7A Football: Lincoln-Way East Tops Benet, Heads to State Championship

Lincoln-Way East 37, Benet 13. The Griffins continue to roll in the playoffs and have a shot at a state championship next week.

A showdown for the ages is set for the Class 7A state championship.  Lincoln-Way East (13-0) blew past Benet Academy 37-13 in the state semifinals and will face undefeated Glenbard West next week in the title game.  Glenbard beat Lake Zurich earlier in the day, winning 19-13.  The Griffin defense picked off Benet quarterback Jack Beneventi three times and held him to 9-of-28 passing. According to the Chicago Tribune, running back Nick Colangelo had 183 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead the way for Lincoln-Way East.  Benet finishes the season 11-2, with its only other loss coming to St. Patrick.  Glenbard West and Lincoln-Way East will battle for the state championship at 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.  …

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7A Football: L-W East Too Much for Providence Catholic

Griffins 24, Celtics 14. Lincoln-Way East continues its undefeated season in an area battle.

In the highly touted matchup between area powerhouses Lincoln-Way East and Providence Catholic, the Griffins defense dominated another game to push East to the Class 7A quarterfinals with a 24-14 win. East jumped out to an early lead and seemed to put the game away until Providence scored a couple of times late. Still, it wasn't enough to knock off the undefeated Griffins, who forced two safeties.  Providence finishes the season at 8-3. Lincoln-Way East is 11-0 and will have another home game next week against No. 2 Edwardsville.  If you missed the game, you can catch the replay on Comcast's CN100 Game of the Week. Read our Local Voices section for more information.  Get news alerts and Facebook updates from these Lincoln-Way Patch sites:

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Football Photos: Richards Blows Out L-W North in 6A Playoffs

Richards 37, Lincoln-Way North 14. The Bulldogs jumped out to a huge lead and never let up in a Class 6A playoff battle.

Richards (9-1) continued its stellar season with a playoff romp over Lincoln-Way North (6-4), winning 37-14 in the Class 6A playoffs.  The Bulldogs gained the momentum early in the night, and the Phoenix didn't score until late in the game.  Richards will play the winner of Lemont and Morgan Park, which play Saturday. If Lemont wins, Richards will host the game, but the Bulldogs will travel to Morgan Park if they win.  Check out our photo gallery from the game and add any photos you have! 

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Date With State: Providence Baseball in Final 4

After a long, season, Providence Catholic travels down Route 30 to Joliet's Silver Cross Stadium for the state baseball playoffs.

Over the course of five playoff games, Providence Catholic showed why it's the No. 1-ranked team in the state. After a couple low-scoring efforts, the Celtics' bats have erupted the last couple games, scoring 12 and 13 runs, respectively. But the constant throughout has been the pitching, with Providence aces giving up no more than three runs so far in the postseason. This team has at least 13 seniors who will play ball in college, and after defeating Edwardsville in the Super-Sectionals on Monday, they could go out champions. The state playoffs are this weekend, and only four teams remain. So without further delay, programs, getcha programs! Here's your 2011 State Baseball Playoff Preview: All games are played at Silver Cross Field in …

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What's Ahead

UPDATE: A Look at the Next Five Days: Feb. 28-March 4

The playoffs begin for boys basketball, and it's the last day for L-W preschool registration.

UPDATE (9:14 a.m. Monday, Feb. 28)--The sale auction for Gas City's service stations has been changed. The deadline for the first round of bids is Wednesday, March 2, and the deadline for the second round is March 23. The final auction will be April 4. An earlier posting of What's Ahead listed the auction's original schedule. When: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.   Where: Lincoln-Way North High School, 19900 S. Harlem Ave.   This is the final day for Lincoln-Way area residents to register their children in the 2011-12 preschool program sponsored by the Family and Consumer Sciences Child Care classes at Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way North high schools. To be eligible for the preschool program, children must be 3 years old by Sept. 1, toilet trained and…

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UPDATE: Keeping Up With Girls Basketball Playoffs

Lincoln-Way East advances to the L-W North Sectional; Providence falls to Marian.

It’s that time of year when every game--and every play--matters. The girls basketball regionals are upon us, and as the playoffs get under way we want to make sure you’ve got all the information you need to go cheer on the high schools. Regional Schedule Games played at Crete-Monee High School, 1515 W. Exchange St., Crete. Tuesday, Feb. 14 Game 2: 3. Lincoln-Way East 60, Crete-Monee 29 Game 3: 6. Lincoln-Way North 38,  11. Thorton Fractional South 41  Thursday, Feb. 17 Game 5: 3. Lincoln-Way East 65, Thorton Fractional South 41 Regional Schedule Games played at Providence Catholic High School, 1800 W. Lincoln Hwy., New Lenox. Tuesday, Feb. 15 Game 3: 8. Providence Catholic 47, 9. Richards 37 Thursday, Feb. 17 Game 4: Marian 72, Providence …

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Bears Fans Keep Hometown Spirit Alive With Da Bus

Blue and orange bus brings diehard Mokena fans together.

Right after the Chicago Bears made it to Super Bowl XLI in 2006, Andy Griffiths, President of Lionheart Financial Ltd., and Dr. Garnet Patterson, owner of Patterson Dental Center, partnered up and bought themselves a Bears tailgating bus. Five years later, the bus can still be found at almost every Bears home game at Soldier Field. As Griffiths put it, “We are just two Mokena nutters who are massive Bears fans.” Griffiths said the inspiration to buy a tailgating bus came when the two visited Soldier Field for a game and noticed everyone else’s tailgating vehicles, which ranged from old ambulances to RVs. Griffiths said they realized they could do something like that. “My wife said 'no' to an RV, and we weren’t sure where to get an …

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Bar Hopping and Bear Watching

Intrepid sports reporter Tom Ritter hit up three area establishments and took in the sights during the Chicago Bears' 35-24 victory over Seattle.

In the 1980s, Mokena Mayor Joe Werner managed to make it to every Bears home game. In the decades since, Werner's Soldier Field trips have been drastically reduced, but he still holds a strong enthusiasm for the Bears. Werner's Sunday plans for the Bears' playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks involved a day at home decked out in Bears gear and eating his wife's homemade chili.  “I think this is going to be one amazing game, and it really depends on which Bears team will show up,” Werner said earlier in the week.  The mayor, and all Chicago Bears fans for that matter, were certainly not left disappointed after their team's solid 35-24 victory Sunday afternoon. I stopped by three different viewing spots in Frankfort, Mokena and New Lenox…

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