Hometown Highlight: HLR Football III

Bulldogs on the rise, set their eyes on another conference title

In a season of ups and downs there were doubts that the Bulldogs could be successful without legendary coach Gary Korhonen, and after a three-game skid early in the year the skeptics we're starting to look right.

Last Friday the Bulldogs took on conference foe Eisenhower High School, and with both teams at 3-3, this would be a statement game for both squads; It was a must-win game.

It would be a special night for the Bulldogs, both on and off the field. During the pregame, Richards honored former assistant coach Frank Salvatori, who spent 37-years with the football program. At halftime, Korhonen returned to introduce and honor players from the 1988 and 1989 state champion teams. It was the 20th anniversary of Richards' first state title.

Early on the Cardinals kept right on pace with the Bulldogs; the game was tied at 7 going into the half. In the second half however, Richards dominated on both sides of the ball. Junior receiver Keith Sconiers showed off his running game when he took it to the house on a 38-yard run early in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs up 21-7.

The defense played their part in the scoring as well, as senior lineman John Francis capped off the night for the Bulldogs by forcing a safety, sealing the 23-7 victory.

"People doubted us early on, but coach [Sheehan] kept us motivated, and now we're in a position to win conference." said senior receiver Kris Luna

Things seem to be coming together for the Bulldogs, and it couldn't have happened at a better time. With consecutive victories over Reavis, Evergreen Park, and Eisenhower, the Bulldogs sit atop the conference standings at 3-0.

During their winning streak the Bulldogs have played well on both sides of the ball. On offense, Richards has averaged over 30 points per game, and in the meantime, junior quarterback Jon Ryan has officially broken out as a star. Over the past two games alone Ryan has accounted for 525 total yards, 4 rushing touchdowns, and 3 passing touchdowns.

"We're finally healthy. We've practiced hard and we're finally starting to come together as an offense," said senior reciever Shaun Pratl.

The big guys up front deserve some credit too.

"The last two games the line has been good, and that’s allowed us to run our offense more efficiently," said senior Lineman John Francis.

As for the defense, they have only allowed a total of 22 points over the past three games.

"We've been able to elevate our game as a defense, and this is how we have to play the rest of the season" said senior defensive back Raad Hattar.

Currently at 4-3, the Bulldogs have a winning record for the first time since week one.

Tomorrow night Richards will take on rival Oak Lawn in potentially their biggest match-up of the season. The Spartans are undefeated in conference and with both teams sitting atop the South Suburban Red standings, this game will be for more than just bragging rights.

“Whoever wins this week basically wins conference. They’re a great team, so it’ll be tough,” said senior lineman London Gooden.

The Bulldogs hit the road Friday night to take on the Spartans at 7pm.

The Scoop: Recap

A lot of stuff has happened during my downtime, so let me go over a few things that I never got to cover. (No specific Order)

• White Sox: A season of underachievers overachieving, finally came to it's conclusion. After three edge-of-your-seat games against the Indians, Tigers, and Twins to end the season, Chicago's other team found itself somewhere no expert predicted them to be, atop the AL Central and wearing the division crown. Now unfortunately for the boys in black their postseason ended at the hands of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (we'll get to them later), but unlike the other side of town, the feeling around the south side is one of accomplishment, satisfaction, and optimism. For a team that was projected by some to barely finish ahead of the Royals, I'll take a division championship and some young stars for the future any day.

• Cubs: What I'm about to do may hurt cub fans more than any "hating" every has; in all honesty, I feel bad for the Cubs. Don't take this as some backhanded way of making fun of the Cubbie faithful because it's anything but that. After years of torture Cubs fans had themselves believing that "NEXT YEAR IS HERE!" but after a more than heart-breaking ALDS sweep by Dodgers I found myself calling my Cub-fan friends, not out of mockery, but to make sure they didn't jump off their roof. Not being able to see your team win the World Series is something I wouldn't even wish upon Cub fans, but eventually, their time will come. Any other year it was easy to rip on my friends for their teams blunders, but not this year, not yet at least...

• Rays: If you are a baseball fan and your team is out of the playoffs I have one question for you: HOW CAN YOU NOT ROOT FOR THE RAYS!? Seriously, I don't care what you call them or what kind of jerseys they wear, these are the same Devil Rays who have spent their entire MLB tenure in the cellar of the AL East. My team just gout bounced by the Amazin' Rays in four games, and it took me all but 2.5 seconds to figure out who my new team to root for this postseason was. I'd go on, but I plan on writing a piece on the Rays once the season ends.
  

