GAMEDAY PREVIEW CAPSULES
Daily Chronicle / Daily-Chronicle.com • Thursday, November 28, 2013
| IHSA FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
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CLASS 6A BATAVIA BULLDOGS (12-1) VS. RICHARDS BULLDOGS (12-1)
Erica Benson – ebenson@shawmedia.com
Montini quarterback Alexander Wills scores a touchdown against Sycamore in a Class 5A semifinal game Saturday in Lombard. The Broncos defeated the Spartans, 42-20.
CLASS 5A MONTINI BRONCOS (13-0) vs. SPRINGFIELD SACRED HEART-GRIFFIN CYCLONES (13-0) Game time: 10 a.m. Saturday Coaches: Chris Andriano (269-119 in 35th season at Montini); Ken Leonard (29157 in 30th season at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, 323-66 overall) Conferences: Montini from Suburban Christian; Sacred Heart-Griffin from Central State Eight Playoff road to DeKalb: Montini defeated Chicago Morgan Park (43-6), Marian Central (40-7), Joliet Catholic Academy (22-21) and Sycamore (42-20). Sacred Heart-Griffin defeated Richwoods (45-7), Glenwood (55-7), Highland (42-8) and Washington (44-14). State championship appearances: Montini – Sixth appearance (5 titles). Sacred Heart-Griffin – Eighth appearance (3 titles). FBS college prospects: Montini – LB Nile Sykes (77 tackles, 31 sacks), DE Dylan Thompson (committed to Ohio State). Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin – WR Malik Turner (65 catches, 1,311 yards, 22 TDs; committed to Illinois), OL Quinn Oseland
(offers from Illinois, Northern Illinois) Other key players: Montini – QB Alex Wills (205 for 325 passing, 2,721 yards), WR Leon Thornton III (54 catches, 966 yards, 13 TDs); Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin – QB Gabe Green (183 for 253 passing, 3,126 yards), Fun fact: Sacred Heart-Griffin faced Washington, a town devastated by a recent tornado, in the semifinals. Their fans paid for charter buses to pick up Washington fans and take them to the game in Springfield and also provided pregame meals for the team while collecting donations. Why you should watch: Two legendary coaches in Andriano and Leonard will battle for the first time in their long careers. Each already has secured their place as the greatest coach in their school history, but both can add to their legacy by beating an equally accomplished program in the state final. Together, Andriano and Leonard have almost 600 wins. – Ross Jacobson, rjacobson@shawmedia.com
Game time: 1 p.m. Saturday Coaches: Dennis Piron (33-3 in third season at Batavia); Tony Sheehan (48-18 in sixth season at Richards) Conferences: Batavia from Upstate Eight; Richards from South Suburban Playoff road to DeKalb: Batavia defeated DeKalb (48-6), Rolling Meadows (48-13), Lake Forest (19-14) and Rockford Boylan Catholic (38-6). Richards defeated Yorkville (44-0), Argo (31-0), Lincoln-Way North (126) and East St. Louis (7-6). State championship appearances: Batavia – Second appearance (0 titles). Richards – Fourth appearance (1 title) FBS college prospects: Richards LB Romel Hill (113 tackles, 17 sacks; offers from Eastern Michigan and Wyoming), Richards WR Tacari Carpenter (45 catches, 886 yards; offers from Akron, Eastern Michigan
and Wyoming) Other key players: Batavia – RB Anthony Scaccia (1,725 rushing yards, 25 rushing TDs), QB Micah Coffey (2,237 passing yards), LB Anthony Thielk (90 tackles, 13 sacks). Richards – QB Hasan Muhammad-Rogers (2,199 passing yards, 445 rushing yards), RB Romeo Johnson (498 rushing yards). Fun fact: Richards’ list of alumni includes Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade and Detroit Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski. Why you should watch: Scaccia has been a load for opposing defenses this year, but he’ll have his work cut out for him. Richards’ defense has given up only 12 points in the playoffs. Carpenter is a big-play wideout for Richards. – Steve Nitz, snitz@shawmedia.com
Sandy Bressner – sbressner@shawmedia.com
Batavia running back Anthony Scaccia carries the ball during the Bulldogs’ 38-6 victory over Rockford Boylan Catholic on Saturday in a Class 6A semifinal game in Rockford.
Good Luck Teams!
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