WILMETTE CATHOLIC WINS LAST GAME OF SEASON 26-6 vs. OLPH

Hail to our 8th Graders!!

WILMETTE CATHOLIC WINS LAST GAME OF SEASON 26-6 vs. OLPH

Led by Keenan Ryan's 85 yard interception for a touchdown and Sam Bevenour's three rushing touchdowns, Wilmette Catholic Football ended their last game of the season a victor with a 26-6 win over Our Lady of Perpetual Hope.

Wilmette Catholic's defensive end Colin Richards tipped the OLPH pass allowing Ryan to ramble on his 85 yard interception return to open the scoring.

Bevenour then rushed for 3 touchdowns, rambling for 156 yards on only 5 carries. Thomas Smart was the second leading rusher and threw a head's up pass to Bevenour in the endzone for a successful "point after" attempt after a botched snap. Others contributing to Wilmette Catholic's strong running game included , Brendan Watts, Colin Van Balen, Tom Eberle, Danny Selzer and Ed Weschler.

On defense, Wilmette Catholic's Austin Eichenlaub, Colin Richards, Thomas Smart, John Bouchard and Jack Tamisea combined for forty tackles as each recorded eight tackles a piece. Luke Selzer and Colin Van Balen also chipped in with six solo tackles each. Thomas Smart ended the season as the team's leading tackler while Joe Van Horn lead the league in interceptions. Will Fox was the recipient of the team's "pancake" award given to the team's best block on the season.

Recap of our Final Game of the 2010 Season

Wilmette Catholic's "Air Force" Turns On Afterburners:
Bevenour (100 yds, 1 TD) and Smart ( 57 yds., 1 TD) Lead Inspired Effort vs. #1 OLPH.

by Matt Bevenour

David vs. Goliath.........Wilmette Catholic vs. undefeated OLPH.......but this time the underdog slung footballs instead of stones at their much larger opponent..
Knowing full well that the much larger OLPH football team would control the line of scrimmage making any kind of running game all but impossible, Wilmette Catholic installed their own version of the "west coast" passing offense.....and with good success ! Wilmette Catholic's "Air Force" scored more touchdowns against #1 ranked OLPH than any other team this season ! Although OLPH won the game, Wilmette Catholic played their tails off in tough, smash-mouth football game.

Sam Bevenour got the scoring started with a 57 yard touchdown catch from quarterback Thomas Smart. After leaping high to grab Smart's pass, Bevenour outran the rest of the OLPH team down the right sideline giving Wilmette Catholic their first touchdown on the day and a much needed boost to the team spirit along the sideline.

Thomas Smart then proved that not only could he THROW the ball for a touchdown, but that he could also CATCH the ball for a touchdown as well. With Keenan Ryan at quarterback and facing a tough 4th down and a long 19 yards to go for a first down, the Wilmette Catholic "Air Force" went to work. Ryan took the snap from center Joey Modica and dropped back faking a pass to decoy Sam Bevenour. As OLPH bit on the fake pass to the right, Thomas Smart snuck out of the backfield to the left catching a perfectly thrown ball from Ryan. Smart did the rest on his own outracing the OLPH defenders along the left sideline for a 50 yard touchdown !

Shock and Awe: this was the first time ANY team had scored two touchdowns on #1 ranked OLPH this season........and we were'nt done with our strafing runs yet....

Eddie Trapp almost gave Wilmette Catholic their third touchdown on the day with a nice 28 yard reception and run along the left sidelines - only one desparate OLPH defender was able to trip up Trapp, preventing the touchdown on a terrific effort by Trapp.

As always with a successful air attack, give credit to the Wilmette Catholic offensive line for giving the quarterbacks time to throw the ball. Austin Eichenlaub, Colin Richards, Will Fox and Brendan Watts are the 8th graders providing the leadership on the "O" line. John Bouchard, Jack Tamisea, Joey Modica, Phil Later, Johnny Kitchie, Ed Weschler and Aidan Connolly were also warriors involved in hand-to-hand combat against the huge OLPH defensive line.

On the defensive side of the ball Colin Van Balen , Luke Selzer and Will Fox started at linebacker/ defensive ends and did a nice job of stuffing the OLPH offense, particularly in the 2nd half. The leading tacklers of the game were Sam Bevenour (4 solos), Austin Eichenlaub ,(3 solos) and Colin Richards (3 solos). Johnny Kitchie and John Bouchard each had 2 solo tackles as well.

Although our special teams coverage had a hard time handling the OLPH horses on kickoff coverage, one positive highlight was our OWN kickoff returns with 7th grader Tommy Eberle doing a nice job of catching and returning kickoffs for positive yardage. Other special teams shout-outs go to Danny Selzer and Will Sommer for their kickoff return and kickoff coverage speed , toughness, and containment.

