Beacon-News football notebook

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:14PM

No official word came down from the IHSA on Monday regarding whether the 2010 version of the East St. Louis Flyers will be forced to forfeit games due to the ineligibility of a player, but what is final is the fact that the 2008 Class 7A state championship will remain in East St. Louis.

To recap: Charles Tigue, currently a senior defensive lineman at East St. Louis, was ruled ineligible by the IHSA on Oct. 1 surrounding questions about his residency. It was determined that Tigue did not live in the East St. Louis school district his freshman year in 2007. As a result, the Flyers had to forfeit any games won when Tigue was on the field.

The Flyers beat Geneva 34-26 in the 7A quarterfinals in 2007 before losing to Wheaton Warrenville South in the semifinals (Lake Zurich won the title that year), but now the Vikings will be considered a semifinalist.

"It makes me a little angry," said former Vikings running back and 2008 Beacon-News Player of the Year Michael Ratay. "Our junior year we had a pretty good team so if we win that game, who knows what could've happened?"

Now, the 2007 Vikings stand at 12-0 and hold the strange honor of being the only undefeated team in the entire state to not come home with a championship trophy.

"That's crazy," said former Vikings defensive tackle and 2009 Beacon-News Player of the Year Frank Boenzi. "It's East St. Louis, so, they don't really have too much class so you can't really expect much from a team like that. If that's what they need to do to win … I don't know how else to put it."

What was also in question, at least to some, was whether all of the games Tigue played in should be re-examined, and that included the Flyers' 33-14 victory over the Vikings in the 2008 Class 7A state championship game.

But, the IHSA found that Tigue was an eligible East St. Louis player his last three seasons at the school.

What Ratay and Boenzi, currently playing college football for Grand Valley State and Northern Illinois University, respectively, are in agreement about is they wouldn't want a state title that wasn't determined on the field handed to them.

"I would love to say Geneva has a state championship and my class was one of the reasons we got there, but I don't know - it'd be great to know we had one but I don't know about going and getting it now due to some ruling," Ratay said.

Added Boenzi: "No. No, no, no. I wanted to be state champs, but not like that. One guy didn't beat us. It's a team. Maybe if this was in track season (as an individual sport), maybe. But it's football. One guy doesn't beat you, especially a defensive lineman. I wouldn't want to win state over something like that."

Future is bright at Mooseheart

The season ended in heartbreak for Mooseheart (4-5) on Friday night, losing 6-3 to CICS/Longwood (6-3) when a game-tying field goal attempt missed wide. But, this team really made long strides under coach Gary Urwiler. In six of the last seven weeks of the season, the Red Ramblers defense allowed no more than one offensive touchdown. Mooseheart will lose only four players to graduation as majority of its 47-man roster was filled with underclassmen. If Urwiler and his coaches and get those kids to come back out, mix in some new freshman or Mooseheart residents, and there is a good chance this team will contend for a Northeastern Athletic Conference title in 2010 - and perhaps more in 2011.

What if…

West Aurora (4-5) knew it was behind the eight-ball Friday night hosting Wheaton Warrenville South and needing to somehow beat arguably the best team in the state - if not the country - to reach five wins and become playoff eligible. The Blackhawks lost 42-6, but the one that West fans and players will look back on with regret will be the 21-13 loss to Wheaton North in Week 5. Mooseheart (4-5) might look at last week's loss as that "what if" game, but it also lost 21-17 to Alden-Hebron in Week 6 thanks to an inordinate amount of turnovers and special teams lapses.

Oswego's (4-5) season also ended a bit earlier than expected, but it is probably looking back at a 21-14 loss to Morris in Week 1 as QB Ryan West sat out for disciplinary reasons. The Panthers also lost to Waubonsie Valley, Plainfield South and Minooka by just one score.

Four-win teams aren't the only ones left looking back at the end of the year, either.

Metea Valley (1-8), in its first varsity season, was really close to knocking on the playoff door. Not only did the Mustangs lose their first game of the season 27-26 on a buzzer-beater to Plainfield East, but they then lost to Quincy the next week 17-10 and then 21-20 to Waubonsie Valley in Week 5.

Two teams that have been down for some time also had a few "get away" this season. Oswego East (3-6) is still wondering about that 42-34 loss to Minooka in Week 6 while Yorkville (3-6) suffered some real heartbreak in a 27-24 overtime loss at DeKalb and a 19-0 loss to Morris that got away due to turnovers and missed chances on offense.

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