By Paul Bowker
MaxPreps.com
The road to a Vanderbilt University football scholarship didn’t start in the offensive backfield for Maine South quarterback Charlie Goro, who will try to lead the 22nd-ranked Hawks to a state football championship Saturday.
As a freshman, he was a safety. As a sophomore, he was a receiver. Goro has stepped into the spotlight the last two years as the best quarterback in the Chicago area, throwing for more than 5,500 yards and 63 touchdowns, verbally committing to a Southeastern Conference school and leading Maine South (13-0), ranked No. 1 in Illinois and No. 22 nationally by MaxPreps, to a 23-2 record the last two seasons.
At 7 p.m. Saturday, all eyes will be on Goro as Maine South faces Hinsdale Central, a battle of two suburban west Chicago schools, in the Class 8A championship game at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.
“Charlie has an uncanny ability to make game decisions,” Maine South head coach Dave Inserra told the Chicago Sun-Times. “He is the best athlete I’ve coached.”
In fact, after a 30-27 win over Glenbrook South – the closest game for a Hawks team that wins by an average of 33.8 points – Inserra marveled more over a long run by Goro than he did the senior’s passing.
Goro has completed 203-of-273 passes this season for 2,861 yards and 37 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 468 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“He’s a two-dimensional player,” Inserra said.
A big game by Goro on Saturday could lead Maine South to its first state title since 2000. The Hawks lost in the title game three consecutive years, 2003-2005, and last year lost to Chicago Catholic League Blue champ Mt. Carmel in the quarterfinals.
Hinsdale Central (11-2) is the surprise team of the Class 8A playoffs. The Red Devils didn’t win their league regular-season title, losing the West Suburban Silver championship to Glenbard West on the final day of the regular season, and was a No. 9 seed in the 8A playoffs. But the Devils beat previously unbeaten Bolingbrook and knocked off two Catholic League Blue teams (Mt. Carmel and Brother Rice) on the way to the state final.
Other unbeaten Chicago-area teams in the finals include Geneva in Class 7A, Lemont in Class 6A and Aurora Christian in Class 4A.
Geneva will be the third consecutive-area team trying to defeat powerful East St. Louis (12-1), which hasn’t lost since the Burger King Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series in August at Cincinnati. Geneva, ranked No. 8 in Illinois by MaxPreps, has never won a state championship in football. The Vikings, one of five Western Sun teams to make the playoffs, advanced to their first title game since 1975 with a 25-21 victory last Friday over Crystal Lake South.
* Class 8A title game – Maine South (13-0) vs. Hinsdale Central (11-2)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Player to watch: Maine South QB Charlie Goro, perhaps the best QB in the state.
The skinny: Maine South has rolled into the state final behind QB Charlie Goro, and a strong running game led by Matt Perez. If Hinsdale Central brings pressure, the Red Devils will have to guard against Goro tucking the ball underneath is arm and taking off down the field himself. The playoffs have been one sweet deal for Hinsdale Central, a No. 9 seed that just keeps knocking off higher seeded teams, including No. 1 Bolingbrook in the second week. This is the biggest challenge yet.
Class 7A – East St. Louis (12-1) vs. Geneva (13-0)
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Player to watch: East St. Louis WR Kraig Appleton, an Illinois recruit.
The skinny: The biggest challenge for Geneva will be the speed of East St. Louis. St. Rita, the Catholic League Blue champ, couldn’t stop it. Neither could previously unbeaten Glenbard West last week. But the Vikings themselves feature RB Michael Ratay and an offense that has topped 40 points seven times this year.
Class 6A – Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (12-1) vs. Lemont (13-0)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Player to watch: RB Danny Hayes, who has rushed for 1,810 yards and 27 touchdowns.
The skinny: The Indians are in the title game for the second consecutive year, and say they mean business this time. Lemont plays strong defensively and used three turnovers to defeat Antioch last week. Hayes ran for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sacred Heart-Griffin edged a strong Providence Catholic squad, 24-17.
Class 5A – Wheaton St. Francis (12-1) vs. Metamora (13-0)
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Player to watch: RB Aaron Peters (28 touchdowns).
