Against Highland Park, Vernon Hills joins the fight
A.J. Stacy, a newcomer to Vernon Hills' basketball team and transfer from Dunlap High in Peoria County, remembers the first time he met Cougars head sophomore coach Dale Fijalkowski.
"He just gave me a hug," said Stacy, a senior guard. "So you got to know their whole family is so loving."
Friday night, Stacy and his teammates gave some love back to Coach Fij, as the Cougars hosted Highland Park in their Central Suburban League North Division home opener. Fijalkowski's University of Iowa sweetheart and wife of 38 years, Lori, was diagnosed with breast cancer in August. She underwent a double mastectomy and multiple surgeries and just completed her first four rounds of chemotherapy.
"When we found out (a couple of months ago) that she had breast cancer, it was devastating," said senior forward Payton Foster, who's known Coach Fij since he was 8. "So we thought we'd do something cool, and we thought this was the right moment because it was our first conference home game."
Highland Park won 44-33 to improve to 4-4 and 3-0 in the CSL North, and while Vernon Hills fell to 2-7 and 0-3, it didn't feel like a losing effort. At least not off the court for the Cougars. Vernon Hills' players warmed up wearing T-shirts that read "FIGHT FOR FIJ" on the front and "MAMA FIJ" on the back.
Surprise, Coach.
"What a wonderful gesture," said Fijalkowski, whose wife made it to the game and sat behind the team bench. "They surprised the heck out of us. I didn't know a thing about it. They're just a bunch of wonderful kids."
Before the game, players Stacy, Foster, John Otoo, Joey Levitan and Derrick Jones got their heads shaved to honor Lori Fijalkowski. Vernon Hills also designated the game a "Pink Out" fundraiser. The student section was packed.
Senior forward Avery Foster took the lead on the T-shirts.
"He's in graphics class, so he actually made the shirts," Payton Foster said of his identical twin.
Once the game started, the Cougars played with energy that was impressive considering they have yet to win a game in December. They trailed only 22-18 at halftime, before Highland Park used a 9-0 run at the start of the third quarter to take control of the game. The Giants were led by Ziv Tal's game-high 15 points, Daniel Michelon's 10 (two 3-pointers) and Noah Shutan's 6 points and 5 steals.
Payton Foster's 10 points and 5 rebounds and Luke Perlin's 9 points (three 3-pointers), 6 rebounds and 5 steals paced Vernon Hills.
"We wanted to fight for (Mrs. Fijalkowski)," Payton Foster said.
His coach wasn't complaining about the game's outcome.
"I loved our defensive effort," Vernon Hills head coach Matt McCarty said. "I saw Highland Park play Maine East last week, and they had 41 (points) at half. I didn't want them to get to 60, and we held them to 44."
At game's end, despite losing their fifth game in a row, the Cougars could hold their heads high. They had done a good thing to honor Coach Fij's wife.
"This group is so coachable," McCarty said. "They listen. They're doing all this stuff for Coach Fij. I really enjoy coaching them."