Chicago Public League Sports Blog

Scouting Report: Thaddeus Scott, Running Back, Lane Tech

Here is my scouting report on Thaddeus Scott (RB, 5-7, 165lb,) senior to be from Lane Tech.

Scott is the starting running back from Lane Tech. He is very fast and has some power for a guy his size at about 165lbs. He is capable of some big runs if he finds space, but when he get's bottled up he does not have enough power to get that extra yard or two. At the same time, I've seen him punish bigger tacklers in the open field. His receiving skills seem to be untested because Lane does not really use him much as a receiver. He is one of the fastest running backs in the CPS having been a key component in Lane's city championship track teams.  Scott performed well at the one day University of Illinois football camp held at Lane Tech in June. He could be an all-city running back this year if he develops further. Scott has been a winner in every team he is in. Freshman year he was on the team that beat Morgan Park for the sophomore city football championship. Last year as a junior he was on the team that beat Hubbard for the varsity championship.

Jonathon Acevedo - an emerging college football prospect for Lane Tech

Jonathon Acevedo (6-0, 240lbs, class of 2010, Offensive Center)

I've talked a lot on this website about  Laken Tomlinson and Louis Pasat-Trinca, two of Lane Tech's most highly recruited college football prospects in a long time. But another Lane Tech football player is starting to garner some attention. His name is Jonathon Acevedo.

I first heard about Jonathon last year after talking to his parents Carlos and Loida Acevedo at a Lane Tech football game last fall. They mentioned their son Jonathon, who started on the line for Lane. When I heard the name Jonathon Acevedo, the name sounded familiar to me. I soon found out that Jonathon is the brother of Chris Acevedo who starred as an all-city lineman for Curie (class of 2003) and played football for Northern Illinois (starting all 13 games in 2006).

Just because of his genes, I knew that Jonathon had to be someone to watch out for. But at the same time I noticed that he wasn't as big as his much bigger brother Chris ( 6-5, 310lbs). I've met Chris, he is truly mammoth sized.

Jonathon played well and started for a solid Lane Tech city championship team. During the off season Tomlinson and Pasat-Trinca got some serious recruiting attention due to their performances at football camps and other off-season activities. Trinca gave a verbal commitment to Iowa last week and Tomlinson is reported to be leaning towards Ohio State University, Illinois, and maybe a couple other schools.

However, Acevedo also did well during the off season. So well that ESPN rated him a 63 on their high school football grading system. A score between 60-69 means that the player has the "ability to develop into a solid contributor at the Division 1 level."

"He is aggressive, smart and works to finish blocks", said ESPN regarding Acevedo.

The final grade is not in yet for Acevedo, a lot depends on how well he plays his senior year for Lane Tech and how much he develops his physical and athletic skills. Acevedo did just finish a pretty good track season. He is listed in the CPS Leaderboard for the Shot Put.

I know one thing, come football season, there will be a lot more fans and scouts attending Lane Tech games. Many of them will be watching Tomlinson and Trinca. Now, they should add Jonathon Acevedo to their list.

CPS Class of 2010 Football College Prospects

Louis Pasat-Trinca of Lane Tech has given a verbal commitment to play football for the University of Iowa.

Below is a partial list of college football prospects from the Chicago Public League Class of 2010. Some are undisputed college prospects. Others still have work to do but have a chance.

Name, (Stats), School, Schools of Interest

Laken Tomlinson (Lineman, 6-5", 285lbs, 5.0 second 40 yard dash) - Lane Tech (Illinois, Duke, Michigan State, New Mexico, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue)

Louis Pasat-Trinca (DE/LB/TE, 6-3", 235lbs) - Lane Tech - committed to Iowa

Daron Brown (WR/QB/Athlete, 6-0", 190lbs) - Morgan Park - Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Stanford) 

Terrance Moore (QB, 5-11", 170lbs) - Austin

Diante Rounsaville (RB, 6-2", 175lbs) - Hubbard

Joshua Schaeffer (RB, 5-7, 156lbs, 4.70 40 yard dash) - Austin

Devontre Spears (RB, 5-11, 200lbs) - Morgan Park- (Northwestern) 

