WJOL, Joliet West tournament tip off local boys basketball season
From SUBMITTED REPORTS November 18, 2012 8:42PM
Minooka's Darrin Myers (30). | File photo
Article Extras
Updated: December 20, 2012 6:10AM
The wait has ended for area boys basketball fans with the season getting under way Monday at the WJOL and Joliet West Thanksgiving tournaments.
The WJOL Tournament at the University of St. Francis Recreation Center features eight teams for the first time. The six mainstays — Joliet Central, Joliet Catholic, Providence, Lockport, Romeoville and Plainfield Central — are joined by Minooka and Crete-Monee.
That means four pool-play games Monday, Wednesday and Friday and four Pool A vs. Pool B match-ups Saturday.
Games Monday will be played at 5 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at USF in addition to a 7 p.m. Crete-Monee vs. Joliet Catholic battle on the Hilltoppers’ floor. On Wednesday and Friday, four games will be played at USF beginning at 3:15 p.m.
The Saturday schedule calls for the fourth-place finishers in each pool to square off at 11:15 a.m. The title game between pool winners will be played at 4 p.m.
“We’re happy they we have added two teams and it’s basically a Will County tournament,” tournament director Scott Slocum said.
“The tournament is for the local teams. We always ask the coaches for their input on how we could improve it, and they always said they would like to play four games. Now with a fourth day, we’re able to have a trophy round.”
Joliet Central, Plainfield Central Joliet Catholic and Crete-Monee are in Pool A. Lockport, Romeoville, Minooka and Providence are in Pool B.
At Joliet West, games Monday will begin at 5:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. in both the main gym and fieldhouse. After that, it’s all in the main gym with four consecutive games beginning at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and noon Friday and Saturday. The corresponding pool finishers will square off Saturday.
Joliet West, Plainfield South, Thornridge and Aurora Central are in Pool 1, while Bolingbrook, Plainfield North, Rich South and Tinley Park are in Pool B.
Two games of particular local interest Friday are Plainfield North vs. Bolingbrook at 3 p.m. and Plainfield South vs. Joliet at 4:30 p.m.
College football
Saints cited: Eighteen University of St. Francis players, including seven first-team selections, were named to the All-Mid-States Football Association Midwest League Team.
Among them are two repeat first-team picks, senior linebacker Drew Tondini (Morris) and senior center Doug Spacht.
Tondini led St. Francis this season with 97 tackles, including 54 solos, and ranked second with 141/2 tackles for loss.
Also on the first team were junior running back Anthony Hubert, senior wide receiver Desmond Page, junior tight end Dustin Greenwell on offense, junior cornerback Toney Brown and sophomore nose tackle Jeff Cascella.
St. Francis (6-5, 6-4 vs. NAIA opponents) had four players on the second team, including junior quarterback E.J. White, a first-team pick the two previous years. The others were senior guard David Zanato, senior linebacker Pete Damiani (Lincoln-Way Central) and sophomore safety Awal Umaru. Damiani, an honorable mention pick in 2011, made 66 tackles, including four for loss.
USF also had seven honorable mention selections: sophomore wide receiver John Magee (Plainfield South), junior tight end Luke Gundersen (Plainfield South), sophomore tackle Sammie Sabbah (Bolingbrook), sophomore defensive end Albert Cruse, redshirt freshman linebacker Jamal Graham, senior cornerback Charlmers Oscar and sophomore kicker Sean Murray.
Magee was fourth on the team with 624 all-purpose yards. He had 300 yards and a touchdown on 34 receptions and rushed for 108 yards and one TD. Gundersen caught 10 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown. Sabbah, who like Tondini earned Capital One Academic All-District recognition earlier this month, started every game at right tackle.
