Chicago Public League Sports Blog

Shot Put Preview

Dequan Smith(sr) of Westinghouse is the top returning shot putter in the CPS.

Here are some shot putters to watch out for this track season. Listed are a distance that they threw last season.

43-5   Dequan Smith(sr), Westinghouse
43-4   Abraham DeLeon(sr), Lane Tech
42-10  Bobby Kurek(sr), Lane Tech
41-2    Johnny Daniels(sr), Foreman
41-0   Willie McCollum(sr), Austin
40-9    Brandon Trebble(sr), Kenwood
40-4    Destry Cross(sr), Harlan
39-0    Donovan WIlliamson(jr) Urban Prep- Bronzeville
39-1   Jason Dawson(so)- Dunbar
38-5   Alex Shield(jr)- Payton
37-6   Willie Jones(jr)- Harlan
37-5   Anderson Potts(jr)- Corliss
37-4   Anthony Kowalzcyk(jr)- Steinmetz
36-10.6 Shaquille Welch(jr)- Mather
36-5.5  Brandon Solebo(sr), Raby

Dequan Smith(sr)-4th at the CPS meet last year- is the top returning shot putter. But he will not enter the season as the clear cut favorite as 5 others return with marks within 2.5 feet away from Smith's top mark.

Two shot putter that will get a lot of attention this year will be Abraham Deleon(sr) and Bobby Kurek(sr) of Lane Tech. Lane will be in the hunt to recapture the city outdoor title after losing it to Whitney Young last year and their shot put points will go a long way towards determining their chances.

Football stars Johnny Daniels(sr) of Foreman, Willie McCollum(sr) of Austin, and Brandon Trebble(sr) of Kenwood are the other top returnees who threw over 40 feet last year. All are powerful athletes and one or more of them could really bust out with a big year. Watch Trebble bench 365lbs.

Also watch out for CPS sophomore shot put champ Donovan Willamson(jr) of Urban Prep-Bronzeville. The future of the CPS shot put may come from Dunbar as Dunbar has a pair of talented and promising sophomore throwers in Jason Dawson(so) and Nevell Floyd(so). Floyd was the CPS soph meet discus champ and he can also shot put. Dawson threw 39-1 last year as a freshman. He is also a good football player and I hear one of the top sophomore wrestlers in the city and has a state sophomore wrestling ranking.

Neilski's Final Fall 2012 Football Rankings

Illini Conference
1. Simeon- City champs, Prep Bowl champ
2. Morgan Park- Returned to the city finals, Illini Prairie State champ
3. Brooks- Only CPS team to advance to state quarterfinals, Ililni Heartland champ
4. Raby - CPS semi-finalists, Illini Land of Lincoln champ
5. Harper - CPS semi-finalist, state 2nd round, Illini Heartland runner up
6. Orr - CPS playoffs qualifier, Illini Prairie State runner up
7. Lane Tech - CPS playoff quaifier, Illini Red Bird runner up
8. Phillips- CPS playoff qualifier, Illini Land of Lincoln runner up, one of CPS's most improved teams
9. King - state qualifier
10. Dunbar -3rd Illini Red Bird

Others: Curie, Robeson, Marshall


Eugenio Dejesus(6-5,185lbs, sr, QB, #5) and Westinghouse end the season as the #1 ranked Chicago Conference team.

Chicago Conference
1. Westinghouse- Chicago Great Lakes champ, nearly became first Chicago conference team to win vs non-CPS opponent in state playoffs.
2. Austin- Chicago Second City champ, advanced to 2nd round of state playoffs with win over Marshall from Illini conference in first round
3. Perspectives Charter Leadership- Calumet- Windy City conference champ
4. Steinmetz- Big Shoulders runner up, dream run at end of season with shutout of Amundsen and state playoff win over conference champ Foreman
5. Foreman- Big Shoulders champ
6. Taft- 7-1 overall record, could be pre-season Big Shoulders favorite next year
7. Payton - Great Lakes runner up, seems to be on doorstep to making it to Illini next year
8. Lake View- Second City runner up, could make a case for a top 6 ranking
9. Sullivan - 6-2 overall record, lost only 32-28 to conference champ Austin
10. North Lawndale - 3rd place in tough Second City conference, lost only 20-18 to conference champ Austin

Others: Hyde Park, Bulls, Schurz, Corliss, Kenwood

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.

