The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin long has been a showcase for the high level of football players developed in Chicago-area high schools.
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North Central College’s new stadium in Naperville will be the site of such a showcase on Saturday. Millikin’s unbeaten and No. 10-ranked Big Blue, leading NCAA Division III teams with a 52.2 points-per-game average, tries to spoil North Central’s homecoming.
Lineups of both teams are packed with former area high school stars, such as Millikin’s quarterback Tim Brylka, tailback Deon Parker and linebacker Bob Meyer.
Former Wheaton Warrenville South star Brylka in five games has passed for 13 touchdowns, two of them in last week’s 35-10 victory over Wheaton. Parker, from Rich South, rushed 210 yards in that game, 73 of them on one touchdown run. Linebacker Meyer, from Schaumburg, has continued the play that earned him All-American recognition last year.
The Cardinal lineup also is packed with home-grown talent: Quarterback Jeremy Walsh from Naperville North, fullback Jon Coleman and linebacker Anthony Silvestri from Downers Grove South, all-CCIW linebacker Brian Blitek from Crystal Lake Central, receiver Matt Joseph from Lincoln-Way and linebacker Andy Peterson from Palatine.
Saturday’s Millikin-North Central game culminates a huge football weekend on campus. Cardinal officials expect a crowd of 10,000 to witness Friday’s high school showdown between Naperville North and Naperville Central.
Volleyball: Lewis University sophomore Sarah Beebe from Minooka was named Great Lakes Valley Conference player of the week for the second time in a row. In victories over Missouri-St. Louis and Quincy, Beebe recorded 22 kills and had only four errors in 41 attempts for a .439 hitting percentage.
Illinois-Chicago beat Bradley in a five-game match played at Queen of Peace High School, alma mater of Flames stars Erica Anderson and Ann Hintz and Bradley’s Molly Mann. The victory improved UIC’s record to 13-4.
Anderson, UIC’s all-time career assist leader, added 61 to her total. Hintz contributed 11 digs. Lindsey Filkins from Downers Grove South made 16 kills and three aces.
Rachel Goldsmith, a freshman at New York-Stony Brook and graduate of West Aurora High, set a school record of 38 digs and also had 16 kills in a five-game loss to Penn State. Goldsmith leads her team in kills and is second in digs.
Eastern Illinois’ Leslie Przekwas, from Lockport, was named Ohio Valley Conference offensive player of the week. In four victorious matches she averaged 6.5 kills, hit .531 and averaged 2.4 shots per game.
Loyola improved to 9-7 overall and 4-0 in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference as Renee Nash and Jenelle Hart led a victory over Illinois-Chicago. Nash, from Mother McAuley, increased her team lead in assists to 629. Hart, from Stagg, raised her kill total to 149.
Soccer: Freshman midfielder Christine Carqueville from St. Charles scored three goals as the University of Chicago won 6-1 over University Athletic Association rival Case Western Reserve.
The Maroons, sporting an 8-1-1 record and ranked No. 22 nationally in Division III, host defending NCAA champion Macalester at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Loyola’s men’s team had a great week, beating DePaul 5-2 and taking over the Midwestern Collegiate Conference lead with a 3-0 record by scoring successive 3-2 overtime victories over Butler and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Matt Klacko, from Sandburg, scored two goals and Adam Hitchman, from Waubonsie Valley, had two assists against DePaul. Phil Krahenbuhl, from St. Charles, made the overtime goal against Butler.
Chris Gradilla, from Redmond, Wash., scored two goals, including the one in overtime, against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.