For the last 11 months they toiled on the gridirons, the hardwoods, the diamonds, and everywhere else, competing for the fun and glory of sport. The athletes, the coaches, but most of all the games themselves, made for some of the school year’s most memorable sports moments.
Aug. 2005
OPRF/Fenwick soccer: Pat Maldre and Jared Reddrick each score a goal apiece and goalkeeper Jim Gullo opens the season with a shutout as the Huskies blank their cross-town rival Fenwick 2-0.
“I think we all know the better team won today,” says Fenwick head coach Tony Hepburn. “They outplayed us, and deserved to win. We were totally outclassed.”
Sept. 2005
OPRF football: The team begins the season 1-2, and it looks as though the Huskies may be headed toward no better than its sixth 3-6 season in seven years. The program has yet to reach the playoffs since 1998. But 22 seniors on the team seem determined to change the tide come late October. Do they?
Fenwick football: Pat Mulhern’s 18-yard field goal as time expires breaks a 7-7 tie and gives the Friars their first win on the young season. The game-winning kick is set up by a miraculous 44-yard catch by Nick Caldicott from Dan Walsh.
“He tipped it first and then me and then him and then I scooped it up,” says Caldicott. “I just saw [the ball] right there, in slow motion. So I caught it.”
Oct. 2005
Fenwick boys golf: Conor Weldon leads the Fenwick boys golf team to its third straight regional championship by winning a playoff round over St. Patrick’s Matt Cermak.
Weldon finishes with a 71, while William Seyfarth tops out at 73 and Roger Steel Jr. 75.
Prior to the regional victory, the Friars had won their fifth tournament of the year by taking first in the Chicago Catholic League championship held at Cog Hill.
Trinity golf: Three Macchiones help the Trinity golf team finish sixth in the competitive Girls Catholic Athletic Conference.
With Dad, Tom, as head coach, sisters Michelle and Lisa lead the Blazers to a team score of 484.
Michelle, who won seven medals during the regular season, including shooting 43 against Mt. Assisi, posts a 90 to finish fourth overall in the tournament.
OPRF/Fenwick tennis: OPRF wins the sectional, while Fenwick finishes runner-up.
OPRF’s Camille Gebert and Margaret Kempster, Bryce Buchowicz, Elizabeth Hanley, Delna Weil and Catherine Hunter all qualify for the state tournament.
OPRF football: The Huskies, who persevered after being drubbed by Downers Grove North 41-0 earlier in the month, come from behind to edge Glenbard West 16-14 and advance to the state playoffs for the first time since ’98.
Trailing 7-3 to start the fourth quarter the Huskies get behind linebacker-turned-fullback Josh Bixler, who steamrolls to 34 yards in four consecutive carries, including a 17-yard touchdown. Cedric Rowland’s leaping catch from Ricky Foytik for 17 yards precedes Bixler’s rushing effort.
OPRF breaks even on the season (5-5) when they lose to Stevenson 51-10 in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs.
Nov. 2005
OPRF/Fenwick cross-country: OPRF’s Brendan Murphy, who had suffered a season-ending leg injury the year before, places 33rd overall (15:01) at the Class AA State Boys Cross-country Meet.
Fenwick’s Mark Spadavecchia leads his team to a 21st place finish by placing 93rd overall with a time of 15:31.
OPRF soccer: The Huskies make the best of an injury-plagued season by finishing with an impressive record of 15-5-5.
Dec. 2005
OPRF gymnastics: OPRF finishes seventh out of 20 teams at the Al Galatte Gymnastics invite. Katherine Gevitz scores the Huskies’ best finish at the tournament with a fourth place on the beam.
Fenwick boys b-ball: The Friars hold Illinois-bound Brian Carlwell to just 12 points and upset sixth-ranked Proviso East 55-53 in overtime at the 45th Annual Proviso West Holiday tournament.
Peter Flowers, who fouls out with 2:14 left in the fourth, finishes with 15 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
Jan. 2006
Trinity basketball: Spurred by Monica Albano’s five three-pointers, the Blazers annihilate Benilde-St. Margaret of Minnesota 65-45, pushing their record to 12-3. Albano, a freshman, also tallies seven assists and three steals in the victory. Things look to be going smoothly for coach Don Sansone and his team. But stay tuned.