Week 2 Thursday - Schedule

Thursday
Chicago (Brooks) vs. Chicago (Kenwood) at Eckersall Stadium (Thu.) - Brooks by 10
Chicago (CICS/Hawkins) vs. Chicago (Fenger) at Stagg Stadium (Thu.) - Fenger by 40
Chicago (Kelvyn Park) vs. Chicago (Kennedy) at Rockne Stadium (Thu.)- Toss up
Chicago (Lincoln Park) vs. Chicago (Bogan) at Gately Stadium (Thu.) - Bogan by 21
Chicago (Lindblom) vs. Chicago (Urban Prep Charter/Bronzeville) at Lane Stadium (Thu.)- Lindblom by 9
Chicago (Westinghouse College Prep) vs. Chicago (Harlan) at Gately Stadium (Thu.) -Harlan by 6

Game of the day: Brooks (0-1) vs Kenwood(1-0)
4:15pm, Eckersall Stadium
What a match up. Brooks has been the talk of the state after their near upset of 2011 state semi-finalist Kaneland. In that game Brooks led 24-6 in the 3rd quarter before finally falling 25-24. 2012 was the year that Brooks fans have been talking about for years. I wrote an article two years ago to look out for Brooks in 2 years. Brooks has 4 year starting quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw(sr), massive lineman Dequan Sain(sr, OL, 6-7), Khalil Simmons(sr, S), and running backs Cleveland Clark and Josh Smith.

Meanwhile, Kenwood is an equally story of its own. I started the season with almost no pre-season expectations for Kenwood because they graduated so much talent from last year. But after their 30-24 upset over suburban TF North, my eyes quickly opened on Kenwood.

My feel is that Brooks will have too much for Kenwood and they won't make as many mistakes as TF North. But if Kenwood happens to spring an upset, the talk will immediately turn from Brooks to Kenwood.


Westinghouse Warriors

Westinghouse(0-1) vs Harlan(0-1)
Any time a mid-level Chicago conference team plays an upper level Illini conference team, the Chicago Conference team always has a bit of chip on their shoulder. In this case Westinghouse is a team itching to say they belong in the Illini conference. The best way for Westinghouse to prove they belong is to actually beat an Illini conference team. They'll have their opportunity against Harlan.

Westinghouse has the talent to be able to run with Harlan. They have 6-5 quarterback Eugenio Dejesus(sr), talented running back James Graham(sr), and lineman Dequan Smith(sr, 6-4, 265lbs).
All of them are pre-season Chicago conference players.

Harlan is led by Division 1 College recruit Kijana Evans(6-3, 290lbs, sr, OL).

Both teams are looking for their first win after good efforts in week 1 losses to suburban teams.

Pictures Now- Westinghouse vs Niles West football game 8.24.12

Photo Album

Deandre Welch(5-7,165lbs, sr. WR/DB) and Westinghouse prepare to march on the field before playing Niles West.

Week 1 Friday- Scoreboard

Westinghouse(right) started strong but could not sustain as Niles West rolls.

Warriors.....Came Out to Play...Niles West 28 Westinghouse 6 (3rd Q)...For a quarter and a half, Westinghouse had the upset in the making as Westinghouse scored first on a 25 yard touchdown throw from QB Eugenio Dejesus(6-5,175lbs, sr) to Deandre Welch(5-7,165lbs,sr). Meanwhile, the Westinghouse defense did not allow a Niles West first down until midway through the 2nd quarter. But after that the flood gates opened for Niles West as their offense found their groove to score 4 straight touchdowns.

Reavis 56 Solorio 24
Carver 50 Kelvyn Park 12
Taft 14 Clark 0
Ridgewood 42 Collins 0
Argo 20 Curie 13
DeLasalle 42 Lane Tech 13
Vernon Hills 38 Dunbar 22
Aurora Christian 48 Dusable 0
Douglas 16 Woodlawn 6
Oak Park 43 Fenger 0 (4th Q)
St. Viator 49 Foreman 0 (3rd Q)
Farragut 12 Kennedy 8

Kenwood 30 TF North 24
Kenwood running back Mikhail Naugles 198 yard rushing, 2 TD's in the upset.

King 42 St. Joseph 13
Evanston 42 Lincoln Park 0
Lemont 56 Little Village 0
Mather 14 Chicago Academy 0
Marshall 34 Senn 0
Chicago (Noble Street Charter/Comer) at Midlothian (Bremen
Morgan Park 47 Clemente 0
Chicago Christian 49 North Lawndale 6
Chicago (Orr) at Harvey (Thornton
Richmond Burton 54 Roosevelt 14
Uplift 26 Bronzeville 6
Maine West 57 South Shore 20
Oak Forest 55 Urban Prep -Englewood 6
Benet 55 Washington 0
Niles West 28 Westinghouse 6- 3rd quarter
Richard 26 Harlan 0

First Senior Class Look to Propel Westinghouse

This fall Westinghouse College Prep will have its first group of seniors playing football. Pictured above are 3 of them (left to right) Marcus Morris(sr, 5-8, 176. RB/CB), Romero Stancle(sr, 5-9, 172lbs), and Tobias Cook(6-3, 235lbs).(WCP photo)

It takes time to build a football program. In the case of Westinghouse College Prep, they had to do it the last couple of years with no seniors as the school opened it's doors in Fall 2009 with no seniors and only freshman. So this 2012-13 is the first year with seniors on their team.

