MaxPreps Football Tour of Champions celebrates Lincoln-Way East High School

The 13th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard passed through Illinois on Tuesday, Jan. 30 to celebrate Lincoln-Way East (Frankfort, Ill.) High School and its football team for winning a state championship and earning a high national ranking.

Having upended Loyola Academy 23-14 in the IHSA Class 8A state championship contest, the 14-0 Griffins concluded the season ranked No. 33 in MaxPreps' National Rankings.

An overflow crowd of students, faculty, family and friends came out in support as approximately 120 football players and coaches poured onto the gym floor at half-time of the boys varsity basketball game against Providence Catholic, a 69-54 Griffin win. Proudly wearing their new Tour of Champions t-shirts, the Griffin football team celebrated its most successful season since 2005.

As she recapped the tremendous football season head coach Rob Zvonar and his Griffins had, MaxPreps representative Sue Crawford shared the intricate ranking process MaxPreps uses for its Tour of Champions. Illinois Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Ryan Crissey then encouraged the Griffins as he proudly held the "Minuteman" trophy up for the large crowd to see.

"The qualities of this trophy mean a lot," SSG Crissey said. "It's the Minuteman trophy, which is the symbol of the Army National Guard. The first things we learn when we go to basic training are the seven army values, and those are: Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Those are the seven qualities and traits that don't just translate to what we do in the military, but also translate very much what happens on the football field."

Zvonar humbly thanked SSG Crissey for the honor, and the trophy, which he commented was not a "typical athletic trophy." Zvonar truly appreciated having MaxPreps and the Army National Guard on Lincoln-Way East's campus. Athletic director Mark Vander Kooi then took the microphone and thanked the Army National Guard and MaxPreps for the wonderful presentation and thanked the community for sharing in an amazing season! Congratulations to Coach Zvonar and the Lincoln-Way East Griffins on a season that will long be remembered!

Click here to view the Lincoln Way-East TOC photo gallery and for more information about the Football TOC, please visit the MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.