Darnell Pearson (WR, 6-0, 167lbs) - Clark Academy

Earlzo Singleton (WR, 5-8, 154lbs, 4.40 40 yard dash) - Clark Academy -(Indiana, Colorado, Colorado State, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan State, UCF)

Terrance Allen (OL, 6-4, 305lbs) - Morgan Park

Fabbians Ebbele (OL, 6-7, 287lbs, 5.74 40 yard dash) - Simeon- (Ball State, Central Michigan, Illinois, Northern Illinois)

Jazzario Barrios (OG, 6-3, 310lbs) - Morgan Park

Maurice Goodman (OF, 6-1, 333, 5.77 40 yard dash) - Morgan Park ( Akron, Arkansas, Illinois, LSU, Miami (Oh), Michigan)      

Darius Jones (DT, 5-10, 266lbs) - Simeon

Christopher Banks (LB, 5-11, 250lbs) - Rickover Naval Academy 

Donovan Swint (OLB, 6-1, 196lbs) - Simeon (Akron, Ball State, Grambling State, Jackson State, Northern Illinois)

Brian Jones (S, 5-11, 180lbs) - Morgan Park ( Ball State, Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Toledo, Wisconsin, Wyoming) 

Kevin Blanchard (CB, 5-8, 175lbs) - Lincoln Park 

Kenneth Moore (Athlete, 6-2, 185lbs) - Hyde Park 

Jonathon Acevedo (OL, 6-0, 240lbs) - Lane Tech

Benjamin Ansong (CB, 5-8, 135bs, 4.7 40 yard dash) - Amundsen

Ameen Solebo (LB/FB, 6-1, 207lbs, 4.81 40 yard dash) - Mather

Krevon Daye (WR,6-1, 173lbs, 4.92 40 yard dash) - Amundsen

Dominique Franklin (CB, 5-9", 187lbs, 5.02 40 yard dash) - Dunbar

Christopher Pledger (CB,5-9, 160lbs, 4.83 40 yard dash) - King

Matthew Portter (OC, 5-11, 250lbs) - Morgan Park

Dejon Purnell (QB, 5-7, 144lbs) - Whitney Young

Dionte Turner (ILB, 6-0, 240lbs) - Morgan Park

 

Louis Pasat-Trinca Picks the University of Iowa

Louis Pasat-Trinca (class of 2010) of Lane Tech

Senior to be Louis Pasat-Trinca of Lane Tech made a commitment to play for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten. From now on, when you Trinca's name is mentioned you'll hear "University of Iowa" bound mentioned before his name.

Trinca, as he is called, has the size  at about 6-3, 230 lbs. But what really makes him special is his explosive ability and athleticism for a guy his size. I've watched him play football since his freshman year and I've never seen someone make such explosive tackles as he does. He also has teh speed to run down ball carriers before they can get to the outside.

He was recruited at Iowa to play Defensive End, so if he plays that position, he will obviously need to bulk up. I like him at Linebacker due to his speed and ability to take down ball carriers and he can also cover if he has to. He is a legitamate D1 player.

""I had a good junior year but I didn't think about Division I," Trinca-Pasat said according to the Sun-Times. "I just wanted to play at the next level. My goal was Division I but the odds were low. "

His first college trip was at the University of Iowa. After the trip coach Ferentz of Iowa made him his first offer. Soon thereafter he received offers from Illinois, Indiana, Colorado, Stanford, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Northern Illinois.

At the end Trinca picked the school that offered him first, the University of Iowa.

Fans will get a chance to see Louis Pasat-Trinca play when Lane Tech plays DeLaSalle on August 28 at Soldier Field.

Click for some highlight films on Trinca-Pasat

Louis Trinca-Pasat of Lane Tech picks up offers from Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa

Louis Trinca-Pasat (6-3; 235lb; TE/LB/DE; jr) from Lane Tech.

I first saw Louis Trinca-Pasat two years ago at a Lane Tech frosh-soph football game versus Evanston. In that game he played defensive end and he made several incredible tackles. At that point, I knew he was going to be a star. In my 20 years watching high school football games, I've only witnessed a few people with such explosiveness and power. In my eyes his football playing and athletic abilities are comparable to Lane greats Alex Rodriguez (class of 1989, Chicago Suntimes Player of the Year, Ohio State) and Xavier Torres (class of 2006, Central Michigan University).

