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Rice and Morton in Tier 1 final
By Paul LaTour
Juan Gonzalez was about to let his emotions get the better of him in celebrating Morton’s victory over Naperville in the iYRA Tier 1 state semifinals last week.
Then he realized an important fact – the Mustangs’ work wasn’t over. perennial power and defending champion Brother Rice stands in Morton's way in the Tier 1 title match at 4 p.m. Monday at the Chicago Blaze facility in Lemont.
“I was about to get real emotional, but I’m holding in the emotions for the actual thing,” Gonzalez said after the Mustangs’ 31-14 victory. “I feel like our team is prepared to take on this challenge for Tier 1 first place.”
In case the Mustangs (4-1-1) thought their work was done by gaining the final, coach Aaron Sweeney offered a reminder during practice in preparation of facing the unbeaten Crusaders (7-0).
“We talked about how we set a goal at the beginning of the year of winning a state championship and that we’ve come a long way,” Sweeney said. “Most of the journey is done. But we’re not happy to be here, we need to show up on Monday to win it.”
The Mustangs are vying for their first Tier 1 crown after making the jump from Tier 2 in 2008. Sweeney has said this is his best team since the Tier 2-champion 2007 squad.
But that may be a far cry from what the Crusaders bring to the table. Brother Rice seeks its seventh state title and second in a row. The Crusaders won consecutive crowns from 2002-2006.
That resume might seem intimidating, but not to Sweeney.
“It’s irrelevant – we’re not playing any of those teams. We’re playing this year’s team,” Sweeney said. “It seems kind of pointless to discuss it with the team. We’ll have a difficult enough challenge in front of us playing the 2010 Brother Rice team without mentioning anything from the past.”
Crusaders coach Brian Gilmartin has the same attitude about his club’s past. He said he doesn’t think Brother Rice’s reputation will be any advantage.
“Morton doesn’t care about our history,” Gilmartin said. “Morton just wants to go out and play us. It’s kind of romantic and it’s a good storyline, but (the past) has no bearing on how we prepare for the game.”
Still, the Crusader players know their history makes Brother Rice the recipient of every team’s best effort. Although the Crusaders haven’t lost this season, they have had some close calls. They escaped with a 17-13 victory over New Trier and a 24-22 victory over St. Ignatius during the regular season.
“This year we had a close game (almost) every game,” senior captain Pat Sullivan said. “Every team played their best against us because we had a bullseye on our back all year. So it’s been tough, but we’ve been able to play our game and now we’re fortunate enough to go back to (the state final).”
The Crusaders haven’t faced Morton since 2008, but Gilmartin got a good look at them in the semifinals. He was on the sidelines at Morton West scouting the Mustangs.
“They’re a scrappy team,” Gilmartin said. “Their forwards are very good. Our ruck defense is going to have to be first rate in order for us to stop them. That’s their strength. They’re a good club. It will be a good game, I guarantee you.”
Meanwhile, the Mustangs have a pretty good idea of what to expect against the Crusaders. Sweeney watched them in their impressive 39-19 semifinal victory over St. Charles.
“They commit very few penalties and we need to play a skilled game,” Sweeney said. “They’re pretty polished. This isn’t going to be a team you can just out physical and out battle. You’re going to have to out think them as well.”
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Brother Rice Crusaders (7-0)
1. Dan Hendren
2. Tony Franchetti
3. Connor Yanz
4. Ryan Martin
5. Mike McGrail
6. Pete Weyforth
7. Jason Venckus
8. Tom Clemens
9. Chuck Busking
10. Scott Dempster
11. Michael Lynch
12. Pat Sullivan
13. Connor Healy
14. Dan Harrington
15. Bobby Waddell
Coach – Brian Gilmartin
Morton Mustangs (4-1-1)
1. Eduardo Acosta
2. Eric Aranda
3. Jeffrey Steele
4. Brian Rodriguez
5. Mike Waszkowski
6. Manny Aranda
7. Rey “Kato” Gutierrez
8. Eduardo Tenorio
9. Juan Gonzalez
10. Carlos Vargas
11. Ismael Ledesma
12. Chris Buttacavoli
13. Jose Salazar
14. Steve Castillo
15. Ric Santillian
Coach – Aaron Sweeney
