Chicago Public League Sports Blog

Chris Covington of Raby wins Illini Conference Offensive Player of the Year

Congratulations to Al Raby junior quarterback Chris Covington(6-3,215lbs, jr) for being voted by the fans as CPSfan.com Illini conference offensive player of the year for Fall 2012. The talented junior used both his legs and his feet to lead Raby to their first appearance in the CPS semi-finals. It's an even greater accomplishment considering Raby has an enrollment of only 522 students.

Final results

1. Chris Covington(jr, QB) Raby  30.84%  (70 votes)
2. Sharoid Roach(sr, RB), Simeon  14.54%  (33 votes) 
3. Charles Bournes(RB) Morgan Park  14.54%  (33 votes) 
4. Ahmad Bradshaw(sr, QB),Brooks  11.01%  (25 votes)
5. Devon Sanders(sr, RB/LB), Robeson  8.81%  (20 votes) 
6. Elcee Burke(sr, QB), Simeon  7.93%  (18 votes)  

Top write in candidate
John Gardner(sr, TE/WR), Simeon

West Side Football Emergence

Timothy Smith(6-2, 340lbs,sr, OL) is part of a Westinghouse team that has seniors for the very first time. Westinghouse is trying to be the first Chicago Conference team to beat a suburban/downstate opponent in the state playoffs.

We all know they can hoop the basketball at the west side. This year, football seems to be progressing in the right direction. Raby, Marshall, Austin, and Westinghouse have all qualified for the state playoffs.

Raby is an established Illini school. They are known for one of the top junior quarterbacks in the CPS in Chris Covington. But they will need contributions form otehr players if they want to hang with Aurora Christian in their first round state playoff game.

Marshall is relatively new to the Illini and looks like they are there to stay. Austin and Westinghouse won their perspective Chicago conference and will move up to the Illini next year.

Austin is an ancient school that did well in football decades or so ago, but until recently has had some rough times in football. This year, they are undefeated and will try to beat Illini team Marshall in the first round of the class 4A playoffs.

Westinghouse is also an old school, but got completely revamped a few years ago. They moved to a new building and completely started over as far as getting new students. This is their first year with a senior class. They play a tough first round match up versus Tinley Park. They are trying to become the first ever Chicago Conference team to beat a suburban opponent in the state playoffs.

Like it or not, the west side will be judged on how well they do in the state playoffs. South side schools Simeon, Morgan Park, and Hubbard have all had state playoff experience in the past. In order for people to start saying football is played in the west side, they will need to do something in the state playoffs this year. The winner of Marshall and Austin will have to beat their likely opponent Brooks in the 2nd round. Then either Westinghouse will have to upset Tinley Park or Raby will have to upset Aurora Christian.

Illini-Heartland Conference Preview

I'm picking the Orr Spartans to finish atop the small school Illini-Heartland Conference.

The Illini-Heartland Conference is the top tier CPS conference for smaller enrollment schools. The smallest school is Al Raby with an enrollment of about 550 but goes upto 917 due to the IHSA multiplier. The school with the highest enrollment is Orr with 1268 students.

 Neilski’s conference predictions
1. Orr
2. Brooks
3. Raby
4. Dyett
5. Harper
6. Hope

The conference title will probably come down to the two biggest enrollment schools Orr and Brooks. The two clash on week 5 at Gately Stadium. Brooks may have the advantage in that Gately is much closer to home. Whereas Orr will travel away from it’s familiar confines of Orr Stadium. Newcomer to the conference Raby may have a say in the conference. Raby is coming off it’s best season in school history winning a Chicago Conference and getting promoted to the Illini-Heartland Conference. Raby shocked many people when it hung with downstate power Morris in the state playoffs, before finally losing by a score of only 19-6. Raby came into that game as a 30+ point underdog.

Week 1 non-conference schedules

Brooks

8/28   11:00  H         Chicago (Lindblom)            

                            @ Gately Stadium
expect Brooks to demolish Lindblom


Dyett

8/29    5:00  A         Chicago (Clemente)                      

                            @ Lane Stadium

This should be an even game.

Raby

8/28    7:00  H         Plainfield (South)                      

                            @ Hanson Stadium
Plainfield South makes a rare trip to the city. Raby may hang with Plainfield South for 1 quarter, but after that Plainfield South will overwhelm Raby. Plainfield South will have too many numbers and too many athletes.

Harper

8/29    1:00  H         Chicago (Douglass)                      

                            @ Gately
Harper will be the favorite in this game.

Hope

8/28    4:15  A         Chicago (Foreman)                       

                            @ Hanson Stadium
This will be a good game. 

Orr 

8/27    7:30  A         Chicago (Brother Rice)@ Brother Rice
Orr can keep the game close for a while if it can get it’s running game in gear - led by sophomore running back Carl Young. Orr has the speed edge but Brother Rice has so many bigger linemen. Morgan Park did beat Brother Rice last year so they can be upset.

