game like this."

Minutes before the start of the game, players from Driscoll's senior class were honored on the field.

"It's a very emotional day," said Sherri Balaskowits of Carol Stream, who wore a pin of her son, Michael, a senior linebacker on the team. "All the boys are very psyched. This is obviously the biggest game of the year for both teams."