Wilmette Catholic will next play their consolation bracket playoff game this Saturday 11/6 at 12pm vs. OLPH 7th at John's Park in Glenview.

In the post-game team huddle coach Dennis Selzer summed up how pleased the entire coaching staff was of our Wilmette Catholic team that played hard for all four quarters: " You did the 'green' proud today, boys......you did the 'green" proud ! " .

Loyola Academy Youth Football Appreciate Day

Coaches,

We wanted to reach out to you and your school to invite you and your players out to the Loyola Academy Football Youth Football Appreciation Day, this Saturday at 1:30 vs. Gordon Tech. Students from your school wearing their Jersey or school colors will gain free admission to the game. We would also like to honor you players by announcing the school during halftime of the game. We hope that you and your program can make it out to the game, it should be a beautiful day for football and fun.

Also, if you would please let us know what your practice schedule for the week, we would love to stop by to give you flyers for this week’s events.

Good luck with your season, and please do not hesitate to call or email with questions about our school or football. We are happy to help!

Sincerely,

Martin Jennings '98

Loyola Academy

Assistant Director of Admissions

Assistant Varsity Football

847-920-2483

DANOWSKI "CATCHES" TOUCHDOWN FEVER vs. HOLY CROSS WITH OVER 1OO YARDS RECEIVING

Opening Coin Toss

Danowski's TD

Wilmette Catholic moved to 2-1 after suffering their first loss of the season to Holy Cross 28-7 this past Saturday at Loyola Academy. Holy Cross combined a strong running game with an effective passing attack utilizing their "too tall" tight ends. The silver lining of having to play "catch up" after being down 20-0 was finding a new "quick strike" passing combination of quarterback Thomas Smart to flanker Brandon Danowski. The newly found Wilmette "air force" brought life back to the team after Danowski caught a perfectly thrown 58 yard "bomb" from Smart for the second longest touchdown score of the season. Sam Bevenour scored the extra point after a well-executed Keenan Ryan fake field goal attempt with placekicker Smart throwing to a wide open Bevenour in the back of the endzone.

Tackle finished by Austin

Danowski was the Offensive Player of the Game finishing with 105 yards on just 5 catches for over a 20 yard average and one TD. Thomas Smart tossed two perfectly thrown "bombs" to Danowski and finished 6 for 12 attempts for 115 yards. Sam Bevenour also caught two passes but was "double covered" most of the game after intensive scouting by Holy Cross coaches to stop #1 Bevenour. Nik Kropp was Wilmette Catholic's leading rusher gaining 15 yards on 7 carries while Smart also carried the ball 7 times for the Wolfpack.

Trying to Start Our Engines!

While Holy Cross was a strong team, injuries and absences also played a role in how the game unfolded. Colin Richards (ankle ), Austin Eichenlaub (knee) , Sam Bevenour (pneumonia) and Brendan Watts (broken finger) all were playing at less than 100%. Also sorely missed on pass coverage was Joe Van Horn who led the team with 3 interceptions in the first two games of the season. Ed Weschler and flanker Eddie Trapp also were not able to play and starting linebacker Nik Kropp did not play the entire 1st quarter due to a hockey commitment. Combined, the injuries and missing personnel allowed Wilmette Catholic to operate at less than full strength. The good news is that we hope to be 100% healthy for our upcoming Homecoming game this Friday evening versus St. Margaret Mary.

A Smart Run

On defense Colin VanBalen led all tacklers with four solos. Austin Eichenlaub started his first game of the season after rehabbing a knee injury and contributed TWO game saving tackles by running down Holy Cross' galloping running backs. John Bouchard had three tackles while Jack Tamisiea, Nik Kropp, Thomas Smart, Sam Bevenour each chipped in with two tackles each.

HOMECOMING 2010 is this coming Friday @ 7:30pm at our "home" field of Howard Park vs. St. Margaret Mary.

Car decorating begins at 4:30pm at the Saint Francis-Xavier parking lot followed by a caravan to the field.

Brats and burgers from Zier's Meat Market will be grilled so bring the whole family this Friday night for Wilmette Catholic Homecoming 2010 !

WILMETTE CATHOLIC FOOTBALL REMAIN UNDEFEATED AFTER VICTORY OVER GLENVIEW'S OLPH

Wilmette Catholic continued to succesfully defend last year's championship crown by defeating Glenview's OLPH 7th team on September 18th by a score of 18-0.

Sam Bevenour's 75 yard punt return for a touchdown after a bone crushing block provided by Will Fox opened the scoring early for Wilmette Catholic. Place kicker and flanker Eddie Trapp was injured on the extra point attempt and the score remained 6-0.

