What is coming soon to the football teams at Winona (Minn.) State and Wheaton College was on display at Peoria last Saturday (July 25) in the 35th annual Illinois Coaches Association (ICA) Shrine All-Star Football Game.
Jordan Roberts, the Illinois all-time leader in touchdown passes and an incoming freshman at Wheaton, and Bryan Bradshaw, a recruit at Division II Winona State, combined for 239 passing yards and five TD passes for the West team in a 36-30 victory over the East.
Bradshaw, of Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge, had touchdown throws of 55 and 46 yards in the first half, and added a third scoring strike in the third quarter. Roberts, who led Aurora Christian to a 13-1 record and Class 4A runner-up finish last fall, threw for two scores.
Combined, Bradshaw and Roberts completed 18-of-28 passes. Bradshaw led the West in rushing with 61 yards on 16 carries.
“They were as good as advertised. They handled themselves very well out there,” West coach Darrell Crouch told the Peoria Journal Star.
Roberts, coached by former NFL star Don Beebe at Aurora Christian, led the Eagles on a memorable season through the Private School League. He threw for 3,022 yards and 45 touchdowns. Even in a 37-28 loss to Bloomington Central Catholic in the 4A title game, he threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns. The 365 yards marked a record for the state title game.
Roberts is one of 32 incoming freshmen in a large recruiting class at Wheaton College, which went 11-3 last year and advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals for the first time in school history.
“This is an excellent class with a lot of depth. It is as good as any group of new athletes that we have ever had here,” Wheaton head coach Mike Swider said.
The freshman class includes tight end Eric Andersen, Roberts’ teammate at Aurora Christian, and three players from Class 8A power Wheaton Warrensville South: RB Peter Jarrett, LB Pat Dansdill and DB Garrett Cook.
Bradshaw is one of 29 in Winona State’s freshman recruiting class, and one of six from Illinois. He broke school records in career passing yardage (3,042), TD passes (56) and total yards (4,398). He led Prairie Ridge to a 6-4 record and Class 6A playoff spot last year.
In addition to Roberts’ and Bradshaw‘s offensive shows in the Shrine game, Bobby Pettis of Summit Argo scored a touchdown and was named East Offensive MVP. Defensive back Pete Damiani of Lincoln-Way Central was named East Defensive MVP and lineman Ross Hutson of Illini West was named West Defensive MVP.
Recruiting: Offers lining up for Prater
One of the most-watched football players this coming season in all of Chicago will be wide receiver Kyle Prater of Proviso West.
A 6-foot-5, 205 pounder, Prater is one of the nation’s top uncommitted seniors and has a position ranking of No. 1 from rivals.com. Prater has at least 10 offers from BCS schools, including Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee of the SEC; Illinois and Michigan of the Big Ten; Oklahoma and Missouri of the Big 12; Southern California of the Pac-10, and Notre Dame.
Is hometown Illinois a favorite? One of Prater’s football buddies, Illinois recruit Corey Cooper of Proviso East, is hoping so. Cooper has publicly said this summer he thinks that Prater will go the Illini.
Prater caught 60 passes for 948 yards and nine touchdowns last year and has a 3.3 grade-point average. Look for the big stats again this year.
But leading Proviso West to a conference championship or even a state tournament berth is quite something else. West won just two games last season and its West Suburban Silver rivals include Class 8A finalist Hinsdale Central and Class 7A semifinalist Glenbard West. Of the seven teams in the Silver, West was the only team with just two wins.
West is looking to improve that record this year by, among other things, using Prater in more than his wide receiver position. During the summer’s 7-on-7 passing scrimmages, Prater was often used at quarterback.
Soccer: Short has a kick for USA in Germany
Casey Short, a former Naperville Central High School star in soccer and track, played for the United States U-20 women’s national team in a pair of international games in Germany. Short, a midfielder who is a sophomore at Florida State University, subbed in the for the USA in both games and helped set up a goal in a 2-2 tie vs. Germany.
The USA also defeated England, 4-1. Short started 18 games last year for the Seminoles, and had six assists and two goals. Taylor Vancil, a St. Charles North graduate headed for Louisville University as a freshman, started in goal in the 2-2 game against Germany. She shut out the Germans in the second half.
Three others from Illinois, including Gatorade National High School Player of the Year Rachel Quon from Lake Forest, are in the U-20 national pool. Quon is an incoming freshman at Stanford. The others: Goalkeeper Alexa Gaul of Naperville Neuqua Valley, and midfielders Brianne Rodriquez of Aurora and Allie Vernon of Homer Glen.
Basketball: Carter leads Proviso East to summer title
Keith Carter, a rising sophomore at Proviso East, scored 11 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, to help East defeat Oak Park in the championship game of the Oak Park Summer League last week.
Proviso East scored the final 16 points of the game and won, 53-49. Carter, a 6-foot guard, also played well in the Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout in May and helped lead Proviso East to a Class 4A regional championship as a freshman last March. He comes from a long line of basketball alums at Proviso East, including Dee Brown and “Doc” Rivers.
Baseball: Conlon is MVP at CABA World Series
St. Rita’s Shane Conlon, a first baseman and pitcher, was named Most Valuable Player of the Continental Amateur Baseball Association’s (CABA) U-17/High School World Series in Euclid, Ohio.
He hit five home runs and won two games. Oak Forest’s Tim Barry won Most Valuable Hitter award after hitting 11 home runs. Together, they helped Top Tier win the U-17 championship.
* When St. Rita plays Sandburg in the championship game of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Phil Lawler Summer Classic on Thursday night at North Central College, it‘ll be a rematch of the Class 4A Supersectional game won by St. Rita, 6-4. The Mustangs (18-2 in summer play), Class 4A runner-up, rallied from four runs down to defeat Waubonsie Valley 6-5 in Wednesday‘s semifinals. A single by Kyle Stearns tied the score at 5-5 in the sixth inning, and Austin Bilotto scored the game-winning run on an error. Sandburg (21-4) advanced to the title game with a 12-2 win over Downers Grove South. Brett Huff and Vince Kmiec each had three hits.
Paul Bowker, a sports journalist for 25 years who has worked at newspapers nationwide, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.
