All football all the time …
* Willie Snead Jr. is a wide receiver with the New Orleans Saints, and even though the NFL player never played football for Lake Forest High School, he almost did.
During the 2001 and 2002 football seasons, Willie Snead Sr. was head coach at Lake Forest, making the playoffs at 5-4 the first year and then being asked to leave after a 1-8 second season.
That period did not represent the best of times for Lake Forest’s football program, as Snead Sr. was brought on board to replace longtime coach Tommy Myers. Neither the departure of Myers nor the departure of Snead were handled in ways that reflected well on the school and community.
Since then, Chuck Spagnoli has been a rock as head coach, solidifying the program the first few years and then building a powerhouse team.
Snead Jr. attended grade school in Lake Forest, but was a high school star in Michigan and in college at Ball State.
Snead scored his first NFL touchdown this past Sunday as the Saints lost to Tampa Bay. He was not picked in the 2014 NFL draft and was on the practice squads of the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers before landing with the Saints.
More Top Picks Best Organic Mattresses
* Waukegan grad Rashaan Melvin has been inactive for the Baltimore Ravens’ first two games this season as he’s dealing with an upper-leg injury.
Last December, Melvin worked his way from the Ravens’ practice squad into the starting lineup at cornerback.
* Waukegan unveiled new and great-looking purple jerseys for its homecoming football game last Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs had been wearing green jerseys, which was the preferred color of former coach Nick Browder.
When Browder was a prep standout, he played for Waukegan West, which had school colors of green and gold. The old Waukegan High School became Waukegan East and kept the purple and gold scheme.
When the schools combined athletic programs in the early 1990s, the school colors became purple, green and gold, and have remained that way since.
* Lakes grad TJ Edwards had two solo tackles and assisted on two other tackles in Wisconsin’s 28-3 win over Troy last Saturday.
Edwards, a redshirt freshman, is a starting inside linebacker. At Lakes, he was the starting quarterback.
* One of the most exciting and certainly the highest scoring state championship football game in IHSA history was Montini’s 70-45 win over Joliet Catholic in Class 5A in 2011.
The three key players in that game were Joliet running back Ty Isaac (26 carries, 515 yards, 6 touchdowns), Montini quarterback John Rhode (29-for-45, 587 yards, 7 touchdowns), and Montini wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp (12 catches, 353 yards, 5 touchdowns).
Where are they now?
Westerkamp is a junior at Nebraska and a team captain. He’s the team’s leading receiver this fall with 15 catches for 233 yards and three TDs.
Isaac went to USC, but transferred to Michigan. Last Saturday, he rushed eight times for 114 yards and a 76-yard touchdown against UNLV.
As for Rhode, he is the starting quarterback for St. Xavier in Chicago, which competes at the NAIA level.
However, Rhode is still throwing the ball like crazy. Last Saturday, he was 41-for-63 for 417 yards and four touchdowns.
* Lakes grad Andrew Spencer, Vernon Hills grad Jarrett Wood, Warren grad Davonte Willcox-Ransom and Carmel grad Nockai Poyser all are playing keys roles on defense for Winona State’s football team.
Wood is a starter at outside linebacker, Spencer is a starter at strong safety, and Willcox-Ransom is a starter at cornerback. Poyser is a backup linebacker.
Winona is 2-1 so far and plays at the NCAA Division II level.
* Warren (2-2) opened its football season with losses to Lyons and New Trier, and both those teams are 4-0. Carrmel (1-3) opened its football season with losses to Waukesha West, Phillips from the Chicago Public League, and Joliet Catholic, and those teams are a combined 12-1.
* In youth football, the top varsity level (mostly eighth-graders) teams from Warren, Waukegan, Lake Zurich, and Grayslake all started their seasons 3-0 in the Chicagoland Youth Football League.
Twitter: @JeffBonato
More Top Picks Heaters Boats