Daily Herald Suburban Chicago High School Football News, Schedules and Scores

Off Season

Switch to football pays off for Northwestern-bound Welcing

Lake Zurich’s Hunter Welcing (44) tries to get around Warren’s Darien Bryant during action last season.

Lake Zurich junior Hunter Welcing never played organized football until his sophomore year, but last month he verbally committed to Northwestern University and head coach Pat Fitzgerald.

$Lake Zurich head football coach Luke Mertens has stepped down after two seasons. The former Lakes coach guided Lake Zurich to the Class 7A state championship game in 2017. \$

Mertens steps down as Lake Zurich football coach

Lake Zurich High School English teacher and head football coach Luke Mertens announced Monday that he is stepping down from both his teaching and coaching positions effective at the end of the 2018-2019 school year.

Antioch’s Athan Kaliakmanis looks to throw during action last season.

Antioch's Kaliakmanis brothers commit to Minnesota

Antioch sophomore brothers Athan and Dino Kaliakmanis verbally committed Wednesday to play football for the University of Minnesota. Athan is a quarterback, and Dino is a wide receiver.

Conant High School senior Rajat Mittal got a perfect score on his ACT and excels in math; he is a violinist, and he plays basketball.

Conant's Mittal not a rocket scientist yet -- but he's close

Conant senior Rajat Mittal, the leading scorer of the Conant basketball team (14 ppg) and an all-conference and all-area selection, is the complete package. The perfect candidate for a top-shelf college.

A packed house witnessed the high school football game between Wheeling and Rolling Meadows this past October. Will those stadiums continue to be packed in 2021 when the IHSA implements Proposal 23, which abolishes conferences in favor of a district format?

Proposal 23: Travel times, less revenue a concern for all schools

Tally the travel time from Round Lake to Rockford on a Friday, from Wheeling to the West Side in rush hour, from the Quad Cities to a faraway city on a stormy night. Count the dollars lost at ticket gates. Add it all up and the IHSA's Proposal 23 might sack football at some high schools or, if nothing else, deliver a blow to athletic budgets. Winning at all costs just might have taken on a new meaning.

Stevenson settles on Becker as new football coach

Stevenson has named Brent Becker its new head football coach, ending a bizarre sequence of events for the Lincolnshire school in the past week.

Former Mundelein football coach Larry Calhoun coached in Texas and has firsthand experience in a districting format, which under the Illinois High School Association's Proposal 23 eliminates conferences beginning in 2021.

Proposal 23: Former Mundelein coach Calhoun an advocate of districts

Former Mundelein football coach Larry Calhoun, who recently stepped down from his post, believes that the IHSA's Proposal 23, a districting format that will eliminate conferences beginning in 2021, makes complete sense and is the best option for kids because it provides a level playing field and an equitable chance for teams to qualify for the playoffs. Calhoun formerly coached in Texas, which uses a districting format for high school football

Antioch football coach Brian Glashagel is adamantly against Proposal 23, which in 2021 will eliminate conferences and replace them with districts determined by the Illinois High School Association.

Proposal 23: What will become of high school football rivalries?

Brian Glashagel played football at Conant in the late 1980s and was part of the rivalry madness with fellow Mid-Suburban League foe Schaumburg. Now he's the head football coach at Antioch, and is a part of a spirited Northern Lake County Conference football rivalry with Lakes High School. Glashagel is worried that conference rivalries in Illinois high school football, the old, spirited and sometimes even bitter rivalries that go back decades and decades, are about to go extinct wiht the passage of Proposal 23, which eliminates conference play starting in 2021.

Report: Morrissey will stay at Moline instead of coming to Stevenson

Mike Morrissey, head varsity football coach for Moline High School for the past three seasons, will remain at the school as a teacher and head football this fall, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon, the Quad Cities Times is reporting.

Glenbard South’s Nick Plaso is fouled by Kaneland’s Will Cushman in the Class 3A boys basketball regional semifinal game in Aurora.

Scouting Friday's DuPage County regional finals

Boys basketball: Scouting Friday's DuPage County regional finals.

Former Hersey football coach Bruce Glover celebrates the Huskies’ 1987 Class 5A state football championship. Glover, who coached at Hersey for 19 years, passed away recently in California.

