Oak Lawn does it up ... and big

Oak Lawn could be excused for reacting as if it had won a state championship when it defeated archrival Richards 20-12 Friday.

It had been 34 years since the Spartans could lay claim to that distinction.

"Yeah, all the fans came down on the field," said coach Ron Thornburgh, whose Spartans are 5-3 overall. "I was bumping into 5-year-olds and senior citizens and everybody in between. It was awesome. I don't think my feet touched the ground until I started watching tape of Reavis on Sunday."

Despite Richards' struggles, the Spartans' victory was still stunning when considering Oak Lawn didn't have the services of quarterback-cornerback John Robinson.

Thornburgh had to rely on Cody Williams, generally the Spartans' tight end, at quarterback, and junior Nick Favia, who never started a game on the varsity before, at cornerback.

Junior tailback Nick Pesek, who is closing in on 1,000 yards rushing, piled up 165 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead Oak Lawn.

"Nick is one of those special kids who lives in the weight room, runs track in the spring and just loves to compete," Thornburgh said. "He's a special kid."

Thornburgh wanted it known that Friday's win against Richards was for every former player, student and faculty member at Oak Lawn.

"Obviously, I'm pleased for the school and the football program," Thornburgh said. "But it was so much more than that. I was getting text messages, e-mails and voice messages from people all over the state. There was a lot of excitement."

Brother Rice settles for second place

Brother Rice played its heart out against St. Rita, only to walk away with a 14-10 Catholic League Blue championship defeat Friday.

The Crusaders were more productive on offense and more effective on defense. But turnovers crushed the Crusaders, who had to settle for second fiddle in the loaded Blue Division.

"You can't turn the ball over like we did," coach Steve Nye said. "St. Rita did what any good team would do and they took advantage of the turnovers."

Rice, with a regular-season ending mismatch with Seton Academy in store Friday, should not lack for confidence as the postseason awaits. The Crusaders only two losses this season occurred against Mount Carmel and St. Rita, and in both games Rice coughed the ball up far too often.

With Frank Renardo and QB Tom Gibson leading the offense, the Crusaders have proved to be as consistent as any unit in the area. The defense, with a front line of Connor Yanz, Mike VanBoldrik and Andrew Weishar, has been stellar.

"If we eliminate mistakes I think we can play with anybody," Nye said. "I think we have proved that."

St. Rita proud of title

Any one of the five teams representing the Catholic League Blue are worthy of the conference championship. But St. Rita overcame major obstacles in the form of Brother Rice, Providence Catholic, Mount Carmel and Loyola Academy to claim the honor.

"It means a lot," St. Rita coach Todd Kuska said. "There are no weeks off in this conference. You have to be ready to play. We didn't play well against Loyola, but I'm proud of the way the guys stepped up after that week."

The Mustangs stepped up big Friday against Brother Rice, squeaking away with a 14-10 win that clinched the division title. Seniors Dave Marciano, Dan Dispensa and Marty Hopkins led the charge, which is what one would expect in the most significant game of the season.

"We knew we had to step up being seniors," said Dispensa, who registered an interception against Rice. "We knew what was at stake. It was the biggest game of the year. Brother Rice played well and they're a very good team. It's a tough conference and it feels good to win it."

Pat Disabato can be reached at pdisabato@southtownstar.com or (708) 802-8837.