By Paul D. Bowker
MaxPreps.com
When Vanderbilt played Boston College in the Music City Bowl on New Year’s Eve, it was big news in Nashville. The Commodores, for so long an also-ran and always-squashed football team in the powerful Southeastern Conference, hadn’t played in a bowl game in more than 20 years.
Vandy fans proudly surrounded this new treasure in a state where football usually begins and ends with the Vols in Knoxville.
Joining in that celebration back in Park Ridge, Ill., with a front-row seat in front of a television set, was a future Commodore: Maine South High School quarterback Charlie Goro.
“Of course I watched the bowl game,” Goro said. “Exciting, man. They hadn’t been to a bowl game since 1982. It just shows the job that coach (Bobby) Johnson has done there, and all the coaches have done, really, and how their program is really up and coming.”
That may be the last Vanderbilt game Goro watches on TV. He’ll have a close view of the Commodores and the SEC after signing a letter of intent this week with Vanderbilt.
Goro was one of four prominent Chicago-area quarterbacks to make pledges to college football programs official on signing day. Jordan Lynch of Mount Carmel signed a with Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference, Evan Watkins of Glenbard North signed with Northwestern and Jordan Roberts, who broke the state record for touchdown passes at Aurora Christian, went to Wheaton College.
Goro, who led Maine South to a 14-0 state championship season in Class 8A and a Top 25 MaxPreps national ranking, may not be just looking on from the sidelines next fall.
One of Vanderbilt’s two quarterbacks this past season, Chris Nickson, was a senior. Goro was the only quarterback in a recruiting class of 17 announced by Johnson on Wednesday. Mackenzi Adams, a junior, threw for five TDs last fall at Vandy, but he was intercepted eight times.
“For me, I’m expecting to go in there and compete for the job,” Goro said. “The coaches have told me, they think I can compete. It’s just a matter of how fast I get down their systems. It’ll take a lot of work in the film room and weight room, but I’m going to do that.”
David Inserra, head coach at Maine South, says Goro is the best player he has coached. In addition to his passing statistics (5,930 yards, 64 touchdowns over the last two years), Inserra says it is Goro’s running and playmaking abilities that makes him so good. Last spring, Goro was on Maine South’s record-setting 800-meter relay team.
“Charlie is just a phenomenal athlete, a guy with a 38-inch vertical (leap) and excellent speed,” Inserra said.
Goro verbally committed to Vandy before his senior season at Maine South. Illinois was among the other schools to offer him a scholarship.
Goro said he is working out four days a week lifting weights and throwing. He has been in touch with other Vandy recruits. In June, after his senior year at Maine South is over and the last graduation picture has been snapped, Goro said he’ll head to Nashville and participate in workouts with the team. Preseason practice begins in early August and Vandy opens the season Sept. 5 against Western Carolina. Just one week later, it’ll get just a bit tougher in their SEC opener at LSU.
One game Goro is especially looking forward to is the Nov. 7 game at Florida, where the Commodores will face former Heisman winner Tim Tebow. Goro has watched Tebow’s games closely, trying to learn from afar from one of the best.
“You just pick up so much from him,” Goro said.
Goro may have to wait until his senior season at Vanderbilt to have a “homecoming” of his own. In 2012, the Commodores play at Northwestern.
Football: Drummond a Rebel
Head coach Houston Nutt of Mississippi caught a steal at Illinois’ expense.
Craig Drummond, a highly-rated defensive end from Morgan Park, de-committed from Illinois when a couple of his classes were not accepted by the school’s admissions office.
One quick to visit to Mississippi led Drummond to signing a letter of intent with the SEC school. A December graduate, Drummond is already enrolled at Mississippi and will participate in spring drills.
Despite missing last season to an injury, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Drummond was the No. 4 defensive end in the country, according to recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. Drummond had 18 quarterback sacks his junior year.
It’s virtually certain that Drummond would meet Maine South’s Goro in an SEC game at some point. Mississippi plays at Vanderbilt next Sept. 19. They play every year.
Football: NIU 8, Northwestern 5
Two schools racked up 13 players from the Chicago area. In addition to Mount Carmel’s Lynch going to Northern Illinois, the Mid-American Conference school also signed seven others. Northwestern signed Lynch‘s teammate, defensive end Anthony Battle, plus four others.
