Local Sports Notebook

Brother Rice's Football Game at Downers Grove South Draws TV Interest

Richards' girls swim team celebrates conference championship, while Oak Lawn alum Colin Altenburg scores a game-winning touchdown for Carthage College.

Brother Rice’s second-round state playoff football game at Downers Grove South has been chosen for the “Prep Destination” segment on NBC 5 News Today. NBC 5 News Today will have cameras at Downers Grove South High School early Friday morning in advance of Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff, and highlights of the game will appear on “High School Lites” on Comcast SportsNet. Brother Rice (7-3) is the 6th seed in Class 8A, while Downers Grove South (9-1) is the third seed. The Richards girls varsity swim team won the South Suburban Conference Red Division meet on Oct. 29 at Shepard High School. Richards compiled a team score of 276. Oak Lawn (264.50) finished second, and Evergreen Park (247) was third. Richards’ Julie Coti finished first in the 200 …

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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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Local Sports Notebook

Oak Lawn's Altenburg Heading to Carthage

Spartans senior Colin Altenburg heeds wisdom of his father and Carthage College's football coach.

Football coaches can be pretty persuasive. Just ask Oak Lawn senior Colin Altenburg. Altenburg has decided to play football next year at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis. After talking with Carthage coach Tim Rucks, the South Suburban Red All-Conference running back was convinced it was the right choice. Altenburg, also a basketball player for Oak Lawn, wasn’t too sure about playing football in college, but after playing his senior year in high school following a year off and then hearing from coach Rucks, he decided he would. “Coach Rucks got me really excited about it,” Altenburg said. Altenburg made a highlight tape at the urging of his father, and next thing he knew, Rucks was calling. While Altenburg played on the offensive side in …

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Altenburg, Reed, Niemiec at Head of All-Conference List

Spartan standouts reel in winter sports awards; Richards' Dominique Gaddis recognized as Player of Year in South Suburban Red.

For Oak Lawn High School, which competes in the South Suburban Conference, the boys basketball team sent two players to the all-conference team. Seniors Colin Altenburg and Leon Reed joined the team, while seniors Callen Moore and Anthony Johnson were named to the honorable mention team. The Oak Lawn girls basketball team sent three players to the all-conference team, seniors Kim Braasch, Kelly Foley and Bridget Niemiec, who also was named Patch’s Top Winter Sports Athlete, while senior Nicole Paplauski was named to the honorable mention team. * For the Oak Lawn wrestling team, 215-pounder Ryan Glab was an all-conference performer, while the boys bowling team sent Ryan Campin and Ken VandeWerken and the girls bowling team sent Brittany …

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Boys Basketball: Mt. Carmel Throttles Oak Lawn

Mt. Carmel 71, Oak Lawn 46. Spartans cough up the ball way too many times and pay price in Class 4A St. Rita Regional setback.

The Hot Read: The curtain closed on Oak Lawn's season as the Spartans fell to the Mt.Carmel 71-46 in the Class 4A St.Rita Regional on Tuesday night. Mt. Carmel took control from the start, jumping out to a 10-0 lead. The Caravan dominated with defense, stopping the Spartans from reaching the net by stealing the ball eight times in the first half. Mount Carmel built a 41-15 lead at the break. But the Spartans looked like a different team in the second half, scoring 21 points in the third quarter to cut Mt. Carmel's lead to 56-36. But, despite their brief surge, it wasn't enough for the Spartans to pull out the win. Patch's MVP: Oak Lawn's Leon Reed (11 points, 9 rebounds).  Reed came up with a big block under the basket in the third quarter…

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Boys Basketball: Oak Lawn Holds Off Argo

Oak Lawn 47, Argo 40. Callen Moore scored 18 points and helped the Spartans stave off a second-half comeback bid by the Argonauts.

The Hot Read: Oak Lawn came out swinging in Monday's Class 4A St. Rita Regional game against Argo. The Spartans jumped to an 18-6 lead en route to notching a 47-40 victory. Oak Lawn limited Argo to nine points in the second quarter. The Spartans took a 28-15 lead at halftime. But Argo wasn't going down without landing a few punches of its own, cutting Oak Lawn's lead to 34-32 early in the fourth quarter. Patch's MVP: Callen Moore (18 points, 1 rebound). Moore hit a three-pointer right before the first-quarter buzzer to give the Spartans an 18-6 lead. Key Stats: Oak Lawn made sure Argo didn't spend much time with the basketball in its hands. The Spartans came up with 13 steals, while the Argonauts had seven. Oak Lawn won the rebounding …

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Boys Basketball: Oak Lawn Stumbles at Rich East

Rich East 62, Oak Lawn 44. The Rockets used a dominant second quarter to pull away from the Spartans.

The Hot Read: In a non-conference matchup, the Oak Lawn Spartans and the Rich East Rockets seemed evenly matched with both teams being from tough conferences and both boasting a winning percentage of around .500. Oak Lawn, however, had a poor second quarter Monday night and Rich East took advantage on senior night to notch a 62-44 victory. Rich East led 15-12 after the first quarter and blew the game open when senior forward Nathian Cook threw down an alley-oop from junior guard Raheem Jackson to give the Rockets a 21-12 lead. Later in the quarter, junior forward Ronald Lawton had a fast-break dunk and Rich East led 31-14. All in all, the Rockets outscored Oak Lawn 16-7 in the second quarter, feeding off Oak Lawn turnovers, and led 31-19 …

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Extra Points: Oak Lawn's Defense Leads the Way in Win Over Evergreen Park Taking It One Quarter At a Time

The Spartans' boys basketball squad is playing consistent team defense and spreading the wealth on offense, as Evergreen's Mustangs learned Tuesday night.

Coaches regularly emphasize the importance of teamwork. When a team responds and plays team ball, it doesn’t go unnoticed. Just ask Oak Lawn’s Scott Atkins, who saw his Spartans put together a strong effort after a relatively slow start Tuesday night in beating Evergreen Park 70-49. Four Spartans scored in double figures, but more importantly, Oak Lawn delivered a strong defensive performance. “We have been playing great team basketball the last few weeks,” Atkins said. “We are consistently having three or four players in double figures. The most important thing is we stepped up our team defense and are able to make adjustments when we’re not playing well.” Oak Lawn led 18-14 after one quarter and 36-29 at the half. The Spartans came out …

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Boys Basketball: Oak Lawn Spreads the Wealth, Topples Evergreen Park

Oak Lawn 70, Evergreen Park 49. A balanced scoring attack propels the Spartans past the host Mustangs.

The Hot Read: Oak Lawn coach Scott Atkins again was able to make changes during the game that ultimately helped the Spartans roll to the 70-49 South Suburban Red victory. Oak Lawn had a balanced offensive attack, as four Spartans scored in double figures. Patch’s MVP:  Oak Lawn’s Colin Altenburg scored 12 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and played strong defense to spark his team. Oak Lawn’s Leaders: Cullen Moore (14 points), Jon Matthews (13 points), Colin Altenburg (12 p0ints, 12 rebounds) and Leon Reed (11 points). Evergreen Parks Leaders: Brian Townsend Jr. (16 points), LaBaren Boater (9 points, including three three-pointers) and Marcus Kemp (8 points). Quotable: Oak Lawn coach Scott Atkins: “Evergreen came out well and moved the ball…

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