Colleges have discovered "Trinca" and he is often called. The University of Colorado from the Big 12 and Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa have all made offers recently. His list of suitors that have expressed interest include: Michigan, Purdue, Northwestern, and Arizona.

Trinca, a junior from the class of 2010, mainly played defensive end and tight end in high school.  He is projected as a defensive end or outside linebacker from a college recruiting website, Rivals.com . However, I've seem him play almost all of his games throughout his high school career. My feel is that he would make an incredible tight end, in that he has excellent receiving skills. He made several incredible catches, last year in limited time playing as a receiver for the Indians. One of them was a leaping touchdown catch versus Fenwick in the season opener for the Indians last year that completely amazed the crowd.

Here are two Trinca videos:

I'll keep you posted on Trinca's recruiting situation on this blog.

Laken Tomlinson of Lane Tech picks up football offers from University of Illinois, New Mexico, and Purdue

Laken Tomlinson (6-5, 285 lb junior) has had some great recruiting interest lately.

I remember walking the sidelines of a varsity Lane Tech football game two years ago.  It was early in the season and I noticed an unusually tall and large football player. Being very familiar with the Lane Tech football team, I was not familiar with him - I assumed he was a walk on lineman, probably a junior or senior. So, I approached him to find out who he was. I talked with him for a bit and asked him what year he was, "I'm a freshman", said the young man. I was completely shocked. For, it is rare that you see someone of that size (at that time about 6-3, 250lbs) walking around the Lane Tech sidelines - let alone a freshman. At that time, I knew that this man or should I say kid was someone to seriously keep an eye out.

Since then, Laken Tomlinson, has sprouted to 6-5 285 lbs, and has recently caught the attention of major college scouts. In fact, Tomlinson, a defensive end/offensive tackle prospect has received firm scholarship offers from the University of Illinois, University of New Mexico, and Purdue. Tomlison, a good student, is also receiving interest from Duke, Indiana, Northern Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, and Stanford. It is also reported that UCLA and Notre Dame are even giving Tomlinson a look.

The University of Illinois is giving Tomlinson strong interest and has already given him an offer. Head Coach Ron Zook of the Illini has already had committments from two of the state's top lineman in Leo's Lendell Buckner and Leon Hill, and has his sites now on Tomlinson.

Tomlinson has not made a college decision yet. But his stock is rapidly rising. Tomlinson (class of 2010) was named all-city in football last year in helping Lane Tech to their first city championship in football since 2004.

Tomlinson boasts a 3.2 GPA and will be taking the ACT on April 22. He has already visited Northwestern and Illinois. He plans on visiting Michigan and Michigan State. He will be attending Pro Days at Notre Dame and University of Michigan.

Tomlinson is also a versatile athlete. He was one place away from qualifying to state sectionals on Lane's wrestling team and he qualified for state last year in the shot put on Lane's track team.

Laken Tomlinson is also one of the city's top shot putters, and qualified for state last year in the shot put as a sophomore.

Public League Football Conference Shake Up

 
Lincoln Park (with ball) moves to a new conference - Lane stays put.

The word out there is that the Chicago Public League will be realigning two of it's biggest conferences.

Amundsen, Steinmetz, and Lincoln Park will move from the Illini-Red Bird Conference into the Illini-Prairie State conference.

Dunbar, Hyde Park, and Simeon will move from the Illini- Prairie State Conference into the Illini-Red Bird Conference

The newly aligned conferences will look like this starting in the 2009-10 season.

Illini Prairie State Conference
Morgan Park
Hubbard
CVS
Steinmetz
Lincoln Park
Amundsen

Illini Red Bird Conference
Lane Tech
Curie
Simeon
Dunbar
Whitney Young
Hyde Park

Not sure why they realigned the conferences. Conference realignments have been done in the past. A couple years ago CVS (with QB Juice Williams) was in Lane's conference. Also, I have not heard word yet if other CPL conferences have been re-aligned.