• Oklahoma City Thunder: Thunder... Really? There's an unwritten rule against ending your team name in anything other than an "S" (and "X" on special circumstances), and Thunder isn't a name worthy of breaking that rule; I'll bet the Vegas odds are 1:50 that the team plays "Thunderstruck" during their introductions. As for the jerseys, they are basically the West's version of a Knick's uniform. Their away jerseys don't look that bad (although having "Oklahoma City" take up two rows of text makes the uniform seem a bit crammed), but their home jerseys are one of the plainest uniforms I have ever seen (No pics, but you'll see). I already can't wait for their first jersey revamp. On a side note, here's a breakdown of the logo by The Denver Egotist that breaks it down much better than i coukd.
  

• Ben Gordon: I'll be honest, I convinced myself that the Bulls didn't need BG7 on the squad to be a contender, but now that he's "locked up" for at least this season, this is one sharpshooter I'm glad to have on this team. I don't care if it is Derrick Rose, you do not want two of your top 3 guards consisting of someone who hasn't played one NBA minute and Larry Hughes, you just don't. As for the contract dispute, don't count out the possibility of him returning to Chicago after 2009, we all remember what happened with Lance Briggs a couple years back.

• College Football: How many different teams are going to occupy the top two spots in the polls this year? We've had one hell of a season so far, and condensing it to one little paragraph wouldn't do it justice, so do yourself a favor and spend every Saturday in front of the TV screen watching for yourself. P.S. With Penn State at #3 in the rankings right now, I have gotten progressively more nervous every Saturday; and I'm stopping right there before I put my foot in my mouth.

• Kyle Orton: Now if you ready my preseason article on Kyle Orton, you'll already know that I had high hopes for the fourth year QB, but there are two things I'd like to change my stance on now: 1 - Look's like i was wrong about it being a rebuilding year, the Bears have a shot to make the playoffs. 2 - If Kyle keeps playing like this, there is no way the Bears spend a draft pick on a Quarterback in the first two rounds. It may be hard to believe, but with the game on the line, I have complete confidence in Orton to take charge of this team. Through five games Kyle has thrown for 1100 yards and 7 touchdowns; Orton threw for 1869 yards and 9 touchdowns in the ENTIRE 2005 season, can you say Breakout year? I can.

Hometown Highlight: HLR Football II

Note: The following was published in the October 2nd Issue of the Southtown Star newspaper in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Direct Link

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After a downturn, Richards gridders get back on track

F our weeks into the season and the Bulldogs were already on the brink of mediocrity. Richards suffered three consecutive losses - to Morgan Park, Oak Forest, and Lemont, respectively - and the Bulldogs' Week 5 match-up vs. Reavis High School would be one in which they had to make a statement.

At 1-3, another loss would have further jeopardized Richards' playoff dreams. Regardless, the Bulldogs needed to run the table after four weeks in order to guarantee themselves a spot in the postseason.

The Bulldogs own the state record with 23 consecutive playoff appearances, dating to 1975.

The Reavis Rams were 2-2 heading into Friday night's conference opener, and hoped to spoil the Bulldogs' homecoming in this midseason match-up. Although they had a brutal schedule early on, the reigning conference champion Bulldogs looked to revert to their dominant ways in conference play.

"Conference is a fresh start and we need to make a statement," senior lineman Pat Kush said.

The Bulldogs needed to come out firing, and that they did.

Richards' offense immediately made its way down the field in an opening drive that culminated in a touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jon Ryan to junior wide receiver Keith Sconiers, setting the tone for what would be a long night for the Rams.

"We came out fired up, and it showed," senior receiver Matt Henehan said. "We knew we needed to score early and often and we were able to just that."

The opening drive's touchdown was the first of four for Ryan, as the quarterback accounted for each of the Bulldogs' four scores.

Ryan later found the end zone through the air once again by hooking up with senior receiver Shaun Pratl. It was Pratl's first score on the season.

In addition to his aerial assault, Ryan scored twice more on two rushing touchdowns, showing off his ground game and leading Richards to a 27-15 victory.

Already being written off by many, the Bulldogs are playing with a chip on their shoulder, and with the victory over Reavis, they have found a new outlook for the weeks ahead.

"We're playing like one unit now and not as individuals," senior receiver Kris Luna said. "We've just got to keep trusting each other and win one game at a time. Like coach Sheehan always says 'We're 0-0 every week now, but really 1-0 in conference, our goal is 5.' All we have to do is believe."

The Bulldogs hope to elevate their game over the second half of the season, as they close out the year by going on the road in three of their last four games.

Friday, Richards travels to Evergreen Park, then hosts Eisenhower on Oct. 10. The Bulldogs cap the season with road games at Oak Lawn on Oct. 17 and Argo on Oct. 24.

Frank Florez is a senior at Richards High School.