It was now the Wilmette Catholic's defense turn to go to work. With the goal of throwing a shutout, Wilmette Catholic's defense did not disappoint. John Bouchard, Colin Richards, Thomas Smart, Keenan Ryan, Joey Modica, Luke Selzer and Danny Selzer all chipped in with tackles to shut down the OLPH offense. Will Fox and Joe Van Horn were the defensive MVP's with Van Horn recording his third interception in the last two games and Will Fox earned the nickname "L.T." for his Lawrence Taylor- likeTWO quarterback sacks which resulted in big losses of yardage and OLPH having to turn the ball over on downs.

Now it was Wilmette Catholic's offense to take it's turn to flex their muscles. Thomas Smart took the helm at quarterback and heaved a perfectly thrown 30 yard touchdown pass to Sam Bevenour for the game's second score, extending the lead to 12.-0. Smart ended the day with 100% passing efficiency going 3 for 3 for 68 yards and 1 touchdown. But the team wasn't about to be satisfied with the 12-0 score and the defense once again took the field.

A fresh group of defensive corps including Aiden Connolly, Tommy Eberle, Colin Van Balen, Will Sommers, Ed Weschler, Brandon Danowski, Nik Kropp, John Kitchie as well as the Selzer brothers stopped the OLPH offense flat. The OLPH drive ended abruptly as Colin Richards stripped the ball and recovered the fumble, allowing for the Wilmette Catholic offense to go back to work.

This time blocking backs Nik Kropp and Phil Later were rewarded with carrying the ball towards the goal line. Phil Later plowed his way into the endzone for the game's final touchdown ending the scoring and an 18-0 victory. Sam Bevenour led all rushers with 128 yards on 13 carries or almost a 13 yard per carry average. Joe Van Horn leads the league in interceptions with 3 in only two games.

Pioneer Press covered our game with a nice article - even though they got the score wrong - at this link.

Wilmette Catholic Junior Varsity is also opening the year strong with its second win against OHPH fifth. The final score of the game was Wilmette Catholic 34 - OLPH 6.

Come cheer on Wilmette Catholic Varsity as it meets Holy Cross this coming Saturday 9/25 at 12:30pm at Loyola Academy. The JV team will battle St Mary's at Lake Forest High School at 10:30am

Wilmette Catholic Football Wins Season Opener at Northwestern's Ryan Field

WCF Varsity and JV with Willie

Defending Champions Beat St. A's of Evanston 6-0.

St. Joes and St. Francis combined Wilmette Catholic Football successfully began their defense of their 2009 league championship with a 6-0 victory over Evanston's St. Athanasius this past Saturday on the big stage - Northwestern University's Ryan Field. Sam Bevenour scored the game's winning touchdown for Wilmette Catholic on a 25 yard quarterback keeper. That's all the points that were needed as Wilmette Catholic's strong defense led by Joe Van Horn's two interceptions kept the Redhawks out of the end zone. Wilmette Catholic's leading tacklers included Sam Bevenour (9 tackles), Keenan Ryan and Brandon Denowski (6 each), John Bouchard and Will Fox (4 each), Colin Richards, Thomas Smart, Jack Tamiasea, Nik Kropp, and Joey Modica all chipped in with 3 tackles each. Wilmette Catholic Football was started four seasons ago by combining the St. Francis-Xavier and St. Joseph's two football teams into one. Wilmette Catholic will play OLPH this coming Saturday at John's Park in Glenview. JV game at 9:00am and Varsity game at 10:30am.

Come support your team !

Papa Sernus' Pre-Game Pep Talk

Opening coin toss

Thomas & Nik On "D" Coached by Matt

WCF's "A-Team"

We got some great coverage by the Wilmette Beacon at this link. Here are some of the pictures they took of our game:

Offensive Coach Selzer

Eddie, Jack, Brendon, Nik, Keenan and Joey lead the way

D-Green Gang!

2010 WCF Varsity Schedule

2010 Wilmette Catholic VARSITY Football Schedule

Wed. 9/08 7pm. Varsity Weigh-in @ Loyola Academy

Sat. 9/11 2pm. vs.St. A's @ Northwestern's Ryan Field (game played in ENTIRETY after NU's 11am. home game ends)

Sat. 9/18 10:30am vs. OLPH 7th @ John's Park (Glenview)

Sat. 9/25 12:35pm vs. Holy Cross @ Loyola Academy

Fri. 10/1 7:30pm vs. St. Margaret Mary @ Howard Park (HOMECOMING)

Sat. 10/9 12:00pm vs. St. Joan of Arc @ Central Park

Fri. 10/15 6:00pm vs. Sacred Heart-St. Norberts @ Skokie Playfield

Sat. 10/23 2:00pm vs. Faith Hope & Charity @ Loyola Academy

Sat. 10/30 10:30am vs OLPH 8th @ John's Park (Glenview)

Thurs. 11/04 6:16pm Weigh-in for playoffs @ Loyola Academy

Fri. and Sat. 11/5 and 11/6 Playoffs: opponents and locations TBA

Sun. 11/14 12pm and 1:45pm Consolation + Championship games @ Loyola Academy