Highlights of 2008 - Lane Tech's 100th Anniversary - Part 4 (football, girls softball)

Top 10 Lane Tech Highlights 2008 - #5, #4

#10 - Girls Bowling Upends Morgan Park
#9 - Boys Track wins 3rd straight city championship
#8 - Wrestling Team Wins City Championship - 1st for Lane Tech in 2008
#7 - Boys Swimming Wins City - 6th time in last 7 years
#6-  Boys Soccer Team Knocks Out Kelly to Win City Championship

#5 Football Team Surprise: City Championship

 

Lane Tech has won city in many sports this year, but the football city championship team in 2008 has to rate as one of the sweetest and more victories of them all. I say sweet because almost nobody - except for the players and coaches from Lane expected this team to go this far. Lane Tech defeated Morgan Park 14-6 in the semi-finals and Hubbard 24-7 in the finals to win it's first city championship in football since 2004. Hubbard and Morgan Park came into the season much higher rated and had much more newspaper coverage than Lane. Meanwhile, Lane came into the 2008 with a lot of doubters from the outside after two rough seasons in which they made quick exits in both the city and state playoffs and finished an uncharacteristic third in conference last year.

But 2008 was different as it finished the season with a 9-3 record. It won conference and its three losses cam only against Fenwick, New Trier, and Loyola. All of those games were competitive and the other teams left the game with greater respect for Lane Tech. Lane had chances to win in all of its losses.

The future looks bright for Lane as it will return a couple of it's top players including lineman Laken Tomlinson and team defensive MVP Louis Pasat-Trinca next year, as both are juniors.

#4 Girls Softball Team Wins City.... Again

 

Over the past 25+ years there has been no school as dominant in the city as Lane Tech has been in girls softball. Every single year, you can count that Lane will be a serious competitor for the city championship in girls softball. This year was no different as Lane won city championship in 2008 after it defeated Washington 9-2.

The success of the girls softball team can be attributed to a lot of factors. One factor is Lane's coaching staff who is committed to identifying talent at an early age and getting them involved. Head coach George Stavrakas comes from a great coaching lineage. His father is Dean Stavrakas, head coach at Lakeview in baseball, who beat Lane twice last twice last year and was the city runner up in 2008.

Although Lane will go into the 2009 season without the services of graduated star Daniella Torres (scholarship to Miami of Ohio), look for Lane to challenge in 2009 once again.Torres graduated from Lane with one of the highest batting averages (.404) in school history.

Cool football team picture

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicktakespics/2913524121/in/pool-lanetech

Heart of Champions: Lane a winner despite loss to Loyola in Prep Bowl

Chris Kyles and his Lane Tech teammates played like champions today.

Morgan Park and Hubbard had great teams, everyone thought one of those schools would make it to the Prep Bowl.

"Lane Tech beat Hubbard and Morgan Park in one week but Lane Tech proved to be the better team" said Calvin Davis, head of the CPS Sports; after Lane Tech beat Hubbard last week to win the CPS championship.

Few expected Lane to be in the Prep Bowl at the beginning of the season

Then even going into the Prep Bowl, not too many expected to hang in with Loyola - part of the Catholic League Blue - the toughest football conference in the state with Mt. Carmel, St. Rita, Providence, Brother Rice, and Loyola Academy.

But hang they did. Lane was actually in a position to tie the game in the 4th quarter but fell 1 inch short on 4th down on the Loyola 15. After that stop, Loyola drove down the field and scored a touchdown to give Loyola an insurmountable lead.

Lane had a tremendous season, this was a very very deceiving score. Lane's defense held the high power offense for most of the game before late 4th quarter scores - and Lane finally fell 17-0. Loyola was up only 8-0 at the half.

Lane as a whole played an excellent game - rating an A+ in all aspects of the game. It was a complete team game. Some highlights for the game included an incredible 30 yard reception by Louis Pasat-Trinca in the 4th quarter, a strip of the ball to cause a fumble by Andre Alvarez,  a big 3rd and short stop by Michael Sotelo, and incredible sack by Laken Tomlinson.

Loyola may have scored the game, but they will tell you Lane gave them a battle.

Great game by the Indians, and a great end to a great season.