Local Sports Notebook

Chicago Bears to Host Youth Football Camp in July

Richards plans golf outing; Oak Lawn announces spring sports award winners.

The Chicago Bears will hold a non-contact football camp at Reavis High School from July 11-15. The weeklong day camp is for kids 6 to 14 years old. “The Bears believe the safe, non-contact program model is the most effective way to teach the kids, while providing comfort to parents with concerns about tackle football,” a news release stated. All instructors at the camp have high school or college coaching experience, and other instructors are former Bears players, according to the release. “We want football to be accessible to kids,” program director Tom Finks said in the release. “In order to do this, the camps need to be conveniently located, safe and high quality. We have tremendous coaching resources, including many alumni Bears …

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Sports Photo Gallery: Answering the Knock of Opportunity

Oak Lawn took advantage of five Marian Catholic errors and scored five runs in the fifth inning of its 6-2 regional semifinal victory.

Alex Krupa went 2-for-4, including a single and a triple, and scored two runs in Oak Lawn's 6-2 baseball victory over Marian Catholic in a semifinal game at the Class 4A St. Laurence Regional. But, even with Krupa's hot hitting, Oak Lawn needed a bit of help to register the come-from-behind victory. Marian Catholic committed five errors and Oak Lawn scored five runs in the fifth inning to overturn a 2-1 deficit. Brett Lilek and Richard Cervantes had the lone hits for Marian Catholic. Check out the action.    

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Oak Lawn Looks to End Baseball Regional Title Drought

Despite being close the last two seasons, the Spartans still are seeking first title in school history and the task won't come easy with St. Laurence looming next.

Get this: The Oak Lawn baseball team never has won a regional title. The Spartans will get another chance at doing so at noon Saturday against highly touted St. Laurence. “We have come close the last couple of years,” Spartan coach Brian Clifton said.  “We are hoping this is finally the year we do it.” The matchup with the Vikings will be tough, and the Spartans will have to play close to a perfect game, something they did not do despite taking down Marian Catholic 6-2 in Friday's regional semifinal. The Spartans took advantage of some poor play by Marian Catholic defeated in the fifth inning. Marian committed five errors and Oak Lawn scored five runs to overturn a 2-1 deficit. The Spartans committed three errors of their own and they know…

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Baseball: Oak Lawn Uses Five-Run Fifth to Top Marian Catholic

Oak Lawn 6, Marian Catholic 2. Spartans advance to Class 4A St. Laurence Regional final, gird for matchup with host Vikings.

Touching All the Bases: Marian Catholic led 2-1 heading into the top of the fifth inning and then the bottom fell out in a 6-2 loss to Oak Lawn on Friday in a semifinal game at the Class 4A St. Laurence Regional. A team that has been plagued with poor fielding all season long picked a bad time to play some of its worst ball. Marian Catholic committed five errors in the inning and allowed Oak Lawn to score five runs. Tony Swistek reached on an error. After a two-strike sacrifice bunt by Steve Childers moved Swistek to second, Oak Lawn looked to tie the game. But it did a whole lot more than that. The next six Oak Lawn hitters reached base, putting the game out of reach. Oak Lawn starting pitcher Bob Kametas was solid, especially after …

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Oak Lawn Hopes to Build off Summer Sizzle

Spartans threw a scare into a perennial power. Now, they're looking finish what they started nine months ago.

Coach: Brian Clifton Last year’s record: 19-15-1 overall, 10-9 in the South Suburban Red and 0-1 in the postseason.  Oak Lawn lost to Lincoln-Way East in the regional semifinals.  Summer League: 8-8 and 1-1 in the postseason.  The Spartans lost to Brother Rice in the second round. Opener: March 17 vs. Morton. Quick hit: “Like most teams, our success will depend highly on the quality of our pitching and the consistency in our defense to make the routine plays,” Oak Lawn coach Brian Clifton said.  “Our offense, potentially, should be much improved from last year’s team.” Alex Krupa, senior, third baseman, .301 batting average, seven doubles, three triples and one home run. Tony Swistek, senior, first baseman, .302, two doubles and one home …

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