Conference Players to Watch
Jonathan Selly (sr) – RB, Brooks
Ahmad Bradshaw (so)- QB, Brooks
Carl Young (so) RB, Orr
Jamal McDowell (so) – QB, Orr
Daniel Cleveland (sr) – QB, Raby

Al Raby Football Team Preview

At a smaller enrollment school like Al Raby (enrollment 917 with a multiplier - actual enrollment about 500),  the top athletes play multiple sports. Raby is new to an Illini-conference this year. Let's see what the Raiders can do as an encore after the best season in school history - including a close 19-6 playoff lost to football powerhouse Morris.

Last Year's Stats

conference: Chicago Big Shoulders
record: 7-2 overall, 7-0 conference
playoffs: Morris 19 Raby 6, first round state playoffs


Fall 2009-10 season results

 W 30 28 4-5 Chicago (Marshall)   
 L 0 38 5-5 Bradley (B.-Bourbonnais)  
 W 36 0 3-6 *Chicago (C. Academy)   
 W 20 6 5-4 *Chicago (Uplift)   
 W 48 0 4-5 *Chicago (Douglass)   
 W 54 0 0-9 *Chicago (C. Military Academy-Bronzevill 
 W 36 6 5-4 *Chicago (Urban Prep Charter)  
 W 38 6 6-3 *Chicago (Phillips)   
 W 20 0 1-8 *Chicago (DuSable)   
 L 6 19 6-5 Morris 

 

Last Year

Raby came up with I feel the biggest result in the CPS last year. A 19-6 loss to Morris. I had Raby as a 30 point underdog in that game. To go out of that game with ONLY a 13 point loss says something about the Raby program. They played a traditionally strong Morris football team to a close game. Only several ill advised Raby turnovers prevented the game from being even closer.

Wins against Marshall, Urban Prep, and Phillips also were impressive. Remember, Raby is a school with an enrollment in the 500's. They really should be a 3A school. But because Raby has selective enrollment, they have a multiplier in effect and so they get bumped up to a bigger class.

Fall 2010 Schedule

8/28 7:00 H  Plainfield (South)   
    @ Hanson Stadium
9/3 7:30 A  Vernon Hills    
9/11 7:00 H  Chicago (Marshall)   
    @ Hanson Stadium
9/18 4:15 H *Chicago (Hope)    
    @ Hanson Stadium
9/25 4:00 H *Chicago (Dyett)    
    @ Hanson Stadium
10/2 7:30 A *Chicago (Brooks)   
    @ Gately Stadium
10/9 2:00 A *Chicago (Orr)    
    @ Orr Stadium
10/16 3:00 A *Chicago (Harper)   
    @ Stagg Stadium

Fall 2010 Outlook

After their two opening games against Plainfield South and Vernon Hills, Raby has a manageable schedule. Raby will have no chance whastover against Plainfield South and Vernon Hills. If they win games against Marshall, Hope, and Dyett. Raby will play Brooks. The game against Brooks will tell us how far the Raby program has advanced.

Raby graduated many good players from last, but they do return a good one. Daniel Cleveland, a 6-1 235lb quarterback will lead the Raider attack. I have him listed as the #6 quarterback in the CPS

Related

Top CPS Running Backs
Top CPS Quarter Backs
CPS Football Fan Page
CVS - Team Preview
Curie- Team Preview
Urban Prep Team Preview, Part 1 Part 2
Phillips Team Preview
Lincoln Park Team Preview
Prosser Team Preview
Lake View Football Team Preview

Videos Now: 215lbs Ameen Solebo of Mather Defeats Donavan Harris of Al Raby

www.CPSfan.com, 3 sport athlete of the year Ameen Solebo (sr) of Mather wins the 215lb CPS city wrestling championship.

CPSfan.com YouTube Channel
Lane Tech dominated city wrestling meet
103 lbs Avery Willams of Morgan Park vs Johnny McCarthy of Lane Tech
119lbs - Jameel Carter of Uplift vs. NIck Jankowski of Lane Tech
130lbs - Keith Johnson Gage Park vs. Hiathem Hamad of Lane Tech
140lbs - Royale Jones of Kenwood vs Ryan Pozniak of Lane Tech
285lbs - Terrell Clinksdale of Douglass vs Johnny Johnson of Phoenix

Final 2009 CPS Football Rankings

Gregory McDowell (sr), all-conference quarterback from Orr.

1. Simeon - Prep Bowl and CPS Champs. Gave close games to Mt. Carmel in the state playoffs and St. Rita in the Prep Bowl. Return their top offensive weapons stud QB Robert Gregory and running back Horatio Banks. Will be ranked #1 in the CPS to start the season next year. Simeon has the best line play in the CPS.

2. Hubbard - City runner-ups. Only one of two CPS schools to advance to second round of state playoffs, losing a close game to Belvidere North. Starting quarterback Quincy Skanes is only a sophomore. Combine Skanes with really good sophomore team and Hubbard should be fine the next few years.