OPRF boys-ball: Star player Daniel Barnes fractures his left hand while playing a pick-up game in P.E. class, and the Huskies show the loss in an unspectacular 46-42 win over Bremen.
Trinity basketball: Mirroring a move that took place nearly two years before, Trinity fires its basketball coach midseason without a public explanation.
“I was surprised, shocked. I had no idea it was coming,” says a befuddled Sansone, who was in the midst of a 13-3 season with the Blazers, including a five-game winning streak.
Will the change affect Trinity’s play?
OPRF wrestling: Pat Woulfe goes undefeated in the 189-pound weight class to lead the Huskies to a 36-26 victory over Fenwick, and then to seal a barn-burning victory over Dundee-Crown.
Feb. 2006
Fenwick boys swimming: The Friars barely miss winning the Metro Catholics Aquatics Conference Championship, instead finishing runner-up behind Loyola.
Luke Baldwin, Dan Wolak, Dan Napleton and Patrick Lloyd finish second in the medley relay.
Fenwick hockey: The team outscores its six Catholic League rivals 114-35 and wins the conference crown for the third straight year.
Nick Powers led the scoring in the conference games with a total of 16 goals.
OPRF wrestling: “I don’t know where the other organs in his chest cavity sit, because he’s all heart,” says head coach Mike Powell of Ben Johnson after Johnson grapples to fourth place in the 135-pound weight at the state tournament. Johnson upsets Montini’s Brian Martin, a two-time state champ, 8-6 in overtime to advance out of the quarterfinals.
OPRF girls b-ball: Adriane Newell steps down as head coach of the team. Newell accumulated an impressive coaching record of 109-49 in her five years as head coach.
Trinity girls b-ball: The Blazers, who failed to defeat highly ranked opponents during the regular season, stun top-ranked Fenwick 51-50 to win the Riverside Brookfield Sectional. They go on to win the super-sectional but lose to Bellville Althoff in the state quarterfinals.
In the win over Fenwick, Albano leads the Blazers with 13 points. Both Johnson and Carter finish with double doubles. Johnson has 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Carter finishes with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
March 2006
Fenwick hockey: The Friars shutout Mt. Carmel to win their record fourth straight Kennedy Cup.
Sal Calace records his seventh shutout of the season.
OPRF baseball: Jon Meacham blasts a grand slam in the first inning to give the Huskies a lofty lead over Evanston in the team’s season opener. OPRF eventually wins the game 13-2.
Meacham ends the day going 3-for-5, with a homer, double and single. He finishes with five RBIs.
April 2006
Fenwick softball: Bridget Lally’s two-run double with two outs in the third inning helps the Friars earn bragging rights with a 2-0 shutout of Trinity.
Courtney Monaco (3-for-3) singles and Eleanor Comiskey doubles to set up Lally.
May 2005
Fenwick boys water polo: The Friars go undefeated and win their third straight state title with a 19-5 win over Latin.
Tom Parolin leads the team with seven goals, while Matt Meyer and Luke Baldwin each finish with three apiece.
Fenwick girls water polo: A little more than an hour after the boys team won its state title, the Friars also claim their third straight championship by downing St. Ignatius 13-5. Michigan-bound Farren Rixter (159 goals on the season) leads the charge, scoring six goals.
OPRF girls track: The Huskies win the Fenwick Sectional outright and qualify 16 events for state competition. Katherine Gevitz, who finishes first in the long jump (18-0) and triple jump (37-4), qualifies for state for the fourth straight year.
OPRF girls soccer: The Huskies crush Trinity 5-1 to win the regional. Sarah Bunch scores two in the victory.
June 2006
OPRF/Fenwick softball: The Huskies dispatch rival Fenwick from the playoffs with a 4-1 victory in the semifinal round of the Lyons Sectional. Clare O’Connor’s two-out double scores two runs to give OPRF a much-needed spark.
The Friars close out the season with a record of 22-11. OPRF goes on win the super-sectional and earn its fifth straight trip downstate. The Huskies fall to New Trier 2-1 in 10 innings in the state quarterfinals.
Contact: bspencer@wjinc.com