Week 3 football/City Lights notebook No. 33
Football news, notes and highlights from the Public League and beyond.
I was in Lansing last Friday for the latest edition of the District 215 rivalry between TF South and TF North. I’ve covered a lot of these over the last 30 years or so and this one started out much like the rest, with the cheerleaders and band and a large and lively crowd.
TF South took a 6-0 lead into halftime. There was the usual halftime entertainment with the band and the dance team. The clock was winding down when the PA announcer asked the crowd to evacuate the stadium due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
Living in the Midwest, we’ve all been through these drills when heavy weather rolls in. We go inside the school, wait for the storms to pass, then come back outside for the rest of the game.
This time was different. There was no bad weather in the area. And there was no direction to go inside the school till it was safe to come back outside.
As we soon learned, Lansing police and District 215 officials were made aware of a “threat of violence” against the game and they made the quick decision to send everyone home.
It was the right call obviously. In 2022, there is no such thing as being too careful when situations like this arise. We’ve seen too many everyday activities — going to a Fourth of July parade or a concert or a movie — turned into crime scenes, too many lives ended or affected forever to not take every threat seriously.
It’s a hard way to live but it’s where we are right now, when the line is increasingly blurred between the harsh realities of real life and what we used to consider safe havens from all that.
District officials decided to finish the game Saturday afternoon with attendance limited to parents. There were no cheerleaders, no band, no concessions and around 50 fans there to see TF South win 27-12 to extend its lead in the series to 45-21. You can read my stories for the Times of Northwest Indiana here and here.
Earlier Saturday, I was back at Lane to see the Champions move to 3-0 with a win over Hubbard. More on that from the Sun-Times here.
On to the Week 3 highlights:
Bremen 42, Tinley Park 13: Breyahn Townsend ran 11 times for 209 yards and three TDs for the Braves. Dion Debrue had five carries for 105 yards and a TD, and Adam Gaytan was 5-of-6 passing for 100 yards and a touchdown.
Chicago Academy 47, Clemente 22: Earnest Davis was 6-of-11 passing for 218 yards and two TDs for Chicago Academy, and he rushed for 164 yards and two scores. Richard Dezort had four catches for 180 yards and a TD.
Hope Academy 33, Quincy Notre Dame 14: Eddie Jenkins completed 60% of his passes for 364 yards and five TDs.
Lemont 42, Oak Forest 0: Payton Salomon had another big night, completing 19 of 22 passes for 307 yards and five TDs.
Marian Catholic 54, Bloom 7: Sophomore Tyler Lofton ran 13 times for 203 yards and four TDs for the Spartans. Kyle Thomas threw for 90 yards and rwo TDs, and ran for another score.
Plainfield Central 28, West Aurora 16: Gino Martino threw for 272 yards and a TD for West Aurora. Andrew Kolich caught seven passes for 102 yards and a score.
Plano 54, Westmont 0: Waleed Johnson had four TDs and 156 yards on six carries for the Reapers, while Mark Thomas added 10 carries for 83 yards and a TD, and Andrew Cox finished with three carries for 64 yards and a touchdown. Darius Stevenson Jr. had 31 carries for 103 yards for Westmont.
Riverside-Brookfield 28, Chicago Christian 7: Adam Stuursma caught rwo passes for 78 yards and a TD for Chicago Christian.
Wheaton North 27, Batavia 24: Ryan Whitwell ran 19 times fro 145 yards and two TDs for Batavia. Brody Osborne had 12 solo tackles and an assist for the Bulldogs, while Drake Ostrander had a pick-six and two pass breakups.
York 54, Proviso West 0: Evan Grazzini had four tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack for the Dukes. Matt Vezza passed for 192 yards and four TDs, and ran for 47 yards. Charlie Specht caught three passes for 80 yards and two TDs, while Adam Fennell ran for 11 yards and two scores.
And finally, a few basketball notes:
I wrote about Butler junior Xamiya Walton getting a NIL deal here.
Kenwood senior guard Natasha Barnes announced her commitment to Missouri State.
Kennedy’s boys are looking for a Christmas tournament. Contact them via Twitter @crusaderjfkball.
Amundsen’s boys are looking for home or away games on Dec. 21, Dec. 23, Jan. 25 and Jan. 27. Contact them via Twitter @AmundsenMBB.