The skinny: Metamora has sliced and diced four playoff opponents, including Cahokia, 42-13, last week. The Redbirds, ranked No. 9 in Illinois by MaxPreps, are defending state champs and have won 27 straight.
Class 4A – Aurora Christian (13-0) vs. Bloomington Central Catholic (13-0)
When: 7 p.m. Friday
Player to watch: Aurora Christian QB Jordan Roberts, the state’s all-time leader in touchdown passes and passing yardage.
The skinny: Now that Aurora Christian has ended Driscoll’s string of seven consecutive state titles and defeated Richmond Burton in the semifinals last week, all it needs to do is beat unbeaten Bloomington Central Catholic for a state title. Roberts has thrown for more than 2,600 yards this season alone, with 55 of the aerials going to receiver Matt Morse for 1,075 yards and 19 touchdowns.
Class 3A – Carthage Illini West (13-0) vs. DuQuoin (12-1)
When: 4 p.m. Friday
Player to watch: DuQuoin QB A.J. Hill, a Northern Illinois recruit who has thrown for 31 touchdowns and run for 17 touchdowns.
The skinny: Running back Stefan Flynn and quarterback Michael Lafferty have led Illini West to a perfect season, including a 27-23 win over No. 2 seed Oregon last week.
Class 2A – Elmhurst Immaculate Conception (9-4) vs. Casey-Westfield (13-0)
When: 1 p.m. Friday
Player to watch: Immaculate Conception RB Carlos Rodriguez.
The skinny: Immaculate Conception is the only team with four losses that is playing for a state championship. The Knights, a 15th seed, has blasted through a series of impressive playoff victories, beginning with a 42-6 win over No. 2 seed Orion in Week 1 and continuing through a 52-14 dismantling of No. 5 seed Clifton Central last week.
Class 1A – Toulon Stark County (10-3) vs. Concord Triopia Coop (13-0)
When: 10 a.m. Friday
Player to watch: Toulon QB Greg Daum, who has thrown for 21 touchdowns and more than 1,600 yards.
The skinny: A No. 10 seed, Toulon faces an unbeaten No. 1 seed for the second consecutive week. Toulon edged Milledgeville 27-24 last week and now plays Concord, which escaped Sidell Jamaica Salt Fork Coop by just a single point two weeks ago. Toulon relies on a four-receiver offensive system.
* All games at Memorial Stadium, Champaign; Tickets: $10 per day
Prep Bowl: Lane faces Loyola
Lane (11-2), a Chicago Public School, and Loyola (10-3), a private school, will play in the 75th anniversary Prep Bowl at 11 a.m. Friday at Soldier Field.
The 75th anniversary game was celebrated earlier this week with a $50-a-plate gala dinner at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in which All-Decades teams from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s were honored, in addition to the 2000 Brother Rice team.
The Prep Bowl annually matches up a public school team and a private school team. Lane won the Illini Redbird regular-season title, then lost 31-10 to New Trier in the first round of the state playoffs. The Indians then defeated Chicago Vocational and Morgan Park to reach the Prep Bowl final.
Loyola, of Catholic League Blue, lost 26-7 to Maine South in the second round of the 8A playoffs. The Ramblers defeated De La Salle 23-7 last week in the Prep Bowl semifinals.
Girls Basketball: No. 7 Bolingbrook falls
A trip to Champaign last week for Bolingbrook High School’s highly ranked girls basketball team wasn’t a pleasant one.
The Raiders, ranked No. 7 nationally by MaxPreps, dropped a 42-28 decision to Indianapolis Ben Davis in the Blue Star Country Classic Showcase, and may have lost a freshman star in the process.
Morgan Tuck, who scored 16 points in the Raiders’ season-opening 98-49 win over Morgan Park and 20 in the Ben Davis game, left the game with a knee injury. The extent of the injury was not yet known.
Bolingbrook doesn’t play again until Dec. 4, when it meets Joliet High.
Whitney Young, ranked No. 17 by MaxPreps, hosts a holiday tournament this week that includes Montini, St. Charles North and Von Steuben, teams all ranked among the state’s top 15.
Young won 30 of 33 games last year and the 4A championship over Bolingbrook.
Paul Bowker covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com
