PARK RIDGE, Ill. — One recent evening at Maine South High School, with passenger jets roaring low overhead on the way to O‘Hare International Airport, Matt Perez led his teammates on a series of sprints.
File photo by John Rowland
Matt Perez, Maine South
The roar of the jets meant you couldn‘t hear much. But you didn‘t need ears to notice Perez‘s speed. He is a star on the school‘s track team. And he has been an absolute unstoppable force this fall for Maine South‘s unbeaten football team, which has won 26 consecutive games, including 12 straight this year.
The defending Class 8A champs will meet Loyola Academy (11-1) of the Chicago Catholic Blue in the 8A semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday at Park Ridge. Perez, an Indiana recruit, has run for more than 2,000 yards and 34 touchdowns for the Hawks, a remarkable achievement given the fact that Maine South lost nearly every starter to graduation last June, including quarterback Charlie Goro, now a red-shirted freshman at Vanderbilt University. The only returning offensive starters were Perez and offensive lineman Alex Cichowski, who has plowed the way for Perez on many of those running plays.
"What he’s done on the field, he’s legendary in this community," Maine South coach David Inserra said of Perez.
But on this cool Monday night, Perez is running sprints in an orange University of Illinois T-shirt. Turns out he has plenty of Indiana stuff, just nothing with long sleeves for a chilly fall evening in suburban Chicago. Note to Hoosier coaches: As soon as you have his signature on that National Letter of Intent, get him a long-sleeved workout jersey.
While Perez has certainly transformed himself into the top running back, if not top offensive player, this fall in Chicago, the recruiting process for Perez was a snap. He visited the Indiana University campus in Bloomington last summer. He liked the coaches. Decision over.
"I didn’t really want to wait," Perez said. "They were just friendly coaches, really nice. Great campus. They have a new end-zone facility. It‘s unbelievable, one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen."
The Hoosiers must be glad he didn’t wait, either. Perez has torn up the Hawks’ competition both offensively and defensively with a "tremendous vision for the field," Inserra said.
"The incredible thing is, he hits the corner with speed, he takes on blockers, but the whole time he’s running," Inserra said. "His head is on a swivel, constantly seeing what’s coming up around him and anticipating his next move even before it happens."
Perez ran for 311 yards and four touchdowns in last week’s 44-23 win over Glenbrook South, numbers that rang familiar for Glenbrook South’s defenders. In a regular-season 45-34 Maine South win, Perez hit the Titans for a career-high 341 yards and four touchdowns, and don‘t forget his two sacks on defense.
"It was the best individual performance I’ve seen," Glenbrook South coach Mike Noll said at the time to the Chicago Sun-Times. "He is the player of the year. Nobody does more for his team than he does."
And that includes treating Cichowski and the other linemen just the right way. After that first Glenbrook South, Perez took his linemen out for dinner.
"They block great. I’ve got some big guys over there clearing some holes for me. They really make my job a lot easier," Perez said.
In addition to Cichowski, the Hawks’ starters on the line are Victor Nelson, Adam Mueller, Frank Colletti and Mike Cichowksi. Perez’s popularity is so high around Park Ridge that is not unusual to see kids running to him for autographs after home games.
"You can hear kids walking around, saying, ‘I want to be Matt Perez or I’m Matt Perez.’ He’s a hero around here," Inserra said.
Perez has scored four touchdowns in five of Maine South’s 12 games this season, and has scored multiple touchdowns in every game except one; he scored just once in a 34-16 playoff victory over Leyden while he was suffering from the flu. It is largely because of Perez that the Hawks have not missed a beat since Goro left for Vanderbilt, although Tyler Benz, Goro’s replacement at quarterback, and four seniors on the offensive line have played huge parts, as well. Just don’t look for Perez to lead the Hawks by loud voice; it is instead by actions.
"He is so quiet, so even mild-mannered. Sometimes you’ve got to get him almost to speak up when he talks," Inserra said. "I think he enjoys the recognition, but by no means is he ever searching for it. … He gets embarrassed sometimes to be called out. I think he’s also learned to relish it and let it motivate him even more to be the player he is and to truly take this team on his shoulders."
One of the most incredible facts of Perez’s high school career is that he has never lost a game at Maine South at any level — varsity, junior varsity or freshman. The Hawks haven’t lost a Central Suburban South game in nine years. Ask Perez when he last lost a game, and has to think for a minute. Seventh grade, he concluded. Such an unbeaten streak spreads a program pride throughout this Hawks team.
"We don’t really think about it until after the game," Perez said. "Oh, that’s another win."
However, in the first game against Glenbrook South, Maine South had to rally from 10 points down. It was then, Perez said, that a thought crept into his mind: "Uh-oh, I don’t want to lose."
If Maine South defeats Loyola on Saturday, it would face Glenbard North, another suburban Chicago power, or Chicago Marist in the 8A title game Nov. 29 at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium in Champaign. Illini coaches better take a good look that day. The next time he’s at Memorial Stadium, he’ll be churning up yards for rival Indiana.
More football: Simeon to meet Hubbard for city title
Simeon quarterback Robert Gregory threw an 80-yard touchdown pass and ran 58 yards for a score, leading the Wolverines to a 34-22 Chicago Public League playoffs win over Robeson on Monday, setting up a Public League title game Saturday against Hubbard at Gately Stadium. Gregory rushed for 149 yards and two TDs as Simeon scored on its first four possessions.
A 90-yard return for a score on the opening kickoff by Hubbard’s Ronnie Oliver was all the Greyhounds needed in a 7-0 semifinal win over Morgan Park. The win avenged a 34-33 Morgan Park victory over Hubbard in the regular season that clinched the Public League Prairie State title.
Girls
volleyball: Joliet Catholic, 2 others score repeat titles
Make that two consecutive state titles for the girls volleyball team at Joliet Catholic Academy, which polished off a school-record 41-1 season with a 25-20, 25-23 win over Breese Mater Dei in the Class 3A championship match last Saturday at Normal, Ill. Annemarie Hickey, a Wisconsin recruit, had 13 kills for the Angels.
"I feel relieved, to be honest," Joliet Catholic coach Christine Scheibe said. "Anything less than a championship would have been a major disappointment when you consider the talent we had on this team."
Joliet Catholic’s only loss was to Assumption High School of Louisville, Ky. Also repeating as state champs were Lanark Eastland (40-2) in Class 1A and Freeburg (38-2) in Class 2A. Cary-Grove won its first-ever Class 4A state title, defeating LaGrange Lyons, 25-23, 25-17. Among Cary-Grove’s 36 wins was a victory in the playoffs over defending 4A champ St. Charles East.
"This is such an incredible feeling. It is just so surreal," said coach Patty Langanis.
Basketball: Simeon retires No. 25 jersey
Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose returned to Simeon Career Academy in Chicago to honor the retirement of his No. 25 basketball jersey, although the late Ben Wilson was the first to wear the jersey and four of his Ben’s brothers were in attendance to celebrate the honor. The number was worn mostly by Simeon’s best, including Rose, a No. 1 NBA draft pick; Bryant Notree, a former Illinois star, and Deon Thomas, a Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year who broke career scoring records at Illinois.
"At Simeon, the number 25 not only stands for what you did, but the legacy and the tradition of what the school represents," Rose told the Sun-Times.
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.