3. Morgan Park - Beat Brother Rice to open season. Also beat Hubbard and Simeon during the regular season, largely behind senior QB Daron Brown. Only one of two CPS teams to advance to 2nd round of state playoffs. Sophomore DeShaun Hurley appears to be the heir apparent to Brown. Some say he could be just as good if not better than Brown. Morgan Park will need to reload after losing lot's of players to graduation.

4. Robeson - Another solid season for CPS state semi-finalist- giving city champion Simeon all it can handle. Won conference....again! Robeson will return junior quarterback Juwane Pipkins- one of the top QB's in the city after Robert Gregory of Simeon.

5. King - 2nd to Robeson in conference. This is a one of the top rising football programs in the CPS. You will hear more about King football in the next few years. Word on the street is that the top CPS elementary football players want to head to King. To move up to the next level, King will need to work on a few things like their passing game and getting more of their kids academically eligible.

6. Curie - 2nd to Simeon in the Illini-Red Bird Conference- including victories over Dunbar and Lane. Curie's hopes next year will be on teh development of quarterback Maurice Fleming. He is only a sophomore. Curie returns almost it's entire line.

7. Lane Tech - After winning city last year, a disappointing year for the Indians. Finishing an uncharacteristic 3rd in conference, missed state playoffs, and getting knocked out in the first round of the city playoffs to Hubbard 33-0. Lane will have to replace it's starting running back, starting quarterback, and two of it's top lineman all-stater Laken Tomlinson (Duke) and Louis Pasat-Trinca (Iowa).

8. Al Raby - This could be the best of the Chicago Conference teams -winning with an undefeated 7-0 record. Al Raby surpised the heck out of everyone -including myself losing only by a score of 16-9 to traditional power Morris in the first round of the state playoffs. I'm looking forward to see how Raby does in the Illini conference next year.

9. Bogan - Undefeated regular season in the Chicago Windy City Conference - including victories over Julian and suburban Tinley Park. Bogan moves up to the Illini-conference next year.

10. Mather - Mather wins the Chicago Big Shoulders conference - including a 34-13 victory over 8-2 Taft. Mather may have the top athlete in the city in all-everything Ameen Solebo. Solebo is an all-city football player, city runner up in wrestling, and city shot-put champion in track.

Others - Taft, Julian, Dunbar, Foreman, Brooks, Orr, Harlan

www.CPSfan CPSFootball Fan Page

Al Raby Football Makes a Statement

On paper, I thought the Raby vs Morris football game was going to be a complete Morris blowout. After all, Morris has one of the most storied football programs in the area. Raby, on the other hand is a relatively new CPS school. After Raby's close 19-6 loss to Morris in the first round, I'm starting to believe that Raby is for real.

Raby kept the game close despite turning the ball over 4 times and having some crazy things happen like a 7 yard punt.

I know Raby did not win the game, but they made the Morris team earn this victory. Many, myself included thought it was going to be a running clock game.

This game definitely changed my look on Al Raby football. Raby, is now a program not to take lightly anymore. Schools like Morgan Park, Hubbard, Simeon, and Robeson have already risen their football profile. This year, due to the state playoff performances of King and now Al Raby, those schools may soon be joining their ranks.

"I know they have won a state championship. We see them up at Bolingbrook during the summer. We have played 7-on-7 against them. But the thing that puts us behind the 8-ball is the fact we only have 560 kids," he said. "But since we are a non-boundary school, the state has put us in with a 1.5 multiplier, so our enrollment is counted as 833. We really should be in Class 2A or 3A." - said Raby coach D'Angelo Dereef.

Neilski's take on 2009 class 4A CPS state playoff football games

Class 4A

#13 Morris (5-4) at #4 Chicago (Raby) (8-1)

When kids grow up in Morris, all they want to be is football players. Football in Morris is like barbecue in the south - everyone loves it. There's a reason why Morris has won state 3 times and state runner up 6 times. Do not be deceived by the uncharacteristic 5-4 record by Morris. Morris has played the likes of state football powers Geneseo and St. Rita. Meanwhile, Raby has played all low competition city schools in their schedule - with the exception of a 5-4 Bradley Bourbanaise team -in which they lost 38-0. On the plus side, Raby did beat Marshall from the Illini conference earlier this year.

Neilski's prediction - Running clock by second quarter. Morris 42 - Raby 0.

#14 Herscher (5-4) at #3 Chicago (Dyett) (8-1)

Dyett won the Chicago Great Lakes conference on the last game of the season 14-8 over previously undefeated Senn and will move up to the Illini-conference next year. But they are still in the Chicago conference. Dyett was 8-1 last year and did not make it to the playoffs because they were in the Chicago conference. "The guys, still around are hungry" , said Dyett coach John Terry. Their competitor will be downstate Herssher. Hercher is making a rare trip to Chicago, but still it would be a stretch to even imagine a Dyett victory.

Neilski's prediction - Hersher 32 Dyett 8

2009 CPS state football playoff pairings