Their first full year of football was the 2010-11 season where they played a varsity schedule with only freshman and sophomores on their roster. They played in an inter-city conference that year. Their first year was a rousing success as they finished the season 8-1 including an upset win over Kenwood Academy and a 2nd place finish in conference. They moved up to the Chicago conference because conference champion Pritzker declined the move up to conference.

In Westinghouse's 2nd year of football (last year), Westinghouse played well and finished 5-4 overall and in 3rd place in the much tougher Chicago Great Lakes Conference. But remember that was with a Westinghouse team that did not have a single senior on their team.

This year, Westinghouse will have a group of very experienced players including seniors for the first time. And they got quite a few seniors who can ball.

Westinghouse Seniors To Watch
Eugenio Dejesus(6-5, 175lbs, sr, QB/WR)
James Graham(5-10, 170lbs, sr, RB/KR)
Absalom Boyd(5-9, 135lbs. DB)
Tobias Cook(6-2, 235lbs, TE/DE)
Daquan Smith(6-4, 265lbs, OL/DE)

Eugenio Dejesus at 6-5, 175lbs stands out- and rightfully so. Dejesus was the MVP for Westinghouse's football and volleyball teams last season. He is also one of the top QB's in the Chicago conference for sure.

James Graham(5-10, 170lbs, sr, RB/KR) had some great off season workouts including running a 4.3 hand time in the 40 yard dash. He's been playing football since 3rd grade.

Tobias Cook(6-2, 235lbs, TE/DE) and Daquan Smith(6-4, 265lbs, OL/DE) are both linemen to watch out for. Smith at 6-4, 265lbs has some athleticism and could play at the next level.

 Football Team Previews Page

 

Neilski's CPS Pre-Season Class AA Indoor Track Rankings

Cameren Franklin (sr) and Robeson go into this season with high expectations. It helps when all 4 legs of your all-state 4x400 meter relay team return.

1. Kenwood- Great balance of distance and field events. Omar Tall and Joseph Laseter will be a threat in any event 800 and up. Phillip Martin is one of the city's top shot putters. Some new sprinters will have to emerge.

2. Robeson - The relay school has a lot of senior talent this year. They return all 4 members from the 3rd place in the state 4x400 relay team. The Pipkin brother Duwane and Juwane are best known. But Robeson is much more than the Pipkin brothers. Look out for Cameren Franklin (sr), Alexander Jones (sr), and rising sophomore sprinter Devon Sanders (so).

3. Kelvyn Park - KP is top heavy in talent. They return all-state sprinter Brian Carter (jr) and state qualifiers Jamal McNeely (so) and Victor Medina (sr). Those 3 alone will score lots of points for Kevlyn Park. The only question is do they have anyone else after their big 3? Indoor season has less events than outdoor, so that will benefit Kelvyn Park.

4. Morgan Park? - That's right Morgan Park is in class AA this year. The only question is how will Morgan Park look like after the Spurlock era? Who will be the new coach. The talent is there at Morgan Park. The good news is that they will have until the end of the Outdoor season to put it all together. The first goal is to hire a new coach. By the end of the season Morgan Park could be ranked as high as #1 or as low as completely unranked.

5. Westinghouse - I got a feeling that by the end of the indoor season, Westinghouse will be ranked a lot higher than 5th. The Warriors are entering only their 3rd season in existence after re-opening 2 years ago. Last year, their freshman team opened my eyes with a 2nd place finish at the freshman city championship beating out freshman teams from traditional track powers Morgan Park, Mather, and Whitney Young. Those freshman are now hungry sophomores. Key will be how much the coaching staff developed those talented freshman.

6. Brooks - The man to look out for is Daniel Medrano (so). He ran a 2:08 in the 800 last year in winning the event at the 2010 freshman city track championship. Also look out for Byron Kelly (so) and Ahmad Bradshaw(so).

Others

Calumet Perspectives
Jones
Lake View
Payton
Roosevelt
South Shore

Class AA Outlook

It's always challenging and risky to do pre-season rankings. In a few weeks I'm either going to look like a genius or a dummy.

I have Westinghouse, Kelvyn Park and Brooks rated higher than Lake View, Jones, and Roosevelt. This is due to a combination of gut feel and my bias for sprint heavy teams. See at the freshman city championship last year, the showings by Brooks and Westinghouse left an indelible impression on me. They did so well, that I felt that those two teams are programs on the rise.

Jones, Lake View, and Roosevelt will rely on their distance talent to suceed this year. All three of those schools return all-state caliber runners. Oscar Medina (sr) of Lake View, Jamison Dale (so) of Jones, and Jeffrey Rector(jr) of Roosevelt are all city championship individual contenders and are pre-season all-state contenders.

