By Paul D. Bowker
MaxPreps.com
There is little secrecy about Craig Drummond Jr., a senior defensive end at Morgan Park High School. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound five-star recruit is one of the top defensive end recruits in the nation and is said to be mulling over 30 college offers.
But in Morgan Park‘s 1-1 start, including last week’s 48-21 victory over Richards, another Mustang player has emerged. DaRon Brown, who until this season was a receiver, has stepped into the quarterback role as a junior and is putting up some big numbers. He played a part in five touchdowns in the win over Richards, rushing for 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and throwing for 107 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a 24-yard scoring pass. In Week One, he almost led the Mustangs to an upset win over Brother Rice, one of Chicago’s strongest Catholic schools.
“He has a 4.6 GPA, he’s a smart quarterback. He has great character,” Morgan Park coach Lexie Spurlock said.
The Mustangs, defending Public League champs, will get a solid test Friday night when they play at Bolingbrook, unbeaten in two games and among the city’s top 10 teams. After that, the Mustangs will gallop into their Public League schedule.
While Spurlock says he isn’t putting any more emphasis on Friday’s game than the others, he is hopeful of actually seeing Drummond play. Because of an ankle injury, Drummond has not played yet. Spurlock says it will be a game time decision.
“Oh, man, do we miss him at end,” Spurlock said.
Drummond says he won’t announce his college choice until December. Among the schools chasing him are Illinois, Southern Cal, Ohio State, Florida and LSU.
Ohio State is among the schools that have shown an interest in Brown. When Morgan Park’s starting quarterback of a year ago chose to pass up football and instead concentrate on basketball this fall, Brown wound up as the starter. Spurlock had tried to talk Brown into the quarterback position previously, but this season it became a necessity because he was the Mustang who fit Brown‘s offensive scheme. He can pass, and he can run.
“First-time quarterback,” Spurlock said.
But as Richards discovered last week, Brown is still a threat as a receiver and his running game can be dominating. Last week, Brown ran 90 yards for a score. Spurlock used three quarterbacks last week, including a sophomore.
Is Morgan Park a running team, or a passing team? It’s both, Spurlock says.
“We‘re a combination,” he said. “Sometimes we might do more running, or more passing.”
Football: Historic Victories at St. Joe’s
A former Notre Dame All-American is leading a football resurgence at St. Joseph’s High School in Westchester, on Chicago’s west side, a school more known for its strong basketball and soccer teams.
The Chargers had lost 45 consecutive games – none of its current players had ever won a varsity game – until the opening week of this season, when they defeated Ridgewood, 42-13. Finally, The Streak was over.
So what did the Chargers do for an encore? They came home and won their second in a row, defeating Argo 44-23 last Friday. Tim Kelly ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns.
“They believe in themselves right now,” said head coach Mark Zavagnin, a former linebacker at Notre Dame who is in his second year as head coach.
The victories in football have fed enthusiasm at the school. Additional bleachers were rented, and filled by spectators, for the Chargers‘ home opener last Friday. Even the home page of the school’s web site features not a classroom setting, but a photograph from last week’s football game.
“I think there is an excitement in the school. A football win, it kind of sets the tone for the whole school year, I‘ve always believed that,” Zavagnin said.
Zavagnin credits an off-season training program and his players’ commitment to it for the team‘s early successes. And although Zavagnin could spin a legendary Notre Dame story every time he needs to motivate the Chargers, instead Zavagnin says he focuses on what this team this year could accomplish.
“I tell them, this is their time. I want them to experience the success of winning,” he said.
St. Joseph’s will open conference play Friday against Benet Academy in a game to be played at Benedictine University.
Stats and Such…
* Mount Carmel quarterback Jordan Lynch again played less than a half last Friday in the Caravan’s 55-3 win over St. Ignatius. Lynch, a Northern Illinois verbal, completed 3-of-4 passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for 23 yards and a score. Brent Butler scored three touchdowns, two on pass catches and one on a punt return. The Caravan has won its first two games by a combined 104-10. Mount Carmel will open its Chicago Catholic Blue schedule Friday at Providence Catholic.
* Tommy Rees, a quarterback at Lake Forest, completed 22-of-38 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-32 win over Deerfield.
* Steve Schwabe, quarterback at Driscoll, completed 12-of-16 passes for 369 yards and four touchdowns in a 69-21 win over Riverside-Brookfield.
* Cameron White, a running back at Antioch, rushed for 264 yards and four touchdowns on just 9 carries in a 40-6 win over Grayslake North.
Games Worth Watching
* Lincoln-Way East (2-0), which defeated rival Lincoln-Way North 45-7 last Friday, will face highly ranked Homewood-Flossmoor (1-1) on Friday. This will be a big test for H-F, which lost last week to Hillcrest, 6-2, getting its only point when the Hillcrest punter ran out of the end zone.
* St. Rita (2-0) will play Leo (2-0) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Gately Stadium. If St. Rita and Mount Carmel both win this week, then both schools would be 3-0 when they meet next week in a Catholic League Blue showdown.
* Wheaton Warrenville South (2-0) will play host to West Chicago (1-1) in their DuPage Valley opener Friday night.
* Naperville North (2-0), the defending Class 8A champ, will meet Glenbard East (2-0) in another DuPage Valley opener. Naperville has averaged 48 points in its first two non-conference games.
Soccer: Naperville North Wins Tourney
Jerry Maddi and Art Garza scored goals, leading Naperville Central to a 2-1 victory last weekend over Neuqua Valley in the championship game of the Best of the West Tournament. It was the seventh consecutive win for Central.
Mount Carmel and Bloom will get a taste of the Chicago Fire, when they play in the Windy City Classic championship game Sept. 21 at Toyota Park. The game will be played after the Fire plays host to FC Dallas that day at 2 p.m.
Paul Bowker covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com
