Stevenson honors Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski

His team may not have come away with a victory on Friday night, but Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski didn’t leave Stevenson’s football stadium empty-handed.

Over the years, the Libertyville-Stevenson game has been one of the most intriguing and competitive rivalries not only in Lake County, but also in the state.

With its 13-0 win over Libertyville, Stevenson owns a slight series edge — 16-15.

Kuceyeski, who has coached in all 31 of the games between the two perennial powers, announced prior to the season that he would be retiring at the end of the school year. The folks at Stevenson didn’t want to let his last game in the series pass without some kind of special acknowledgment.

Prior to kickoff, Kuceyeski was presented with a neat framed jersey that perfectly illustrated the rivalry — one-half of a Libertyville jersey and one-half a Stevenson jersey sewn together.

The inscription on the frame read “Tradition Never Retires.”

It was also announced that Stevenson was making a $1,000 donation to the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center in Kuceyeski’s name and in the names of Libertyville and Stevenson high schools.

Kuceyeski discovered in the spring that he has squamos cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. He is receiving treatments at the University of Chicago.

“For them to present me with that award, and to donate that money to the University of Chicago, that’s just first class. They are first class here (at Stevenson),” said Kuceyeski, who was an assistant at Libertyville before taking over as head coach 18 years ago. “They’ve always been first class and I think that’s why this rivalry has been so good because we really respect each other.

“This is a special game. A lot of the best memories I have are from this game, going back all the way to the early 1980s.”