Class AA has a lot of interesting questions that will be unraveled as the season progresses. Who will be the next Morgan Park coach? Does Kelvyn Park have anyone after their big 3 of Carter, McNeely, and Medina? How good can the Jones crew be after a uber-successful cross country season?

Week 8 CPS Football Rankings....Inter-City Conference Teams

1. Kelvyn Park (6-1)- leads Inter-City 1 conference. Non-conference test this week vs. Chicago Conference team Dusable.

2. North Lawndale (5-2) - leads Inter-City 2 conference. Will play TEAM Englewood for conference title in week 9. Great coaching by Kennith Rogers (from Calumet) has elevated North Lawndale. Look for this program in the future.

3. Pritzker (7-0) - leads Inter-City 3 conference. Heavy favorites to win last two games and move upto a Chicago conference next year. Pritzker kind of snuck up on me. Could end season undfeated. Before I make any firm conclusions on program, I'd have to see them play and see how they do in Illini-conference next year.

4. Westinghouse (6-1) - another program of the future. 6-1 record despite only playing with freshman and sophomores on varsity. Expected to dominate conference next year when they have a team with juniors.

5. Little Village (4-3) - Plays Kelvyn Park to end the season for the Inter-City 1 conference championship. School is blessed with nice facilities - one of best in Inter-city conference teams after Westinghouse.

6. Team Englewood (6-1) - will play North Lawndale for conference title to end the season.

Week 5 Saturday Thread

The House is Back!  Playing a varsity schedule with only freshman and sophomores Westinghouse football is off to a smashing undefeated 4-0 record. Westinghouse is a heavy favorite against UIC College Prep. (WCP photo).

Other games to watch -
Payton vs Carver - Payton has stud running back Justin Smith and is leading the Chicago Great Lakes Conference with a 2-0 conference record. A win will put Payton in a great position to finish in the coveted top 2 spots. A team that finishes in the top 2 in a Chicago Conference is state playoff eligible. I don't think Payton has ever made the state playoffs, so this is a big game for them.

Gage Park vs Kelly - This sounds like it would be a good soccer match-up. But both schools have decent football programs. After two conference games Gage Park is surprisingly sitting atop the Chicago Windy City conference. Kelly, the soccer school, played Julian tough in a 14-7 loss last week. For a school to go 3-1, the school has to have a couple standout players. The two players people talk about for Gage Park is quarterback Kevin Wims and WR/LB Rashied Treadway (6-2, 195, sr). Also on the watch list is sophomore linebacker Chris Ballard. He's got great size at 5-11, 225lbs and he is one of the top tacklers on the team.

CHICAGO GREAT LAKES
Ag. Science vs. DuSable at Eckersall, 1:15- Pickem
Payton vs. Carver at Eckersall, 4:15 - Payton by 8

CHICAGO SECOND CITY
Austin at Chicago Academy, 2 - Uplift by 10
Crane vs. Manley at Rockne, 3 - Pickem
Phoenix vs. Douglass at Hanson, 12:45 - Pickem
Uplift vs. Collins at Orr, 2 - Uplift by 10

CHICAGO WINDY CITY
Corliss vs. Urban Prep at Stagg, 1:15- Urban Prep by 3
Kelly vs. Gage Park at Rockne, 1:15 - Gage Park by 10
South Shore vs. Julian at Gately, 11 a.m.- Julian by 20

ILLINI HEARTLAND
Dyett vs. Raby at Hanson, 4 - Pickem
Harper vs. Hope at Stagg, 4:15 - Harper by 15
Orr vs. Brooks at Gately, 3 - Orr by 18

ILLINI PRAIRIE STATE
Morgan Park vs. Vocational at Gately, 7 -Morgan Park by 26

PUBLIC INTER-CITY 1
Kelvyn Park vs. Marine at Winnemac, 11 a.m. - Kelvyn Park by 8
Wells vs. Sullivan at Winnemac, 3 - Sullivan by forfeit
Woodlawn vs. Farragut at Hanson - Pickem

PUBLIC INTER-CITY 2
Bronzeville vs. Hirsch at Stagg, 10 a.m.- Pickem
Englewood vs. Kennedy at Lane, 3 - Pickem
Juarez vs. Lindblom at Rockne, 10 a.m. - Pickem
Washington vs. North Lawndale at Lane, 7 -Pickem

PUBLIC INTER-CITY 3
Pritzker vs. Comer at Eckersall, 10 a.m. - Pritzker by 20
Rowe-Clark vs. Golder at Lane, 11 a.m. - Pickem
UIC vs. Westinghouse at Westinghouse, 1 - Westinghouse by 18