“As we always do, we start and end in Chicagoland,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Northwestern’s Chicago signees: Battle, defensive end, Mt. Carmel; Watkins, quarterback, Glenbard North; Patrick Ward, offensive tackle, Providence Catholic; Tim Riley, linebacker, Oswego; Mike Trumpy, running back, Wheaton North.
NIU’s Chicago signees: Lynch, quarterback, Mt. Carmel; Alan Baxter, defensive end, Buffalo Grove; Nabal Jefferson, defensive lineman, Marist; Kyle Jenkins, defensive lineman, Driscoll; Stephen O‘Neal, defensive end, Rich East; Ryan Salerno, kicker, Orland Park Sandburg; Dominique Ware, cornerback, Plainfield North; Anthony Wells, defensive end, North Chicago.
Football: Geneva player dies
For the second time in three years, a Geneva High School football has died. John McNeil, a senior offensive lineman for Geneva’s 13-1 Class 7A runner-up team last fall, died Thursday. An autopsy showed McNeil died of “natural causes.”
In May 2006, Dustin Villarreal, a freshman at Geneva, died of an undetected heart condition. The team had dedicated this past season to Villarreal.
Girls Basketball: Young vs. Bogan for Windy City title
Bogan will test nationally-ranked Whitney Young in Saturday’s title game of the Public League Windy City championship.
Young (25-1), ranked No. 22 in the nation by MaxPreps and No. 1 in Illinois, defeated Marshall 72-49 on Friday night in the semifinals at DePaul. Bogan (19-7) held off Von Steuben, 58-49. Young is the defending Class 4A state champ. Saturday’s game will start at 3 p.m. at DePaul‘s McGrath Arena. … Loyola (25-1) will go after the GCAC Red tournament championship Saturday when it meets Trinity (23-3). Loyola overcame a 15-point deficit to beat Trinity by one point in December. Trinity is in the championship game for the fourth consecutive year. Meghan Holy scored 19 points and had 4 blocks in the Ramblers’ 52-28 win over Resurrection in the semifinals. … Montini used a strong defense in the fourth quarter to knock off previously unbeaten Driscoll, 46-39. Driscoll had won its first 25 games. … A 71-38 win over Oak Lawn clinched at least a share of the South Suburban Blue title for the 14th consecutive year for Hillcrest. Shannise Heady, a freshman, scored 14 points for Hillcrest (19-4, 10-1).
Girls Basketball: Fenwick coach selected for McDonald’s game
Dave Power, who has more than 750 wins in 17 seasons at Fenwick High School, was named as the head coach for the West Squad in the April 1 McDonald’s All-American Game in Miami.
“This is such an amazing opportunity to work with the nation’s top basketball talent,” Power said.
Boys Basketball: Young takes on Fairfax of Los Angeles
Whitney Young (17-7), which advanced to the second round of the Public League playoffs with a 56-30 win Wednesday over Uplift, will get yet one more test when it faces Los Angeles Fairfax (18-3) on Saturday in the Nike Extravaganza being hosted by Mater Dei.
Fairfax is ranked No. 3 in California by MaxPreps. Young is ranked No. 6 in Illinois, and has played a schedule that has taken them from New Jersey to Hawaii. The Dolphins, with several Division I players in its starting lineup, are unbeaten in eight Chicago Public League games.
Young, the No. 1 seed, will play host to Crane Tech in the second round of the Public League playoffs next Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Boys Basketball Notes
Terry Johnson scored 24 points in North Lawndale’s 91-45 rout of Phillips in the Public League playoffs. Javony Austin added 21 points and 11 rebounds for North Lawndale (20-4), ranked No. 3 in Illinois. … Lavonte Dority scored 27 points and had 10 assists in an 89-66 Foreman win over North Grand. … Jordan Walker scored 19 points, leading Seton to its first Catholic League South title with a 59-57 win over Hales Franciscan on Friday. … Derek Wright scored 31 points for Sullivan in a 65-64 win over Hirsch. … Northridge Prep, Elmhurst Immaculate Conception, Providence-St. Mel and Holy Trinity were among the schools tagged as top regional seeds in the upcoming Class 2A tournament. Most regionals will begin play the last week of February. The Class 3A and 4A seeds will be announced next week.
Paul Bowker covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com