Longtime Hersey coach Glover remembered for taking team from worst to first

Bruce Glover's quotability lent some excellent perspective to his ability to achieve a coaching feat that remains unequaled in Illinois high school football history. Glover led Hersey to the pinnacle of being No. 1 in Class 6A in 1987 with a state title. Glover, who was one of only three Mid-Suburban League head coaches to win a state football title, died earlier this month at age 76 in Palm Desert, Calif.

Naperville Central football coach Mike Stine holds the first day of practice on Monday.

More to Stine's success than victories

Mike Stine follows the path of his hall of fame father, Everett

DeFrancesco named Mundelein coach

The Mundelein High School District 120 board of education has approved the hiring of Vince DeFrancesco as head varsity football coach and wellness teacher beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.

Stevenson tabs Morrissey to run football program

Stevenson has named Mike Morrissey as its new head football coach. He becomes the fifth football coach in the history of Stevenson, which opened in 1965. Morrissey also will teach physical education at SHS.

Batavia High School football coach Dennis Piron's Bulldogs won the championship of the new DuKane Conference in 2018. With the advent of Proposal 23, 2020 will be the DuKane's final year, as well as the final year of conference play statewide.

Proposal 23: The good and the bad with districts for football

Proposal 23, the Illinois High School Association's new districting format for high school football in Illinois that is set to be implemented for the 2020 season, comes under more examination and scrutiny as time goes on.

Larkin names Planz new coach

New Larkin football coach Ron Planz can explain to a high school player exactly what college coaches look for in a recruit.

WEEK 14 TOP TEAMS

Rank	School	W	L	T
1	1	Cary-Grove High School	14	0	Trojans are Class 6A state champions
1	Notes: Trojans are Class 6A state champions
2	2	Batavia High School	12	1	The first DuKane Conference champs
2	Notes: The first DuKane Conference champs
3	3	St. Charles North High School	10	4	North Stars are Class 7A runner-up
3	Notes: North Stars are Class 7A runner-up
4	4	Willowbrook High School	11	1	Reached third straight quarterfinal
4	Notes: Reached third straight quarterfinal
5	5	Warren Township High School	10	2	First 8A quarterfinal berth since 2001
5	Notes: First 8A quarterfinal berth since 2001
6	6	IC Catholic Prep	14	0	Class 4A crown was third straight title
6	Notes: Class 4A crown was third straight title
7	7	Montini Catholic High School	12	2	5A runner-up in ninth title-game finish
7	Notes: 5A runner-up in ninth title-game finish
8	8	Wheaton Warrenville South High School	10	2	A 7A quarterfinalist after three 2-7 seasons
8	Notes: A 7A quarterfinalist after three 2-7 seasons
9	9	Antioch Community High School	11	1	First 6A quarterfinal since 2008
9	Notes: First 6A quarterfinal since 2008
10	10	Glenbard West High School	8	3	Tri-champs in the West Suburban Silver
10	Notes: Tri-champs in the West Suburban Silver
11	11	Hinsdale Central High School	8	3	Also WSC Silver tri-champions
11	Notes: Also WSC Silver tri-champions
12	12	Naperville Central High School	7	4	DuPage Valley Conference champions
12	Notes: DuPage Valley Conference champions
13	13	Rolling Meadows High School	10	1	Earned third perfect regular season
13	Notes: Earned third perfect regular season
14	14	Neuqua Valley High School	6	4	Reached playoffs 14th time in 17 seasons
14	Notes: Reached playoffs 14th time in 17 seasons
15	15	Glenbard East High School	10	1	First 10-win season in program history
15	Notes: First 10-win season in program history
16	16	John Hersey High School	9	2	Huskies averaged 43 points per game
16	Notes: Huskies averaged 43 points per game
17	17	Barrington High School	7	4	Broncos? seven playoff foes led all of 8A
17	Notes: Broncos? seven playoff foes led all of 8A
18	18	Waubonsie Valley High School	7	4	Losses were to teams a combined 31-13
18	Notes: Losses were to teams a combined 31-13
19	19	West Aurora High School	9	2	School-record fourth straight playoff berth
19	Notes: School-record fourth straight playoff berth
20	20	Maine West High School	9	2	First playoff win, 9-win season
20	Notes: First playoff win, 9-win season